In the following article you will find a brief commentary on Luke 20 that goes along with our Riverside Church Two Year Bible Reading Plan (Volume 1 & Volume 2). This plan will allow you to read the New Testament and Psalms once every year and the Old Testament once every two years.
The God of the Living
Luke 20:37–38 (ESV)
37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”
The Sadducees attempt to trap Jesus in a debate concerning the resurrection. They oppose the idea, but Jesus is up for the challenge, teaching us several things along the way.
Marriage, and relationships in general, will be different in heaven. This may leave more questions than answers, but this much we know: relationships will be deeper and purer in Christ.
In terms of the resurrection, Jesus teaches us that God has proclaimed himself to be the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. God has attached himself to these patriarchs in covenant relationship. According to Jesus, this can only mean that they will live forever. The eternal God would not connect himself in such a meaningful way to those who are passing away. He is the God of the living!
This tells you and me that when we are in covenant with God through Christ, we are vitally connected to God and that we will live forever. It reminds us to pray for God’s kingdom to come and for us to set our minds on things above (Col. 3:1-4)
