Now, there were seven brothers: the first married, but died without children.
The second married the woman, but also died childless. And then the third married her,
and in this same way all seven died, leaving no children. Last of all the woman died.
On the day of the resurrection, to which of them will the woman be a wife?
For all seven had her as a wife.” And Jesus replied, “Taking a husband or a wife is
proper to people of this world, but for those who are considered worthy of the world to come,
and of resurrection from the dead, there is no more marriage. Besides, they cannot die,
for they are like the angels. They are sons and daughters of God, because they are born
of the resurrection. Yes, the dead will be raised, as Moses revealed at the burning bush,
when he called the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.
For God is God of the living, and not of the dead, for to him everyone is alive.”
Some teachers of the law then agreed with Jesus, “Master, you have spoken well.”
They didn’t dare ask him anything else.
REFLECTION:
In early parts of the Old Testament, people assumed that they would live on
through their children—i.e., God’s promise to Jacob that his seed would be like the dust of the earth (Genesis 28:14).
As time passed, the Jewish people developed a belief in resurrection, in part,
because they believed that God would vindicate good men and women who died without
having enjoying the fruits of their goodness. The word resurrection does not appear
in the Old Testament, but the beginnings of the concept are found in Job 19:26;
Psalm 16:10; 49:15; Isaiah 25:8; 26:16-19; Daniel 12:2; and Hosea 13:14.
Ezekiel 37 tells of dry bones rising to life, but the image is that of the Jewish nation
rather than individuals. The idea of resurrection is further developed in the apocrypha (see 2 Maccabees 7).
© Copyright Bible Diary 2020