We continue our meditation from yesterday on Jesus’ words in Luke, chapter 20, where Jesus discussed the eternal state. The Lord presented four ideas to the Sadducees, who mocked the concept of a resurrection. We examined the first one yesterday, and today we’ll look at the second and third. Here’s what Jesus said:
34Jesus replied, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37But in the account of the 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.' 38He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive" (Luke 20:34-38).
2) The Lord spoke of the resurrection as a fact (v. 35), and although the Sadducees only used the five books of Moses, Christ used those books to prove that the patriarchs are very much alive and are currently with the Lord. Moses demonstrated that the dead rise, because 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" (vs. 37-38). When God spoke those words to Moses, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had been dead for over 400 years. The Lord reminded the Sadducees that God didn’t say, “I was the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,” but instead used the present tense to speak of them as still very much alive after they had passed from this world.
The Sadducees found no evidence of resurrection in the five books of Moses, but they experienced a moment of realization when they understood Jesus' insight. After this debate, no one dared to ask Jesus any more questions. His arguments made the religious leaders question their own beliefs, and, on top of that, they were unable to persuade the crowd to stop following the Lord.
3) Jesus' third point to the Sadducees was that there is no death in the eternal state, for those considered worthy will be like the angels (v. 36). If we are to be like the angels, what does that mean? Angels are entrusted with great power. When the Assyrians attacked Jerusalem, King Hezekiah of Israel prayed to the Lord to deliver Jerusalem. God sent one angel. The power of one angel was enough to defeat an entire army!
Then the angel of the LORD went out and put to death a hundred and eighty-five thousand men in the Assyrian camp. When the people got up the next morning—there were all the dead bodies! (Isaiah 37:36).
The word "angel" means messenger. They are described as having a brilliant appearance. When people encounter angels in Scripture, their reaction is often one of fear and falling to the ground (Daniel 10:5-9). Meeting an angel can be overwhelming to our physical state. We could say much about the holiness, power, and character of angels, but suffice it to say that the believer in Christ, if he is to be like the angels, will have an extraordinary personality radiating the likeness of the Lord. Paul the Apostle told the Corinthian Church that God's people would be "sown in weakness" but "raised in power" (1 Corinthians 15:43). In the book of Daniel, the prophet states that those counted as worthy or wise will radiate light when the end comes, and the dead are raised:
2Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake: some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt. 3Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever (Daniel 12:2-3).
I don’t know about you, but I want that! Are you helping those around you come to receive Christ's righteousness? If you are, you have some wisdom! Keith Thomas
Shortened from the more extensive study at the following link: Questions About Eternity.