27 Some of the Sadducees came to Jesus, those who deny that there is a resurrection. 28 They asked him, “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies having a wife, and he is childless, his brother should take the wife, and raise up children for his brother. 29 There were therefore seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died childless. 30 The second took her as wife, and he died childless. 31 The third took her, and likewise the seven all left no children, and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 Therefore in the resurrection whose wife of them will she be? For the seven had her as a wife.”

34 Jesus said to them, “The children of this age marry, and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage. 36 For they can’t die any more, for they are like the angels, and are children of God, being children of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, when he called the Lord ‘The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 Now he is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for all are alive to him.”

39 Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you speak well.” 40 They didn’t dare to ask him any more questions.

Luke 19:1-10 - World English Bible

In the series of controversies at the Temple, Jesus engaged his opponents. In this encounter, he debated belief in the resurrection of the dead with the Sadducees. This group of priests and city officials launched a “reductio ad absurdum” attack, using a duty in the Law to create a condition that broke the Law. Deuteronomy 25:5 imposed an obligation upon a man to marry the widow of his heirless brother to continue that brother's line. If a line of brothers died without a son, then rose, their existence would create a condition of adultery (Exodus 20:14, Deuteronomy 5:18). After all, who could claim the woman as his wife? Since, YHWH would not allow one law to break another (the Law was perfect, see Psalm 19:8), he would not create such a condition. Hence, according to their logic, there was no resurrection.

Jesus countered in two ways. First, he denied the existence of marriage in the afterlife, thereby denying the Sadducees of their premise. Second, he grounded the afterlife in the initial revelation of YHWH, the speaking of his holy name when Moses encountered the burning bush. Jews worshiped their deity as the "living God" and those who gave him praise were alive for him. In other words, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob lived (imagine the Sadducees claiming the fathers of their faith died; implicitly, they would claim their God died with their fathers in faith). If they lived, so would the just at the end of time in the resurrection of the dead.

Reflect on the resurrection of the dead. How does that tenet of the faith strengthen you?