THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD: JESUS' RESPONSE TO THE SADDUCEES

A few days before His arrest, a sect of religious leaders referred to as Sadducees challenged Jesus concerning His teaching about the resurrection of the dead, which is that physical death is not the actual end of life as there is life after death.

Jesus was known for His emphasis on the verity of the resurrection of the dead in His teachings.

Luke 14:13–14(NKJV)

13 - But when you give a feast, invite the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind.

14 - And you will be blessed, because they cannot repay you; for you shall be repaid at the resurrection of the just.

John 5:24–29(NKJV)

24 - Most assuredly, I say to you, he who hears My word and believes in Him who sent Me has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life.

25 - Most assuredly, I say to you, the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God; and those who hear will live.

26 - For as the Father has life in Himself, so He has granted the Son to have life in Himself,

27 - and has given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of Man.

28 - Do not marvel at this; for the hour is coming in which all who are in the graves will hear His voice

29 - and come forth—those who have done good, to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of condemnation.

Hence, we see this in the conclusion of one of His disciples, Martha, the brother of Lazarus.

John 11:23–24(NKJV)

23 - Jesus said to her, "Your brother will rise again."

24 - Martha said to Him, "I know that he will rise again in the resurrection at the last day."

This belief was never strange among the Jews.

Here is a reference from the Old Testament writings over 500 years before the birth of Jesus:

Daniel 12:2–3(NKJV)

2 - And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, some to shame and everlasting contempt.

3 - Those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament, and those who turn many to righteousness like the stars forever and ever.

But the Sadducees believed it was mere fantasy. This was a major distinction between them and the Pharisees. [For a better understanding of this, read What Are the Differences Between the Pharisees and the Sadducees?]

Acts 23:8(NKJV)

For Sadducees say that there is no resurrection—and no angel or spirit; but the Pharisees confess both.

In fact, the only major thing they had in common with the Pharisees was their antagonism of Jesus.

So these Sadducees decided to challenge Jesus concerning the concept of resurrection by posing a story (which may have been hypothetical).

Mark 12:18–27(NKJV)

18 - Then some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Him; and they asked Him, saying:

19 - "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, and leaves his wife behind, and leaves no children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother (reference from Deuteronomy 25:5–6).

20 - Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife; and dying, he left no offspring.

21 - And the second took her, and he died; nor did he leave any offspring. And the third likewise.

22 - So the seven had her and left no offspring. Last of all the woman died also.

23 - Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife."

This question they threw at Jesus was to show how ridiculous they thought the concept of resurrection was—“So who would be her husband in your supposed afterlife?”

Jesus’ response was going to reveal how shallow their mindset was.

24 - Jesus answered and said to them, "Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God?

“ONE, the scriptures you appeal to (fundamentally the Torah: the five books of Moses) give credence to the verity of the resurrection of the dead; that means you do not know the scriptures. TWO, you apparently do not know the power of God, else you wouldn't deem it impossible for God to raise the dead.”

Jesus then went ahead to explain that marriage does not exist in the afterlife.

25 - For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.

These physical frail bodies will have been done away with. Our spirits do not have gender. Gender (male and female) is a thing only with the configuration of our physical bodies here on earth. Angels are immortal beings that have no gender, and so will we be.

Jesus then proceeded to burst their bubble by giving evidence from the very scriptures (Torah) the Sadducees appeal to.

26 - But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob”?

Here, Jesus was narrating the burning bush experience of Moses.

Exodus 3:1–6(NKJV)

1 - Now Moses was tending the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian. And he led the flock to the back of the desert, and came to Horeb, the mountain of God.

2 - And the Angel of the LORD appeared to him in a flame of fire from the midst of a bush. So he looked, and behold, the bush was burning with fire, but the bush was not consumed.

3 - Then Moses said, "I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush does not burn.”

4 - So when the LORD saw that he turned aside to look, God called to him from the midst of the bush and said, "Moses, Moses!" And he said, "Here I am."

5 - Then He said, "Do not draw near this place. Take your sandals off your feet, for the place where you stand is holy ground."

6 - Moreover He said, "I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look upon God.

This encounter of Moses happened approximately 200 years after the death of Jacob, meaning none of these three patriarchs was on earth anymore. Yet, the LORD did not say, “I was the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” referring to people who were out of existence; rather, God said, “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob” to show that though these patriarchs were no longer physically on earth, they were still alive.

So Jesus concluded:

27 - He is not the God of the dead, but the God of the living. You are therefore greatly mistaken.

See Luke’s account:

Luke 20:34–38(NKJV)

34 - Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.

35 - But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage;

36 - nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.

37 - But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.”

38 - For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him.

For children of God, death here on earth is never a finality; it is rather a vehicle into the realm of glory.

Victor Ibosiola © 2025

Recommended post: What Are the Differences Between the Pharisees and the Sadducees?