What is the meaning of Luke 20:37? Even Moses demonstrates Jesus is answering the Sadducees, who deny the resurrection (Luke 20:27). By reaching back to Moses, whom they revere, He turns their own foundational authority against their error. Just as Stephen later did (Acts 7:32), the Lord points to Exodus 3:6, showing that Moses himself recorded evidence for life beyond the grave. • Luke 20:37 parallels Matthew 22:31 and Mark 12:26, reinforcing the same argument in all three Synoptic Gospels. • John 5:45-47 reminds us that Moses wrote about Christ; here Christ shows that Moses also wrote about resurrection. that the dead are raised The heart of the verse is resurrection hope. Scripture consistently teaches that death is not the end. • Job 19:25-27 speaks of standing in the flesh after death. • Isaiah 26:19 declares, “Your dead will live; their bodies will rise.” • Daniel 12:2 promises that “many who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake.” • Jesus will later confirm, “He is not the God of the dead, but of the living” (Luke 20:38), underscoring that covenant life goes on past the grave. in the passage about the burning bush Exodus 3:6: “I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.” Moses hears these words centuries after the patriarchs died, yet God speaks of them in the present tense. • God’s self-revelation “I AM WHO I AM” (Exodus 3:14) conveys timeless existence; He sustains His people beyond time’s reach. • Mark 12:26 specifically names “the account of the burning bush,” anchoring the resurrection doctrine in a well-known narrative rather than an obscure text. for he calls the Lord Moses intentionally names the covenant LORD (YHWH) in relation to the patriarchs. The living God binds Himself to living people. • Matthew 22:32 highlights the verb tense: “I am” rather than “I was.” • Hebrews 11:16 says, “God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them.” The present connection anticipates their future resurrection inheritance. ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ Each patriarch received personal promises that were not fully realized during his earthly life (Genesis 26:24; 28:13). Resurrection is the only way God can literally fulfill every covenant word. • Romans 4:17-24 uses Abraham’s faith to illustrate that God “gives life to the dead.” • Hebrews 11:13-19 notes that the patriarchs “died in faith,” looking forward to a better country—one they will enter bodily when raised. summary Jesus cites Moses to prove that resurrection is woven into the very fabric of the Law. Because God still calls Himself the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, those men must still live; therefore all who belong to Him can trust that the dead are raised. The burning bush scene is more than history—it is a promise that God’s covenant faithfulness extends beyond the grave and will culminate in bodily resurrection for His people. |
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