The Sadducees' self-satisfaction is akin to that of the Pharisees, but differs from it in some ways. Whereas the Pharisees' arrogance stems from their confidence in knowing the subtleties of the law, the Sadducees' self-exaltation is born of claims to rational thought. In essence, the Sadducees are the forerunners of those who, having picked up only the rudiments of education while possessing a vague idea of the true depths of science, are convinced that their knowledge is enough to regard themselves as more intelligent than others.

The problem about the resurrection and the woman with seven husbands proposed by the Sadducees could have been solved on their own terms, the chief of which is the rejection of faith in the resurrection. In that case, by beginning to consider seriously the situation offered as a joke, one could fall into the trap they had laid. (Incidentally, both in tone and structure this question closely resembles the stock questions with which Jehovah's Witnesses try to refute the doctrine of the Trinity.) But Christ does not yield to this provocation. He shows the inadequacy of the Sadducees' basic assumptions, for they do not know the true meaning of what they undertake to refute. Here He also partly reveals to us the mystery of life after the resurrection, immediately disclosing its connection with the living God, Whom He calls the God of the living. This means that His will is for life to triumph.

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.

It is not hard to imagine the mixed state of the Pharisees after Jesus forced the Sadducees to be silent: the One with whom they were used to arguing had put their opponents to shame. For that reason the lawyer's question about the two greatest commandments looks like a kind of probing: could He perhaps be drawn over to their side? It is hard for the Pharisees (and not only for them) to grasp that in fact they should have made the decision to cross over to His side. Moreover, even today many ideologues cannot resist the temptation to present Christ as their predecessor and like-minded ally; they too want to recruit Him into their camp. But what looks coherent in propaganda articles falls apart when it meets Reality.

And so Christ answers the Pharisee's question. But in doing so He does not simply give an answer to this particular question; He reveals the central foundations of faith and life. It is understandable that He named the words about love for God, absorbing all one's strength and aspirations, as the greatest commandment. However like it He called the commandment about love for the human person, which may have seemed strange to people accustomed to placing religious concepts above everything human. And yet this is exactly what Christ brought to people and what sets Christianity apart from all religions.

Of course, the commandment to love people is not equal to the commandment to love God; it is only like it. But in Christianity the human person is raised as high as no teaching raises him. And only Christ finally destroys the impassable barrier between God and people.