NOTES for Mat 22:23-33
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.