Matthew 22:28
ESV
In the resurrection, therefore, of the seven, whose wife will she be? For they all had her."
NIV
Now then, at the resurrection, whose wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her?"
NASB
In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her in marriage.'
CSB
In the resurrection, then, whose wife will she be of the seven? For they all had married her."
NLT
So tell us, whose wife will she be in the resurrection? For all seven were married to her.'
KJV
Therefore in the resurrection whose wife shall she be of the seven? for they all had her.
NKJV
Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had her.”
What does Matthew 22:28 mean?
The Sadducees have finally reached what they see as an absurd result of belief in resurrection (Matthew 22:15–27). According to them, a woman who was married seven times in life, then resurrected in an afterlife, will now have seven men with the right to claim her as their wife. This challenge is meant to show that human resurrection is ridiculous within the context of the Law of Moses. For the Sadducees, the Law of Moses—the first five books of the Old Testament, also known as the Pentateuch—are the only real Scriptures. Since those do not explicitly mention an afterlife, Sadducees reject the idea.Now the Sadducees ask Jesus to untangle the situation: whose wife will this woman be in the afterlife? Which of the seven of them will she be married to there since all seven of them had her? The question reveals the Sadducees' assumption that if there is an afterlife, it will be fundamentally the same as life on earth. Jesus will forcefully correct them in the following verses (Mathew 22:29–32).
Matthew 22:23–33 contains another challenge for Jesus. This one comes from the Sadducees: a Jewish religious group that did not believe in an afterlife. Attempting to prove their view, they describe a hypothetical situation based on a requirement from the Law of Moses. A woman is married to seven brothers, one after another, as each dies and passes her on. Whose wife will she be in the resurrection? Jesus replies that the question is flawed: there is no marriage in the resurrection. He then references Scripture to show that the Lord is God of the living, including faithful patriarchs such as Abraham and Jacob. Parallel accounts are recorded in Mark 12:18–27 and Luke 20:27–40.
Continuing a dialogue with hostile religious leaders, Jesus tells a parable comparing the kingdom of heaven to a wedding feast which ends up being attended by those not initially invited. He answers trick questions about taxes, marriage, resurrection, and the Law of Moses. These responses are the source of common English idioms such as "render to Caesar…" and "many are called but few are chosen." Finally, Jesus asks how the Messiah can be both the son of David and the Lord of David. None can answer Him, so they stop challenging Him in public.
