“In the resurrection,

Then,

Whose wife

Of the seven brothers

Will she be?

All of them

Had married her.”

 

ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει οὖν τίνος τῶν ἑπτὰ ἔσται γυνή; πάντες γὰρ ἔσχον αὐτήν.

 

This kicker question of the Sadducees can also be found in Mark, chapter 12:23, and in Luke, chapter 20:33, almost word for word.  This story with the 7 brothers married to one woman was the set up for this question about the afterlife.  Whose wife would she be among these 7 brothers?  They were testing Jesus and questioning the concept of the resurrection after death.  In the resurrection (ἐν τῇ ἀναστάσει οὖν), whose wife of the 7 brothers would she be (τίνος τῶν ἑπτὰ ἔσται γυνή).  All 7 of them had married her (πάντες γὰρ ἔσχον αὐτήν).  They assumed that the afterlife would be a continuation of this present earthly life.  How was Jesus going to answer their tricky question?