Matthew 22:24-28

Matthew 22:24-28

[24] Saying,  Master,  Moses  said,  If  a man  die,  having  no  children,  his  brother  shall marry  his  wife,  and  raise up  seed  unto his  brother.  [25] Now  with  seven  brethren:  and  the first,  when he had married a wife,  deceased,  and,  having  no  issue,  left  his  wife  unto his  brother:  [26] Likewise  the second  also,  the third,  unto  the seventh.  [27] And  last  of all  the woman  died  [28] Therefore  in  the resurrection  whose  wife  of the seven?  for  they all  had  her. 

What does Matthew 22:24-28 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

The Sadducees also approached Jesus with hypocritical respect calling Him "teacher" (cf. Matthew 22:16). They had evidently learned to appreciate Jesus" high regard for the Old Testament because they came to Him with a question of biblical interpretation ( Deuteronomy 25:5-6). This is only the second recorded time that Jesus had come into public conflict with the Sadducees (cf. Matthew 16:1).
Levirate marriage was an ancient Near Eastern custom that antedated the Mosaic Law ( Genesis 38:8). The Law incorporated it and regulated it. This law encouraged the younger brother to marry his deceased brother"s widow and have children by her. People considered the first child born to be the older brother"s heir, and that child would perpetuate his name in Israel.
This was an unlikely question for Sadducees to ask since they did not believe in resurrection. Probably they knew that Jesus believed in resurrection and wanted to create what they thought was an impossible situation to embarrass Him.
"It was probably an old conundrum that they had used to the discomfiture of the Pharisees." [1]
The case they posited could have been a real one or, more likely, a hypothetical one. Their question presupposed that life the other side of the grave will be exactly as it is this side, in terms of human relationships. Since the woman had had seven husbands, whose wife would she be in the resurrection, or would she be guilty of incest? For the Sadducees, belief in resurrection created insuperable problems. Would Jesus deny the resurrection and so obviate the problem but alienate Himself even further from the Pharisees?