23 On that day some Sadducees (who say there is no resurrection) came to Jesus and questioned Him, 24 asking, “Teacher, Moses said, ‘If a man dies having no children, his brother as next of kin shall marry his wife, and raise up children for his brother.’ 25 Now there were seven brothers with us; and the first married and died, and having no children left his wife to his brother; 26 so also the second, and the third, down to the seventh. 27 Last of all, the woman died. 28 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife of the seven will she be? For they all had married her.”
29 But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not [m]understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. 30 For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. 31 But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: 32 ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” 33 When the crowds heard this, they were astonished at His teaching. Matthew 22:23-33 [NASB]
Jesus was challenged by those who believed there is no life after this life. They challenged him with a puzzle – a hypothetical scenario. They knew that Jesus believed in marriage. They knew that Jesus believed in the resurrection. Surely this puzzle would confound him.
Jesus dealt with both parts of this puzzle. First, there is no marriage in the after-life. So the woman in this scenario is not bound to any of them.
Second, the after-life is real. Jesus used an argument similar to that used by the Sadducees in their puzzle. If God is still the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, then they must still be alive — for God is not the God of the dead but rather the living. If they are alive, then there is a resurrection and an after-life.
The crowds were impressed. Jesus had confounded the Sadducees using their own argumentation.
On this occasion, Jesus gave no other information about life after death. Indeed, he didn’t even say who will enter the after-life. It was enough to make it clear to the crowds – and to the Sadducees should they be willing to hear – that there is a resurrection.
– SSXG