For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him

 

 Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.

 

- Luke 20:27–40 

 

Yesterday we read that, after Jesus told a parable against them, the chief priests and the scribes that very hour sought to lay hands on Him, but they feared the people -- for they knew He had spoken this parable against them.  So they watched Him, and sent spies who pretended to be righteous, that they might seize on His words, in order to deliver Him to the power and the authority of the governor.  Then they asked Him, saying, "Teacher, we know that You say and teach rightly, and You do not show personal favoritism, but teach the way of God in truth:  Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?"  But He perceived their craftiness, and said to them, "Why do you test Me?  Show Me a denarius.  Whose image and inscription does it have?"  They answered and said, "Caesar's."  And He said to them, "Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's."  But they could not catch Him in His words in the presence of the people.  And they marveled at His answer and kept silent.

 

  Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, saying:  "Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother.  Now there were seven brothers.  And the first took a wife, and died without children.  And the second took her as wife, and he died childless.  Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died.  Last of all the woman died also.  Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become?  For all seven had her as wife."  Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.  But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.  But even Moses showed in the burning bush passage that the dead are raised, when he called the Lord 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.'  For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Then some of the scribes answered and said, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  But after that they dared not question Him anymore.  My study Bible explains that the Sadducees were members of the high-priestly and landowning class around Jerusalem, forming a type of aristocracy.  They controlled the temple and internal political affairs of the Jews, holding many high offices.  They denied the resurrection of the dead and the existence of angels, and had no messianic hope beyond earthly life.  They interpreted the Law even more strictly than did the Pharisees.  My study Bible comments that here Christ confirms that there will be a resurrection.  But it is not of the sort that the Sadducees imagine.  They think the resurrection is meant to be a continuation of earthly life (including earthly marriage), and so they mock this doctrine with an absurd scenario.  But, as Jesus says, they are ignorant of the Scriptures, which reveal a complete transfiguration of life in the resurrection, rendering their questions irrelevant.  Moreover, they don't understand how Abraham and his sons can be alive in God even if they are physically dead.  My study Bible says that it is the clear teaching of Christ that the souls of the faithful who have departed this life are sustained before the face of God in anticipation of the final joy of the resurrection.

Today's passage gives us a bit of a glimpse into the state of religious life at the time of Christ.  Note that it includes at the conclusion of Christ's response to the Sadducees that the scribes tell Him, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  It's good to understand the difference between the different classes in the temple, such as the Pharisees and Sadducees, for their emphasis and outlook differed from one another, and there were disputes over the principles of the Law and interpretation of Scripture, even among the Pharisees themselves.  So Judaism and the state of religious practice and understanding was not a monolith, but one in which there was vigorous debate over the issues of the time (notably, divorce was one of those subjects of debate).  The Sadducees, as a landowning aristocratic class, and in contrast to the Pharisees, adapted to the presence of the Romans.  Their focus was much more "earthly," indeed.  So this question about the man, his wife, and seven brothers comes in that context -- and we can see its "earthly" emphasis, and concerns with inheritance and, essentially, ownership.  There is also the matter of Scriptural understanding and interpretation.  In Matthew's version of this scenario, Jesus' first criticism of the Sadducees is about their lack of spiritual and Scriptural knowledge.  He says to them, "You are mistaken, not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God" (Matthew 22:29).  So, in this understanding, we can look at Christ's response in yesterday's reading (above), in which He refuses to be pinned down to choose between two sides of a dilemma, and see something similar happening here.  Jesus not only offers more insight about resurrection, but He also brilliantly shows a proper interpretation of Scripture, referring to the declaration of God to Moses, "I am the God of your father—the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob" (see Exodus 3:1-5, 15).  In the declaration of God's name (I AM) also is the present tense understanding of existence in the resurrection, "For He is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him." It is this understanding of interpreting and reading the Scripture which the scribes praise with admiration when they say, "Teacher, You have spoken well."  It's an important lesson to understand the diversity that even existed in the temple at this time, in which many questions were debated and considered (even, if we look at literature of the period, the notion that God may have consisted of more than one Person).  But, like those in yesterday's reading (see above) who sought to trick Him said in their attempt at flattery, Jesus is one who says and teaches rightly, and does not show personal favoritism, but teaches the way of God in truth, and we are meant to emulate Him.  It doesn't matter what "sides" there are, Jesus does not give in to a dilemma, to following a political party of one sort or another, to twisting religious truth to match one side or another in a debate, or to curry favor with either Sadducee or Pharisee or scribe or anyone else.  Jesus tells the truth, and He won't skimp on His mission of bringing the gospel to the people, and the spiritual truth to the world -- and that's what He does.  Whether He is telling the Sadducees that they don't know the Scripture, or giving a concise and brilliant exegesis of what it means that God "is" the God of the living, He tells the truth, and His goal is not challenging the Sadducees nor impressing the scribes.  He tells the truth when it is the time to do so, and He says what is needed.  So let us attempt in our lives to put God first, and in that context, say and do what we need to say and do, and leave off what is unnecessary.  Let's not look for unnecessary debates, or missions that seem to have nothing to do with where God would call us, or with even being the person God calls us to be.  Let us learn to be like Him.  For what other reason did He come into this world but to teach us to do so?  Let us learn from Him, and be like Him.  If we observe carefully, Jesus is surrounded by people who feel they have a lot to lose, and so do not want to change anything.  The Sadducees hold tightly to their own inherited wealth and positions and cannot understand Scripture nor its interpretation as Christ shows them, but also the Pharisees and scribes -- who have more perspectives in common with Jesus than the others do -- cling to their own places and their hypocrisy, and Jesus will reserve His strongest criticism for them.  But Jesus asks us to resist such impulses and hold fast to what is more important, to our faith and to loving God, and follow that where it leads us, follow Him.  This applies to us today as much as it did to the ones to whom Jesus speaks, who would face such terrible losses within a generation.  Let us learn from Him, as Jesus teaches Himself, that God "is not the God of the dead but of the living, for all live to Him."  Let us be like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and live our faith, here and now.  Let us be those for whom our God is the God of the living and not the dead, for of such is the kingdom of God, and we live to Him.