The God of the Living
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Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. The second and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. Finally, the woman died too. Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”
Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Trick Questions
Trick Questions
Sadducees-materialist skeptics focused on life now.
Pharisees- populist sect concerned with teaching everyone, embracing Resurrection, Angels, Spirits and the whole OT.
Resurrection Conundrum
Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”
It’s really a standard joke among the Sadduccees and others. They had a few more, but this one was apparently their favorite. You can hear them chuckling as they ask the question. Probably high-fiving each other, too. Aren’t they clever? They aren’t looking for an answer because they don’t believe one is possible. That’s what happens when you get too sure of yourself but haven’t kept reading and learning God’s Word deeply.
We also question God to avoid dealing with God.
We also question God to avoid dealing with God.
We get very at home here in this fallen reality.
We want to hold onto relationships as we understand them.
We don’t like the unknown.
Jesus offers a new and living way
Jesus offers a new and living way
Extends all the way back to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob…even Moses left clues for us...
But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’
Jesus speaks with authority and clarity even on complex issues.
Marriage in the Kingdom—not the main point but a deep point. Marriage is for now and can be a great blessing. But it has to do with earthly realities. It doesn’t extend exactly the same way into the fullness of the Kingdom of God.
Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection.
In the Age to come, God’s people won’t be subject to death. Marriage won’t be the same. If you have a great marriage that may pinch just a little bit. But I think Jesus is telling us this: life in the age to come will be better in every way, not less.
The good news is people didn’t have to wait until they die to experience God, but that experience is made more full knowing the best is yet to come! Jesus literally offers us resurrection life as we follow His lead.
We worship the God of the Living
We worship the God of the Living
Sometimes we get hung up on grief. I’ve presided over too many funerals, including both my parents. The older we get the more we are aware that we will die unless the Lord returns. But Jesus points us to a better future with a new body. A whole new resurrection reality yet to come!
He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
I can’t pretend to know more than the Bible says about life after death. There are hints of an intermediate state where we rest in God until the fullness of the resurrection. But we don’t become disembodied immortal souls finally free of a body. That’s a pagan idea. The Bible teaches a true bodily resurrection from the dead. Whatever is in between, what Jesus would have us focus on is the fullness of resurrection. We see that Jesus is proven right in declaring the resurrection to be true when he was raised with a glorious new body that bore the scars he suffered for all of us.
Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Probably the Pharisees are the one who applauded Jesus’ answer. But his actual resurrection is what validated his clear teaching.
Today—we can experience and serve the God of the living! The God of resurrection hope. He starts rebuilding your life from the ground up when you surrender to him. And it just never stops until he’s raised you to heavenly realms of spiritual blessings and physical and emotional healing now. But even more so it will just never stop until he raises your body from the grave and restores it to be a glorious new body. That is our hope!
Better in every way! He’s the God of the living. So learn to grieve properly: never losing sight of resurrection hope. And learn to live in that reality: trusting Jesus to handle life and death. Live in the power of the God of the living. The God of resurrection power. The God of new life.