27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. 28 “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. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”
34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 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, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 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.’ 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
39 Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Read Luke 20:27-40 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
Have you ever wished for life to be like some point in the past?
Perhaps you remember “the good old days” and you’d like life to return to that simpler time, or perhaps you wished you could have been alive when Jesus was walking around on earth?
In this passage, we find a truth, just under the surface of what is said, that directly relates to these longings and questions.
In His response to the question about the resurrection, Jesus says in verses 37-38, “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.”
In His response, Jesus mentions someone who lived long ago (Moses), who referenced people who lived even longer before (Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob), and He makes the statement that God is not the God of the dead, but of the living. The strong implication here is to stop looking for God in the past, and start looking for Him in the present.
The Sadducees were focused and looking at how God moved and how He worked in the past, while at the same time ignoring and/or choosing to miss out on what He is choosing to do in the present. In Jesus’ response, which also deals with the issue of the resurrection, He also challenges these spiritual leaders on where they have placed their focus. Yes, God has worked in the past, but that doesn’t stop Him from working miracles today.
This truth is just as important for us living in the 21st century as it was for the Sadducees in the 1st century: God worked powerfully for 4,000ish years in the Old and New Testaments. It doesn’t make any sense for Him to stop there. If God worked then, and He doesn’t change, we should expect that He is still working today!
What are some ways that God has worked (or is currently working) in your life this decade?
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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