The Meaning of Matthew 22:23 Explained

Matthew 22:23

KJV: The same day came to him the Sadducees, which say that there is no resurrection, and asked him,

YLT: In that day there came near to him Sadducees, who are saying there is not a rising again, and they questioned him, saying,

Darby: On that day came to him Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection; and they demanded of him,

ASV: On that day there came to him Sadducees, they that say that there is no resurrection: and they asked him,

KJV Reverse Interlinear

The same  day  came  to him  the Sadducees,  which  say  that there is  no  resurrection,  and  asked  him, 

What does Matthew 22:23 Mean?

Verse Meaning

The Pharisees believed in resurrection from the dead ( Isaiah 26:19; Daniel 12:2). The Sadducees did not because they did not find it explicitly taught in the Pentateuch. They believed that both the material and the immaterial parts of man perish at death (cf. Acts 23:8). [1] There was much diverse opinion concerning death and the afterlife in Jesus" day. [2]

Context Summary

Matthew 22:23-33 - The Scriptures Teach The Resurrection
The Sadducees professed themselves to be bound by the Pentateuch, and to have searched in vain for evidences of a life beyond. They were greatly startled, therefore, when our Lord proved human immortality from the book of Exodus. He had never passed through their schools and sat at the feet of their great teachers, but He showed them that "at the Bush" the voice of God attested eternal life.
The great I AM would never have spoken of Himself as the God of the patriarchs, centuries after their earthly career had closed, unless they had been living somewhere still. It was certain that they were all alive; otherwise God would have said, "I was their God." Death is not a chamber, but a passage; not an abiding-place, but a crossing over; not a state, but an act, an experience, a crossing of the bar, a going within the veil. Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the myriads who have warred and stormed over the earth, are living as intensely as ever. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 22

1  The parable of the marriage of the king's son
9  The vocation of the Gentiles
12  The punishment of him who lacked a wedding garment
15  Tribute ought to be paid to Caesar
23  Jesus confutes the Sadducees for the resurrection;
34  answers which is the first and great commandment;
41  and puzzles the Pharisees by a question about the Messiah

What do the individual words in Matthew 22:23 mean?

On that - day came to Him Sadducees those saying not there is a resurrection and they questioned Him
Ἐν ἐκείνῃ τῇ ἡμέρᾳ προσῆλθον αὐτῷ Σαδδουκαῖοι λέγοντες μὴ εἶναι ἀνάστασιν καὶ ἐπηρώτησαν αὐτὸν

ἐκείνῃ  that 
Parse: Demonstrative Pronoun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ἐκεῖνος  
Sense: he, she it, etc.
τῇ  - 
Parse: Article, Dative Feminine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἡμέρᾳ  day 
Parse: Noun, Dative Feminine Singular
Root: ἡμέρα  
Sense: the day, used of the natural day, or the interval between sunrise and sunset, as distinguished from and contrasted with the night.
προσῆλθον  came 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: προσέρχομαι  
Sense: to come to, approach.
αὐτῷ  to  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
Σαδδουκαῖοι  Sadducees 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: Σαδδουκαῖος  
Sense: a religious party at the time of Christ among the Jews, who denied that the oral law was a revelation of God to the Israelites, and who deemed the written law alone to be obligatory on the nation, as the divine authority. They denied the following doctrines:.
λέγοντες  those  saying 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: λέγω 
Sense: to say, to speak.
εἶναι  there  is 
Parse: Verb, Present Infinitive Active
Root: εἰμί  
Sense: to be, to exist, to happen, to be present.
ἀνάστασιν  a  resurrection 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ἀνάστασις  
Sense: a raising up, rising (e.
ἐπηρώτησαν  they  questioned 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἐπερωτάω  
Sense: to accost one with an enquiry, put a question to, enquiry of, ask, interrogate.