Luke 20:27-40

Luke 20:27-40

Some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection,

came forward and put this question to Jesus, saying,

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us,

If someone’s brother dies leaving a wife but no child,

his brother must take the wife

and raise up descendants for his brother.

Now there were seven brothers;

the first married a woman but died childless.

Then the second and the third married her,

and likewise all the seven died childless.

Finally the woman also died.

Now at the resurrection whose wife will that woman be?

For all seven had been married to her.”

Jesus said to them,

“The children of this age marry and remarry;

but those who are deemed worthy to attain to the coming age

and to the resurrection of the dead

neither marry nor are given in marriage.

They can no longer die,

for they are like angels;

and they are the children of God

because they are the ones who will rise.

That the dead will rise

even Moses made known in the passage about the bush,

when he called  ‘Lord’

the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob;

and he is not God of the dead, but of the living,

for to him all are alive.”

Some of the scribes said in reply,

“Teacher, you have answered well.”

And they no longer dared to ask him anything.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, I am your beloved child. I sit at your feet to learn from you, play joyfully in your presence, and look up to see your loving face. Care for me and guide my steps. Correct me when I foolishly choose what is evil, and encourage me when I wisely pursue what is right and good. Keep me close to you always.

Encountering the Word of God

1. The Sadducees’ Challenge: The Sadducees were an influential religious and political group in first-century Judaism. Many belonged to the priestly aristocracy and exercised considerable authority over the Temple and its administration. Unlike the Pharisees, they rejected the resurrection of the dead and did not accept the later Jewish traditions concerning angels, spirits, and the afterlife. They placed particular emphasis on the authority of the five Books of Moses, the Torah. When they approached Jesus with their question, they were not sincerely seeking to understand his teaching. Rather, they intended to expose what they considered the absurdity of believing in the resurrection. They appealed to the Mosaic law of levirate marriage, which required a man to marry his deceased brother’s childless widow and raise up descendants for him (Deuteronomy 25:5-10). Their hypothetical situation involving seven brothers was deliberately exaggerated to make the resurrection appear ridiculous. If all seven brothers had married the same woman, they reasoned, whose wife would she be in the resurrection? Their question revealed that they could imagine no existence beyond death other than a continuation of earthly relationships and circumstances. Jesus, however, would show them that they fundamentally misunderstood both the resurrection and the power of God.

2. Life in the Coming Age: Jesus first explained that life in the coming age is not simply a continuation of earthly existence. In this age, marriage serves several important purposes, including the mutual good of husband and wife and the transmission of human life through the procreation and education of children (CCC, 2363). Since human beings in the resurrection can no longer die, however, there will be no need to marry and beget children to perpetuate the human race, preserve family lineages, or continue one’s name. Those who attain the resurrection will be like the angels, not because they become angels, but because they will share in an immortal existence. They will never again experience death or the separation it brings. Jesus also describes them as children of God and children of the resurrection. Through Baptism, we have already become God’s adopted children, and we are called to grow in this relationship throughout our earthly lives. The resurrection will bring this relationship to its fulfillment. We will no longer live by faith in what we cannot see but will enjoy the fullness of God's presence. Our earthly relationships and loves are not simply discarded; rather, all that is good in them will find its fulfillment in our perfect communion with God and with one another.

3. The Resurrection of the Dead: Jesus then demonstrated that the Torah itself contains the truth of the resurrection. Knowing that the Sadducees recognized the authority of the Five Books of Moses, he directed their attention to the account of the burning bush (Exodus 3:1-15). When God revealed himself to Moses, he identified himself as the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. These patriarchs had died centuries earlier, yet God continued to identify himself through his covenant relationship with them. Jesus draws an important conclusion: God is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive. God’s covenant faithfulness does not end at the grave. Those who belong to him are not lost to death, because the Lord who created them and called them into relationship with himself has the power to raise them up. The patriarchs remain alive before God, awaiting the fullness of the resurrection. This is our hope as well. Through Baptism, we have become children of God and heirs of his promises. Even when we experience suffering, illness, and the death of those we love, we can trust that death does not have the final word. Our heavenly Father is the God of the living, and he will raise his children to share in the fullness of eternal life.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, you are the Resurrection and the Life. Raise me up to share in your eternal life! You are the Bread of Life and the Good Shepherd. Nourish me and lead me to good pasture. You are the Way, the Truth, and the Life. You are the Sheep Gate; welcome me into your kingdom and keep me safe. You are the Light of the World and the True Vine. Enlighten my mind, strengthen my faith, and unite me to you forever!

Living the Word of God: Do I believe wholeheartedly in the resurrection of the dead and the promise of eternal life? How does this hope influence the way I live today? Am I preparing for the coming age by growing in my relationship with God? What attachments, habits, or sins keep me from loving him more completely? Do I trust that God remains faithful even in the face of suffering and death? How can I entrust myself and my loved ones more fully to the Father today?