God of the Living
“He is not the God of the dead, but of the living” – Matthew 22:32
Jesus was confronted by the Saducees (a Jewish religious sect who did not believe in the resurrection of the dead, accepting only the first five books of the Law, called the Pentateuch as God’s Word, believing you died, and that was it). They wanted to challenge Jesus’ acceptance and teaching of the resurrection of the dead by posing a tough hypothetical question about a woman marrying consecutive brothers after each died and asking the question, “at the resurrection, who’s wife will she be of the seven, since all of them were married to her (Matt. 22:28)?” They thought they would stump Jesus, however, Jesus set them straight by sharing that there is no marriage in heaven. This may come as a disappointment to some, because they love their spouse so much,. This also implies that their will no longer be sexual intercourse either, (we will be like angels), again a disappointment for some. However, in heaven we will not need such intimate, loving affection because we will be in the presence of love himself. God’s love pervades heaven, and he is ever present with us. Marriage and sexual intimacy are merely earthly substitutes for lack of full intimacy with God. In the Garden of Eden, God made woman out of Man because man was lonely. Even in Eden, God’s loving presence was not enough because man was not in a Heavenly body and heavenly state. However in heaven we will be in complete and full relationship with God, seeing him face to face, and therefore no longer need the physical intimacy of others we needed on earth.
That does bring up the point, why are we so focused on sex, sexuality, and marriage here and now, when it will not be part of our eternal existence, it is not part of our eternal identity? Our eternal identity is beloved child of God. If this is our eternal destiny, then why do we feel that singleness is a curse and not a blessing (as Paul argued it was in 1 Cor. 7:8), or that sexual intimacy withheld is some kind of cruel repressive joke (as our over sexualized, permissive culture constantly shoves in our face). It is not, these can be gifts to help us draw near to and serve God, as we will be for eternity.
Jesus also made a profound statement, that God is not the God of the dead but the living. Meaning that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were alive and present with God (as Jesus specifically stated in his story of the rich man and Lazarus). Life after death was a reality. The Saducees were wrong in their belief that there was not life after death and no resurrection of the dead. Jesus’ own resurrection from the dead proved the truth, that we live even though our bodies die. One day Jesus will return, he will bring those believers who had died along with those believers still alive at that time, to be with him forever (1 These. 4:13-18), while those who do not believe will go to eternal condemnation in the eternal lake of fire (Rev. 20:12-15). In other words they will live on forever as well, just not in the new heaven and earth.