Luke 20:37-40 37But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed at the bush, as he says, “The Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob.” 38But he is not God of the dead but of the living, for all live to him.” 39Then in answering some of the scribes said, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40For they were no longer daring to ask him anything.
In the next part of his response, Jesus gives a more direct response to the position of the Sadducees that there is no resurrection. Resurrection is only mentioned in a few places in the Old Testament (Job 19:26; Psalm 16:9–11; Isaiah 26:19; and Daniel 12:2). Since the Sadducees followed only the Pentateuch (“Torah”), Jesus cites his example from the book of Exodus. The specific passage is from Exodus 3:6 and the story of the burning bush. The verb used for the dead rising is passive with God as the assumed actor, for only God can raise the dead.
Jesus’ logic is simple and is based on the grammar of the verse from Exodus. God spoke in the present tense, implying that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were alive. They could only be alive if they were resurrected in some form. The Sadducees believed people just died, and that was it. Jesus showed based on their favorite passage that there is some form of existence after death, otherwise, God would not have used the present tense. His response impressed the Sadducees who could not argue against his logic.
This passage shows how seriously Jesus took Scripture. He used it to refute his opponents, who thought they could trick Jesus into answering in a way that would get him in trouble. They could not argue against their own Scriptures. Resurrection is a reality that those who put their trust in God’s salvation through Jesus can place their hope.
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