During His earthly ministry Jesus was more than once asked tricky questions and offered tests of ingenuity from the theological study aids that existed at that time. There were, of course, certain traditional answers to these tricky questions, though how convincing they were is another matter. But Jesus...
During His earthly ministry Jesus was more than once asked tricky questions and offered tests of ingenuity from the theological study aids that existed at that time. There were, of course, certain traditional answers to these tricky questions, though how convincing they were is another matter. But Jesus uses even them to bear witness to the Kingdom. That is what happened with the question put to Him about a woman who had married many times, probably referring here to the custom of levirate marriage. As can be seen, the Sadducees, and above all evidently the representatives of the temple priesthood, used this example to refute the possibility of the general resurrection in which the Synagogue believed, and first of all, of course, the Pharisees.
It is not hard to see that the main misunderstanding here is connected not with some theological subtlety, but with a wrong understanding of the Kingdom and its nature. And Jesus, without entering into abstract reasoning, draws His interlocutors’ attention precisely to this point. He tells them directly: you understand neither the Scriptures nor the way God acts in the world. And He adds: in the Kingdom of God they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but abide like angels in heaven.
The answer is remarkable. It remains only to understand just how angels “abide in heaven.” But here Jesus, as can be seen, gives His interlocutors no additional explanation. Only one thing is clear: it is not like the way of life in the untransformed world. And the point is not to try to understand what marital relations are like in the Kingdom. The point is to realize that it is unlike anything that happens in our world, and not to try to extrapolate earthly laws onto the Kingdom.
Meanwhile, judging by the question posed to Jesus, such extrapolations were common practice in the Jewish theology of that time. Jesus, as can be seen, invites His interlocutors to set aside the cliches familiar to them. And He does this not so much for their own sake, since they asked the question only to “trip Him up,” but for the sake of the listeners, because the conversation was public. It was necessary to let them understand that the Kingdom is in fact wholly different. At least those among them who can and want to hear.
