Luke 20:27-40
The God of the Living
Read the passage
27Then some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to question Him.
28“Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him.
29Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a wife but died childless.
30Then the second
31and the third married the widow, and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children.
32And last of all, the woman died.
33So then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.”
34Jesus answered, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.
35But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.
36In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God.
37Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
38He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”
39Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well!”
40And they did not dare to question Him any further.
Berean Standard Bible
Read aloud
Some Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, come to Jesus with a question. They describe seven brothers. The first marries a woman and dies childless. The second and then the third marry her, and eventually all seven die without children.
They ask whose wife she will be in the resurrection. Jesus says the children of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those considered worthy to attain the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage.
They can no longer die; in this respect they are like the angels. Jesus calls them sons of God and sons of the resurrection. He describes a life that death can no longer interrupt, not people becoming angels. Jesus then argues from Moses and the bush: the Lord is the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He is not God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him. God's relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is not erased by their deaths. Jesus points his challengers back to the very Scriptures they have invoked.
Some scribes answer that Jesus has spoken well. No one dares to ask Him another question. The resurrection is not simply an extension of every earthly arrangement; it is life in God's presence beyond death.
How We Know
At the burning bush, God identifies himself to Moses as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exodus 3:6). Jesus cites that declaration in his answer about resurrection and explains that God is the God of the living. His argument draws on Moses, whose teaching the questioners themselves had appealed to.
Questions
1 What do the Sadducees deny?
AnswerThey deny the resurrection and construct a question about a woman who has been married to seven brothers.
2 What does Jesus say about marriage in the resurrection?
AnswerHe says those who share in the resurrection neither marry nor are given in marriage. They also can no longer die.
3 How does Jesus use Moses' words?
AnswerHe points to the Lord being called the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, showing that God is God of the living.
4 What does the passage promise about death?
AnswerThose who attain the resurrection cannot die anymore and are children of God. Resurrection is a new order of life, not merely a repaired version of this age.
What This Means for Us
Jesus does not answer grief by making marriage or earthly love unimportant. He says resurrection brings people into a life whose relationships and conditions exceed our present categories.
Families can hope in resurrection without pretending to know every detail. Let that hope make present love more faithful, not less, because God cares about every person now.
Prayer
God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, strengthen our hope in the resurrection. Comfort households grieving death, teach us to honor present relationships, and keep our future confidence rooted in Your life-giving power. Amen.