The Jewish Apocalyptic View of Matthew 22:23-33

The Jewish Apocalyptic View of Matthew 22:23-33


Matthew 22:23


"The same day the Sadducees came to him, saying there is no resurrection, and they asked him a question."


Apocalyptic perspective:

The Sadducees reject resurrection, reflecting a worldly, Torah-only view. In apocalyptic thought, death is temporary for the righteous; God’s power will vindicate them. Their question tests whether resurrection life can preserve human structures, which apocalyptic literature treats as transient.


Matthew 22:24


"Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother must marry the widow and raise up offspring for him.’"


Apocalyptic perspective:

They invoke levirate law to argue from continuity. Apocalyptic texts, however, treat earthly laws as temporal. Resurrection life transcends social and legal structures—God’s future world is governed by vindication and restoration, not inherited roles.



Matthew 22:25–28


"Now there were seven brothers among us; the first married and died, and the second and the third… finally the woman also died. In the resurrection, whose wife of the seven will she be?"


Apocalyptic perspective:

The Sadducees assume the resurrection will preserve human marriage. Apocalyptic literature, however, describes the resurrected as existing in a qualitatively transformed state, free from temporal obligations. Here, Jesus hints that the age to come is not a continuation but a new order of life.



Matthew 22:29


"Jesus answered them, ‘You are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God.’"


Apocalyptic perspective:

Jesus emphasizes God’s power to radically transform life. In apocalyptic texts, God’s acts overturn human expectations: the dead are restored, the righteous vindicated, and the worldly logic of death and inheritance is overturned.



Matthew 22:30


"For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven."


Apocalyptic perspective:

Resurrection life is qualitatively different. Jesus uses angels as a model: Angels serve as a model for resurrection life: fully in God’s presence, free from earthly roles and temporal human constraints.




Matthew 22:31–32


"And concerning the resurrection of the dead, have you not read… ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living."


Apocalyptic perspective:

Jesus invokes Exodus 3:6 to demonstrate God’s covenantal fidelity. Resurrection is participation in God’s future vindication. Like angels, the righteous are in God's presence.



Matthew 22:33


"When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at his teaching."


Apocalyptic perspective:

The crowd recognizes a radical vision of the age to come. Resurrection life is transformative, God’s promises are enduring, and human reasoning is insufficient to grasp the full power of God. The teaching bridges the gap between earthly life and the eschatological reality of vindication, immortality, and participation in God’s restored creation.

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