Matthew 22 Study Notes

22:23 The Sadducees believed that humans cease to exist at the moment of physical death (Ac 23:6-8; Josephus, Ant. 18.16; War 2.164-65).

22:24-28 The Sadducees appealed to the law of levirate marriage (Dt 25:5) in an attempt to disprove the doctrine of resurrection. Although many first-century Jews practiced polygamy, they generally rejected polyandry (a woman having multiple husbands). The Sadducees tried to force Jesus either to reject the doctrine of resurrection or admit the legitimacy of polyandry.

22:29-33 Like angels, resurrected people will not marry because they are eternal and have no need to procreate. This shows that the dilemma described by the Sadducees is false. The Sadducees accepted only the Pentateuch (Genesis-Deuteronomy) as Scripture, and so they dismissed resurrection texts like Is 26:19 and Dn 12:2. In order to convince them of the resurrection, Jesus needed to appeal to the books they revered. Thus he cited Ex 3:6,15-16, where God spoke to Moses from the burning bush, and he referred to the dead patriarchs in a manner that implied that they still existed, i.e., I am the God of Abraham rather than “I was the God of Abraham.”

22:34-39 Deuteronomy 6:4-5, known as the Shema, was recited several times daily by faithful Jews.

22:40 Deuteronomy 6:4 and Lv 19:18 summarized the essence of God’s demands in Scripture by calling individuals to love God and their fellow man (Mt 5:43-47).

22:41-42 After having been questioned by his opponents repeatedly (vv. 17,23-28,34-36), Jesus entrapped them with a question of his own. Son was used in ancient Greek and Hebrew to describe any male descendant. Due to several OT prophecies, the Christ was expected to be David’s descendant (see note at 1:1).

22:43-46 Psalm 110:1 describes Yahweh’s command to David’s Lord (Gk kurios; Hb ʼadon). “Lord” was a title of authority and/or deity that portrayed the Christ as David’s divine superior, not just his descendant. Psalm 110:1-4 is quoted more often in the NT than any other OT passage.