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Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Mark 12:18–27. His three-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
The Sadducees, who were the deists of that age, here attack our Lord Jesus, it should seem, not as the scribes, and Pharisees, and chief-priests, with any malicious design upon his person; they were not bigots and persecutors, but sceptics and infidels, and their design was upon his doctrine, to hinder the spreading of that: they denied that there was any resurrection, and world of spirits, any state of rewards and punishments on the other side of death: now those great and fundamental truths which they denied, Christ had made it his business to establish and prove, and had carried the notion of them much further that ever it was before carried; and therefore they set themselves to perplex his doctrine.
I.See here the method they take to entangle it; they quote the ancient law, by which, if a man died without issue, his brother was obliged to marry his widow, Mar 12:19. They suppose a case to happen that, according to that law, seven brothers were, successively, the husbands of one woman, Mar 12:20. Probably, these Sadducees, according to their wonted profaneness, intended hereby to ridicule that law, and so to bring the whole frame of the Mosaic institution into contempt, as absurd and inconvenient in the practice of it. Those who deny divine truths, commonly set themselves to disparage divine laws and ordinances. But this was only by the by; their design was to expose the doctrine of the resurrection; for they suppose that if there be a future state, it must be such a one as this, and then the doctrine, they think, is clogged either with this invincible absurdity, that a woman in that state must have seven husbands, or else with this insolvable difficulty, whose wife must she be. See with what subtlety these heretics undermine the truth; they do not deny it, nor say, There can be no resurrection; nay, they do not seem to doubt of it, nor say, If there be a resurrection, whose wife shall she be? as the devil to Christ, If thou be the Son of God. But, as though these beasts of the field were more subtle than the serpent himself, they pretend to own the truth, as if they were not Sadducees, no not they; who said that they denied the resurrection? They take it for granted that there is a resurrection, and would be thought to desire instruction concerning it, when really they are designing to give a fatal stab, and think that they shall do it. Note, It is the common artifice of heretics and Sadducees to perplex and entangle the truth, which they have not the impudence to deny.
II.See here the method Christ takes to clear and establish this truth, which they attempted to darken, and give a shock to.
This was a matter of moment, and therefore Christ does not pass it over lightly, but enlarges upon it, that, if they should not be reclaimed, yet others might be confirmed.
1.He charges the Sadducees with error, and charges that upon their ignorance. They who banter the doctrine of the resurrection as some do in our age, would be thought the only knowing men, because the only free thinkers, when really they are the fools in Israel, and the most enslaved and, prejudiced thinkers in the world. Do ye not therefore err? Ye cannot but be sensible of it yourselves, and that the cause of your error is,
(1.)Because ye do not know the scriptures. Not but that the Sadducees had read the scriptures, and perhaps were ready in them; yet they might be truly said not to know the scriptures, because they did not know the sense and meaning of them, but put false constructions upon them; or they did not receive the scriptures as the word of God, but set up their own corrupt reasonings in opposition to the scripture, and would believe nothing but what they could see. Note, A right knowledge of the scripture, as the fountain whence all revealed religion now flows, and the foundation on which it is built, is the best preservative against error. Keep the truth, the scripture-truth, and it shall keep thee.
(2.)Because ye know not the power of God. They could not but know that God is almighty, but they would not apply that doctrine to this matter, but gave up the truth to the objections of the impossibility of it, which would all have been answered, if they had but stuck to the doctrine of God's omnipotence, to which nothing is impossible. This therefore which God hath spoken once, we are concerned to hear twice, to hear and believe, to hear and apply - that power belongs to God, Psa 62:11; Rom 4:19-21. The same power that made soul and body and preserved them while they were together, can preserve the body safe, and the soul active, when they are parted, and can unite them together again; for behold, the Lord's arm is not shortened. The power of God, seen in the return of the spring (Psa 104:30), in the reviving of the corn (Joh 12:24), in the restoring of an abject people to their prosperity (Eze 37:12-14), in the raising of so many to life, miraculously, both in the Old Testament and in the New, and especially in the resurrection of Christ (Eph 1:19, Eph 1:20), are all earnests of our resurrection by the same power (Phi 3:21); according to the mighty working whereby he is able to subdue all things to himself.
2.He sets aside all the force of their objection, by setting the doctrine of the future state in a true light (Mar 12:25); When they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage. It is a folly to ask, Whose wife shall she be of the seven? For the relation between husband and wife, though instituted in the earthly paradise, will not be known in the heavenly one. Turks and infidels expect sensual pleasures in their fools' paradise, but Christians know better things - that flesh and blood shall not inherit the kingdom of God (Co1 15:50); and expect better things - even a full satisfaction in God's love and likeness (Psa 17:15); they are as the angels of God in heaven, and we know that they have neither wives nor children. It is no wonder if we confound ourselves with endless absurdities, when we measure our ideas of the world of spirits by the affairs of this world of sense.
III.He builds the doctrine of the future state, and of the blessedness of the righteous in that state, upon the covenant of God with Abraham, which God was pleased to own, being after Abraham's death, Mar 12:26, Mar 12:27. He appeals to the scriptures; Have ye not read in the book of Moses? We have some advantage in dealing with those that have read the scriptures, though many that have read them, wrest them, as these Sadducees did, to their own destruction. Now that which he refers them to is, what God says to Moses at the bush, I am the God of Abraham; not only, I was so, but I am so; I am the portion and happiness of Abraham, a God all-sufficient to him. Note, It is absurd to think that God's relation to Abraham should be continued, and thus solemnly recognised, if Abraham was annihilated, or that the living God should be the portion and happiness of a man that is dead, and must be for ever so; and therefore you must conclude,
1.That Abraham's soul exists and acts as a state of separation from the body.
2.That therefore, some time or other, the body must rise again; for there is such an innate inclination in a human soul towards its body, as would make a total and everlasting separation inconsistent with the ease and repose, much more with the bliss and joy of those souls that have the Lord for their God. Upon the whole matter, he concludes, Ye therefore do greatly err. Those that deny the resurrection, greatly err, and ought to be told so.
Historical interpretation
Five Centuries of Reception
4 surviving comments on this verse. Each one is dated, so this reads as a timeline rather than a list.
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But in a mystical sense: what can this woman, leaving no seed of seven brothers, and last of all dying, mean except the Jewish synagogue, deserted by the seven-fold Spirit, which filled those seven patriarchs, who did not leave to her the seed of Abraham, that is, Jesus Christ? For although a Son was born to them, nevertheless He was given to us Gentiles. This woman was dead to Christ, nor shall she be joined in the resurrection to any patriarch of the seven; for by the number seven is meant the whole company of the faithful. Thus it is said contrariwise by Isaiah, Seven women shall take hold of one man; (Is. 4:1) that is, the seven Churches, which the Lord loves, reproves, and chastises, adore Him with one faith. Wherefore it goes on: And Jesus answering, said unto them, Do ye not therefore err, not knowing the Scripture, neither the power of God?
Thus then they do not understand the Scripture, in that in the resurrection, men shall be as the Angels of God, that is, no man there dies, no one is born, no infant is there, no old man.
But 1 say, in the bush, in which is an image of you; for in it the fire was kindled, but it did not consume its thorns; so my words set you on fire, but do not burn off your thorns, which have grown under the curse.
But when He says, The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob; by naming God thrice, He implied the Trinity. But when He says, He is not the God of the dead, by naming again the One God, he implies One Substance. But they live who make good the portion, which they had chosen; and they are dead, who have lost what they had made good. Ye therefore do greatly err.
(ubi sup.) And fitly do they frame such a fable in order to prove the madness of those who assert the resurrection of the body. Such a thing however might really have happened at some time or other among them.
(ubi sup.) We must here consider that the Latin custom does not answer to the Greek idiom. For properly 1different words are used for the marriage of men, and that of women; but here we may simply understand that, marry is meant of men, and given in marriage of women.
(ubi sup.) Or else; because after proving that the soul remained after death, (for God could not be God of those who did not exist at all,) the resurrection of the body also might be inferred as a consequence, since it had done good and evil with the soul.
A certain heretical sect of the Jews called Sadducees denied the resurrection, and said that there was neither angel nor spirit. These then coming to Jesus, craftily proposed to Him a certain tale, in order to show that no resurrection should take place, or had taken place; and therefore there is added, And they asked him, saying, Master. And in this tale they lay down that seven men had married one woman, in order to make men draw back from belief in the resurrection.
As if He had said, Ye understand not what sort of a resurrection the Scriptures announce; for ye believe that there will be a restoration of our bodies, such as they are now, but it shall not be so. Thus then ye know not the Scriptures; neither again do ye know the power of God; for ye consider it as a difficult thing, saying, How can the limbs, which have been scattered, be united together and joined to the soul? But this in respect of the Divine power is as nothing. There follows: For when they shall rise from the dead, they neither marry, nor are given in marriage; but are as the angels which are in heaven; as if He had said, There will be a certain heavenly and angelic restoration to life, when there shall be no more decay, and we shall remain unchanged; and for this reason marriage shall cease. For marriage now exists on account of our decay, that we may be carried on by succession of our race, and not fail; but then we shall be as the Angels, who need no succession by marriage, and never come to an end.
In another way also they are deceived, not understanding the Scriptures; for if they had understood them, they should also have understood how by the Scriptures the resurrection of the dead may be proved; wherefore He adds, And as touching the dead, that they rise, have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?
But I say, I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. As if He had said, The God of the living, wherefore He adds, He is not the God of the dead, but of the living; for He did not say, I have been, but I am, as if they had been present. But some one perhaps will say, that God spake this only of the soul of Abraham, not of his body; to which I answer, that Abraham implies both, that is, soul and body, so that He also is the God of the body, and the body lives with God, that is, in God's ordinance.
(non occ.) After that our Lord has prudently escaped the crafty temptation of the Pharisees, it is shown how He also confounds the Sadducees, who tempt Him; wherefore it is said: Then come unto him the Sadducees, which say there is no resurrection.
(non occ.) That is, because they contradicted the Scriptures, and derogated from the power of God.
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Summary
Mark 12:22 concludes the Sadducees' elaborate hypothetical scenario presented to Jesus, detailing the final stages of a woman's life after having been married to seven brothers in succession, each of whom died without producing an heir. This verse sets the stage for the Sadducees' ultimate question regarding the woman's marital status in the resurrection, aiming to expose what they perceived as the absurdity of such a belief.
Context
Literary Context
This verse is an integral part of a direct confrontation between Jesus and the Sadducees, meticulously recorded in Mark 12:18-27. Following Jesus' powerful teaching on paying taxes to Caesar and His authority in the temple, the Sadducees, known for their rejection of the resurrection, approach Him with a complex theological trap. The preceding verses establish the premise of the levirate marriage law (Deuteronomy 25:5-10), and Mark 12:19-21 systematically introduces the first six brothers who marry and die without offspring. Mark 12:22 then completes this tragic sequence, culminating in the death of the woman herself, thereby creating the "problem" they wish Jesus to resolve concerning the afterlife.
Historical & Cultural Context
The Sadducees were a prominent Jewish sect during the Second Temple period, primarily composed of aristocratic priests and wealthy landowners. Unlike the Pharisees, they accepted only the written Torah (the first five books of Moses) as authoritative and rejected oral tradition, the concept of angels, spirits, and, crucially, the resurrection of the dead (Acts 23:8). Their challenge to Jesus was rooted in their literal interpretation of the Mosaic Law, specifically the law of levirate marriage, which mandated that if a man died childless, his brother was obligated to marry the widow to "raise up offspring" for the deceased, ensuring the continuation of his name and inheritance within Israel (Deuteronomy 25:5). The Sadducees' hypothetical scenario was designed to demonstrate the perceived logical inconsistencies of resurrection within the framework of earthly laws, particularly concerning marriage and family lineage.
Key Themes
Mark 12:22, within its broader context, contributes to several significant themes. Firstly, it highlights the Sadducees' fundamental misunderstanding of the resurrection, viewing it through a purely earthly, legalistic lens rather than a transformed, spiritual reality. Their question about the woman's marital status in the afterlife reveals their inability to conceive of a state of being beyond the confines of human institutions and biological needs, which Jesus directly corrects in Mark 12:25. Secondly, the repeated phrase "left no seed" underscores the importance of lineage and inheritance in ancient Israelite society, a core concern addressed by the levirate marriage law. The failure of all seven brothers to produce an heir emphasizes the Sadducees' attempt to push the earthly law to its extreme, thereby creating a seemingly insurmountable problem for the resurrection. Lastly, the entire exchange demonstrates Jesus' superior wisdom and authority in interpreting Scripture and revealing divine truth, contrasting His profound understanding of God's power and the nature of eternal life with the Sadducees' limited, human-centric perspective.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
This numerical adjective (G2033) signifies completion or fullness in biblical numerology, though here it primarily serves to emphasize the extreme nature of the Sadducees' hypothetical scenario. The fact that all seven brothers, representing the full scope of the levirate obligation, died without issue, highlights the exhaustive and seemingly irresolvable nature of their presented dilemma.
Derived from the verb "to sow," this noun (G4690) literally refers to something sown, but in this context, it unequivocally means "offspring" or "descendants." The repeated phrase "left no seed" is crucial, as it confirms that each brother failed to fulfill the primary purpose of the levirate marriage: to raise up an heir for the deceased, thereby continuing his name and inheritance. This failure is the lynchpin of the Sadducees' argument, as it necessitates the subsequent marriages and culminates in the woman's unique predicament.
This verb (G599), meaning "to die off," emphasizes the finality of physical death. Its repeated use throughout the Sadducees' narrative, culminating in the woman's death, underscores the human experience of mortality. For the Sadducees, death was the ultimate end, and their challenge to Jesus was precisely about whether there was any reality beyond this physical cessation of life.
Verse Breakdown
"And the seven had her"
This clause signifies that the seventh and final brother, in accordance with the levirate marriage law, took the woman as his wife. The verb "had" (ἔλαβον, elabon, from G2983 lambánō) implies taking possession or receiving, here in the context of marriage. It completes the sequence of seven marriages, each undertaken to fulfill the Deuteronomic obligation.
"and left no seed"
This pivotal phrase confirms that, like the six brothers before him, the seventh brother also died without producing any offspring with the woman. This detail is essential to the Sadducees' argument, as it means the levirate obligation was never fulfilled, and the woman's marital status remained tied to the deceased brothers, setting up their question about her husband in the resurrection.
"last of all the woman died also"
This concluding clause brings the entire hypothetical scenario to its earthly end. After all seven brothers have passed away childless, the woman herself dies. The phrase "last of all" (ἔσχατον πάντων, eschaton pantōn, from G2078 éschatos and G3956 pâs) emphasizes the finality of her death within this sequence, sealing the Sadducees' "problem" for Jesus to address.
Literary Devices
The passage employs Hypothetical Scenario to construct a theological trap. The Sadducees meticulously craft a seemingly plausible, albeit extreme, situation based on Mosaic Law to expose what they believe to be the absurd consequences of believing in the resurrection. The Repetition of the brothers dying "without seed" (implied through the sequence and then explicitly stated for the seventh) serves to emphasize the persistent failure to fulfill the levirate duty and to build the cumulative weight of their argument. The narrative also uses Irony, as the Sadducees, in their attempt to disprove the resurrection, inadvertently provide Jesus with an opportunity to reveal deeper truths about God's power and the transformed nature of resurrected life, which transcends their limited earthly understanding.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Mark 12:22, as the culmination of the Sadducees' challenge, highlights the profound theological chasm between human understanding and divine reality. Their argument, rooted in a literalistic application of earthly law to eternal life, demonstrates a failure to grasp the transformative power of God and the qualitative difference between temporal and eternal existence. Jesus' subsequent response (beginning in Mark 12:24) directly addresses this, asserting that the Sadducees err because they "know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God." This encounter serves as a powerful reminder that God's ways are not confined by human logic or earthly institutions, and that the resurrected state involves a radical transformation of being, where earthly relationships like marriage are reconfigured in light of eternal realities.
Reflection and Application
The Sadducees' carefully constructed dilemma, culminating in Mark 12:22, serves as a timeless cautionary tale against attempting to confine God's boundless power and wisdom within the narrow confines of human experience and logic. In our own lives, we often encounter spiritual truths that seem to defy our rational understanding or challenge our preconceived notions. This passage encourages us to cultivate a posture of humility and faith, recognizing that God's plan for eternity is far grander and more transformative than we can fully comprehend with our finite minds. It calls us to trust in the radical newness of resurrected life, where the limitations and structures of this present age are transcended by divine power. Rather than projecting our earthly concerns onto eternity, we are invited to embrace the mystery and wonder of God's future for us, a future where relationships are perfected and our existence is entirely reoriented around Him.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why did the Sadducees present such a complicated scenario about seven brothers and one woman?
The Sadducees presented this elaborate hypothetical scenario to Jesus, culminating in the woman's death in Mark 12:22, as a theological trap. They did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, angels, or spirits (Acts 23:8). Their argument was based on a literal interpretation of the levirate marriage law from Deuteronomy 25:5-10, which required a brother to marry his deceased, childless brother's widow to raise up an heir. By creating a scenario where seven brothers successively married the same woman and all died without children, they aimed to expose what they perceived as the absurdity and logical impossibility of resurrection: "Whose wife will she be in the resurrection?" They believed this scenario would demonstrate that the concept of resurrection would lead to insoluble problems regarding earthly relationships and legal obligations.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
While Mark 12:22 describes a scenario designed to challenge the very notion of resurrection, Jesus' response to the Sadducees ultimately points to His own person and work as the fulfillment of God's power over death. The Sadducees' error lay in their ignorance of God's power and the Scriptures, particularly the true nature of the resurrected life. Jesus, as the "resurrection and the life" (John 11:25), embodies the very reality they denied. His own resurrection from the dead, foretold in the Old Testament and powerfully attested in the New (1 Corinthians 15:3-4), provides the definitive answer to the Sadducees' skepticism. Through Christ, the transformed nature of resurrected bodies, no longer bound by earthly conventions like marriage but living "like angels in heaven" (Mark 12:25), is revealed. He is the ultimate "seed" (Galatians 3:16) through whom God's promises are fulfilled, bringing forth spiritual offspring for eternity, far surpassing the earthly lineage concerns of the levirate law. Thus, the seemingly absurd dilemma of Mark 12:22 finds its profound resolution and ultimate meaning in the triumphant person and work of Jesus Christ, who conquered death and opened the way to eternal life.