Eternal Life and the God of the Living

And Sadducees came to him, who say that there is no resurrection. And they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring. And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise. And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife.” Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. And as for the dead being raised, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the passage about the bush, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living. You are quite wrong.”
Mark 12:18–27
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Eternal Life and the God of the Living
The Sadducees, who deny the resurrection, challenge Jesus with a hypothetical question about marriage in the afterlife. Jesus responds by emphasizing their misunderstanding of both the Scriptures and God's power. He reveals that in the resurrection, people will neither marry nor be given in marriage; instead, they will be like the angels in heaven. Jesus then declares, "He is not the God of the dead, but of the living." This profound statement reassures us that our God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, is the God of life. Like the Sadducees, people today want to limit God to doing what makes sense to them, as if human limitations or reason could bind Him! Despite these things, God keeps His promises to us. He rescues His people even from death and raises all believers in Christ to eternal life.  Our hope is not limited to this earthly existence; it extends beyond the grave. Jesus' resurrection guarantees our future resurrection, where we will experience the fullness of life in His presence. As we navigate our daily struggles and uncertainties, let us find comfort in knowing that our God is the God of the living. We are assured of eternal life through Christ. In Him, we have the promise of a new, glorified existence, free from the constraints of this world, united with Him forever.