There is a story in John’s Gospel, which we will read on Sunday, where Jesus is talking to some religious leaders called Sadducees. They came to Jesus with a question meant to trap Him – a riddle about marriage in the resurrection. They did not believe in life after death, so they posed a question they thought had no answer. Jesus however responds not with confusion, but with clarity.
“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
In those few words, Jesus reveals something profound – not only about eternal life, but about the nature of God Himself.
The Sadducees saw life as something that ended at the grave. They believed that once this life was over, all was over. Many people today think the same way – that death has the final say, that loss is the end of the story.
Jesus says, No. Our God is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living. Even those who have passed from this world are not lost to Him.
When we stand beside the graves of loved ones, when we feel the weight of grief, we can remember this truth: In God eyes, no one who belongs to Him is ever truly gone. The love of God does not stop at the cemetery gates. His presence reaches beyond the boundaries of time and death.
Jesus reminds the Sadducees that in the resurrection, people “neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like the angels.” In other words, life with God is not bound by the limits of this world. It is life transformed – life perfected in His presence.
The same God who breathed life into what we think is lost. The same power that raised Jesus from the tomb will one day raise us also.
So, when life feels uncertain, when the world feels broken or divided, we can take courage in God’s power to create, to renew, has no limits.
Perhaps the most beautiful line in this passage is Jesus’ closing statement: “For to Him, all are alive.”
The resurrection is not just a promise for the end of time – it is a truth that shapes how we live right now. Let us walk with confidence and faith. For the, One who spoke to Moses from the burning bush, is still our God today. Because He lives, we too shall live.
Title: The Pharisees and the Sadducees Come to Tempt Jesus; Date: ca. 1886-1894; Artist: James Tissot (1836-1902); Building: Brooklyn Museum; Object/Function: Painting; City/Town: New York City; State: NY; Country: United States; Scripture: Luke 20:27-38. Permalink: https://diglib.library.vanderbilt.edu/act-imagelink.pl?RC=59094. (Use this link to refer back to this image.)
