Luke 20:38
Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
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Luke 20:38
Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”
English Standard Version (ESV)
This page isn't yet indexed by search engines.
Jesus reveals that God's relationship isn't with those who have ceased to exist, but with those who live eternally in His presence. The phrase "for all live to him" emphasizes that even those who have died to our world are still very much alive and connected to God, proving their continued existence.
Jesus is responding to a tricky question from the Sadducees, who didn't believe in a resurrection or any spiritual existence after death. They set up a hypothetical scenario about a woman married to seven brothers to try and disprove the resurrection. Jesus turns their own argument around by quoting from Moses, showing that God identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob even long after they had died.
The Sadducees tried to trap Jesus with a tricky question about marriage in the afterlife. Jesus' answer cuts right to the heart of who God is.
Jesus confronts the Sadducees' disbelief in the resurrection by highlighting a fundamental truth about God's nature.
A God of the Living
When God introduced Himself to Moses at the burning bush, He said, 'I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob' (Exodus 3:6). Jesus points out that God doesn't call Himself the God of the dead. Why? Because the very title 'God' implies a relationship that requires life. A relationship isn't sustained with those who have ceased to exist.
The Sadducees' Blindness
The Sadducees, who denied any resurrection or existence beyond death, couldn't grasp this. They saw death as an end. But Jesus reveals that God's relationship with His people transcends death. For God, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are not 'dead' in the way the Sadducees understood it. Their existence continues in relationship with Him.
Jesus doesn't just say God isn't the God of the dead. He adds a powerful statement about everyone who is connected to Him. What does 'all live to him' really mean?
The phrase 'for all live to him' is the crucial key that unlocks the truth about the afterlife and God's eternal perspective.
Life Beyond Physical Death
This means that for God, those who belong to Him are not truly 'dead.' Their existence continues, and their relationship with God is unbroken. While they may be dead to us in this world, they are very much alive to God.
God's Timeless Perspective
From God's perspective, time doesn't work like it does for us. He sees the past, present, and future all at once. Therefore, for Him, the covenant relationship He has with His people is an ever-present reality. They live in His presence, experiencing His life, even if their physical bodies have perished. This reality is the very foundation of the resurrection hope.
This verse is Jesus' powerful rebuttal to the Sadducees' denial of the resurrection. By pointing to God's unchanging covenantal relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, Jesus shows that for God, these patriarchs (and by extension, all believers) are not 'dead' in a final sense, but alive to Him, proving that the resurrection is a foundational truth of Scripture.
c. 2000 BC
God's Covenant with Abraham
God establishes a foundational covenant with Abraham, promising to be his God and the God of his descendants. This covenant forms the basis of Jesus' argument.
c. 1446 BC
The Exodus and the Burning Bush
During the Exodus, God speaks to Moses from the burning bush, identifying Himself as 'the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.' This event is central to Jesus' proof text.
c. 1500-1400 BC
The Law of Moses (Deuteronomy)
The Book of Deuteronomy, attributed to Moses, contains laws like the one concerning levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5), which the Sadducees use to challenge Jesus.
c. 1st century BC - 1st century AD
Rise of Sadduceeism
The Sadducees, a Jewish sect, gain influence. They reject the oral traditions and the concept of a future resurrection and the existence of spirits, focusing only on the written Torah.
This is the passage Jesus directly quotes from in his argument, showing God's relationship to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob as a demonstration of His being the God of the living.
Matthew 22:32This is the parallel account in Matthew, where Jesus uses the same argument from Exodus to refute the Sadducees and establish the resurrection.
Romans 4:17Paul echoes the idea that God 'calls into existence the things that do not exist,' which relates to God's power to call the 'dead' to life and sustain life in His presence, as Jesus implies.
Hebrews 11:16This passage connects the patriarchs' desire for a 'better country' with God being their God, highlighting that they lived in anticipation of a heavenly existence, thus living to God.
1 Peter 4:6Peter speaks of the gospel being proclaimed even to those who are dead in the flesh but live in the spirit according to God, reflecting the idea that all live to Him.
clarkeLuke 20:38: "For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him."
All live unto him - There is a remarkable passage in Josephus's account of the Maccabees, chap. xvi., which proves that the best informed Jews believed that the souls of righteous men were in the presence of God in a state of happiness. "They who lose their lives for the sake of God, Live unto God, as do Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and the rest of the patriarchs." And one not less remarkable in Shemoth Rabba…
bengelLuke 20:38: "For he is not a God of the dead, but of the living: for all live unto him."
Luke 20:38 . Πάντες , all ) Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, and all of whom God is the God, but who are dead to men. To men they are dead; whereas to Him, αὐτῷ , viz. God, they live.— γὰρ , for ) This is the very kind of conclusion in which the particle therefore (inferential) might have been expected. But instead of it, for is put down, as in Romans 3:28 .[220] The for is used in this sense: Argumentation has b…
Jesus reveals that God's relationship isn't with those who have ceased to exist, but with those who live eternally in His presence. The phrase "for all live to him" emphasizes that even those who have died to our world are still very much alive and connected to God, proving their continued existence.
Jesus is responding to a tricky question from the Sadducees, who didn't believe in a resurrection or any spiritual existence after death. They set up a hypothetical scenario about a woman married to seven brothers to try and disprove the resurrection. Jesus turns their own argument around by quoting from Moses, showing that God identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob even long after they had died.
Jesus is responding to a tricky question from the Sadducees, who didn't believe in a resurrection or any spiritual existence after death. They set up a hypothetical scenario about a woman married to seven brothers to try and disprove the resurrection. Jesus turns their own argument around by quoting from Moses, showing that God identifies Himself as the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob even long after they had died.
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c. AD 30-33— this verse
Jesus' Ministry and Teaching
Jesus teaches and debates with various Jewish groups, including the Sadducees, about the resurrection and the nature of God's kingdom.
"Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.”" — Jesus reveals that God's relationship isn't with those who have ceased to exist, but with those who live eternally in His presence. The phrase "for all live to him" emphasizes that even those who hav…