Luke 20:31

“And the third took her; and in like manner the seven also: and they left no children, and died.”

This verse is part of a passage where Jesus engages in a dialogue with the Sadducees, who were a religious sect in first-century Judaism. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, and they posed a hypothetical question to Jesus to challenge this belief.

In Luke 20:27-40, the Sadducees present a scenario where a woman marries a man, and the man dies childless. According to the levirate law in Deuteronomy 25:5-6, if a man dies without leaving an heir, his brother is to marry the widow and raise up offspring for his deceased brother. The Sadducees, however, construct a situation where the woman ends up marrying seven brothers, one after the other, as each one dies childless.

The verse you mentioned, Luke 20:31, describes the third brother taking the woman as his wife, and similarly, all seven brothers also marry her in turn. The crucial point in this passage is that none of the brothers were able to father children with the woman, and eventually, all seven brothers die without leaving any offspring.

The purpose of this hypothetical scenario presented by the Sadducees was to question the concept of resurrection. They sought to challenge Jesus by suggesting that if resurrection were true, and all seven brothers were raised from the dead, whose wife would the woman be in the afterlife?

In response, Jesus addresses the Sadducees’ misconception and clarifies the nature of the resurrection. He states that in the resurrection, people will be like angels and will not marry or be given in marriage. Jesus emphasizes the eternal nature of life in the resurrection, where individuals will be in the presence of God. He further points out that God is not the God of the dead but of the living, indicating the reality of resurrection.

By highlighting the fallacy in the Sadducees’ argument and teaching about the resurrection, Jesus emphasizes the eternal nature of life beyond death. This passage serves as a reminder of the hope Christians have in the resurrection and the assurance of life with God in the future.

Overall, Luke 20:31 plays a role in a larger conversation about the resurrection, challenging the Sadducees’ skepticism and affirming the belief in life after death.