Matthew

Matthew 22:23-33

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is not the God of the dead but of the living.

Matthew 22:23-33 (WEB)

23 On that day Sadducees (those who say that there is no resurrection) came to him. They asked him,

24 saying, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies, having no children, his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.’

25 Now there were with us seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother.

26 In the same way, the second also, and the third, to the seventh.

27 After them all, the woman died.

28 In the resurrection therefore, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had her.”

29 But Jesus answered them, “You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures, nor the power of God.

30 For in the resurrection they neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like God’s angels in heaven.

31 But concerning the resurrection of the dead, haven’t you read that which was spoken to you by God, saying,

32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?’ God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

33 When the multitudes heard it, they were astonished at his teaching.

Central Idea

The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is not the God of the dead but of the living.

Authorial Intent

Matthew presents Jesus as the authoritative Son who exposes the Sadducees' denial of resurrection by grounding resurrection hope in Scripture and the power of the living God.

Historical Context

The exchange occurs in Jerusalem during Jesus' final week, amid escalating public conflict in the temple precincts.

Chapter: Matthew 22

The Wedding Banquet, the King’s Invitation, and the Messiah Who Is David’s Lord

The King’s Son must be received on the King’s terms: hypocritical traps, theological ignorance, shallow law-keeping, and reduced messianic categories all collapse before Jesus, who summons people to the banquet, to resurrection hope, to wholehearted love, and to worship the Messiah who is David’s Lord.