At the time of Jesus, there were already rationalists who questioned or even completely denied life after death. This included the religious group of the Sadducees. The Sadducees did not believe in the resurrection of the dead. For them death is a form of nihilism, the end of the road for every human being. To back up their belief, these scholars posed what appeared to be a complicated question. The starting point of their question was the hypothetical case of a woman who was successively married to seven brothers, all of whom died leaving no children. The provocative question to Jesus was then: “Whose wife will she be after the resurrection? All seven of them had her for a wife.”
Jesus began his answer by faulting their presumption that the life after death would be like the present life. He then stressed the fact that at the resurrection, there would be no more need for marriage because the resurrected would be like the angels, who have no need of marriage. By this statement, Jesus confirmed the reality of life beyond the grave: Resurrection is a fact and not a fancy. Consequently, death is not a nihilistic phenomenon. It is rather a transition to a more profound existence.
Indisputable Reality
This explanation of Jesus is consistent with the traditional Jewish belief in the resurrection, as clearly explained in the book of Maccabees. The final and unequivocal confirmation that resurrection is an indisputable reality is provided by the resurrection of Jesus himself. Anyone who experiences death will obviously experience resurrection. Our life will never end. We must rise after death at the appointed time. However, life after resurrection will not be the same for everyone.
According to the Prophet Daniel: “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt.” (12:2). Jesus also said: “A time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned.” (Jn. 5:28-29).
The second group mentioned in the citations will also be raised from the dead. However, unlike the first group, they will not rise to eternal life but to judgment, to eternal death because they persisted in sin and died without turning back to God and seeking his mercy. At the resurrection, therefore they will rise to be banished forever from the presence of God. For God is the God of the living and not of the dead.
What Must I Do?
This is the harsh and frightening truth about human fate, which many, like the Sadducees, evade, controvert, or even out rightly deny. However, the attitude of people to this reality does not change its truth-value. No amount of intellectual rationalization can change this divinely ordained course of human existence. Instead of living in denial of this reality, one should ask oneself: “What must I do to be among those who will rise to eternal life and thereby escape eternal death?”
The answer to this question is contained in the first reading of today taken from the second book of the Maccabees. In this story, seven brothers defended their faith in the Almighty God with their lives. In the struggle against evil, against injustice and contempt for God, they endured to the end. With great courage, born out of the hope of eternal life, they gave blood testimony for what is right. These seven brothers stand as shining examples to our Christian calling. Their courage reminds us that cowards have no place in the kingdom of God (cf. Rev. 21:8).
