“God of the Living”

Luke 20:27-38



Pastor Tom Johnson, November 10, 2013

A group of religious people come to Jesus to challenge the idea of life after death. They are the Sadducees. They deny that there’ll be a resurrection on the last day. They don’t believe in life after death. If you ever forget, one of my professors said the Sadducees believe you die and that’s it—that’s why they’re sad, you see? And so when they come to Jesus they aren’t really asking a question. They are making a mockery of the resurrection. They tell an absurd story:

A man and a woman get married. They do not have any children. The husband dies. And by Jewish custom, she marries his brother. He dies. And so, she marries another brother and he dies. And so on and so forth until she marries all seven brothers. And then she dies and they all end up together in heaven. Of course, this is all tongue in cheek because the Sadducees don’t believe in eternal life or any such place as heaven. Nevertheless, they ask Jesus, “When they all get to heaven, which of the seven brothers is the true husband?” “Whose wife will she be?” “When she enters through those pearly gates, Jesus, and she looks at the seven men before her, which of the seven men will she lock eyes with and say, ‘Hi honey, I’m home’? Of course, they are just poking fun at the whole idea of heaven. We could take the absurdity of this question in a number of directions. How are we going to settle our differences in heaven, White Sox fans…Cubs fans? Which party will it be in heaven—Republicans or Democrats? Or on a more serious note, how will Israelis and Arabs get along in heaven? How will French and Syrian politicians settle their differences?

When we lived in Dallas, I worked with troubled youth. I mentored two young men who were both high risk for gang activity. We would meet once a week and my primary responsibility was to be a friend to them. One of them was a good basketball player. At halftime of one of his games, I left the auditorium and entered the hallway. On my right was a long line of angry young men all dressed in blue. And on my left was another long line of angry young men all dressed in red. They were wagging their fingers in each other’s faces and mocking each other. And the anger was escalating as I was walking right in the middle of it. It was too late to turn around and I found myself right in the middle of a war zone. The schools set up metal detectors to weed out knives and guns so that the school could be a more safe and a gang free environment. But, as you might have guessed, it did not solve the problem. The violence continued without weapons. And so the schools began to keep students out of the schools who wore gang colors. But students found ways of showing their gang affiliation without colors—through hand signs, the way their shoes were tied, etc., etc. The Sadducees concept of heaven is like high school students passing through the front doors of their school…or like all of us who enter the workplace, our schools, airport terminals, and our homes only to bring all our problems with us.

Of course, the Sadducees have it all wrong. Jesus says we will be like angels in heaven. In other words, the life we live here in these mortal bodies and the life we live in heaven will not be the same. We’ll be transformed. We’ll have a new life and new bodies like angels in heaven. Heaven is not just a continuation of our earthly lives. If it were, the Sadducees would be right—heaven would just be greater chaos and confusion. When we enter into heaven proverbial gates, we won’t just check our guns, gang colors. We will check in everything that causes sin, sorrow, and division. Our hearts and our bodies will be made new and glorified. We will be perfect and sinless in body, heart, and mind. There will be no gang allegiances. There will be no jealously between husbands and wives because we will be transformed.

Jesus takes the Sadducees way back to Moses and the burning bush—a story that the Sadducees would have considered important and authoritative. He reminds them of what God said through that bush: “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” And then he asks, “Don’t you know that God is called by the name of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob? He is the God not of the dead but of the living.” The name of God and nature of God himself ensures eternal life. Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob live on in God’s economy. They may no longer dwell here on earth with us. But they are alive and kicking for joy in the Kingdom of God.

God is not the God of the dead. He is the God of the living. He is not the God of husband and wife conflict; he is the God of peace between sisters and brothers. God is not the God of one rival gang or another like the Bloods and Cripps; he is the God of those who have been purchased and renewed by the Blood and Body of Christ. God is not the God of Latinos, Asians, Blacks or Whites; he is the God of every nation, tribe, tongue, and people. God is not the God of Republicans or Democrats; he is the God of justice and truth. God is not the God of confusion; he is the God of peace. God is not the God who was overcome by death by crucifixion; he is the God who conquered death through the cross. God is not the God who remained lifeless in a tomb; he is the God who on the third day rose victorious over death. God is not the God of those who live with guilt; he is the God of those who live with forgiveness and the promise of eternal life. God is not the God of those who, when they die, remain lifeless in the grave; he is the God of those, who though absent from the body, are present with the Lord. God is not the God of mortals whose future is dark and void; he is the God of those who fill eternity with Christ’s light. God is not the God of the dead; he is the God of the living.