Luke 20:37-38

Luke 20:37-38

[37] Now  that  the dead  are raised,  even  Moses  shewed  at  the bush,  when  he calleth  the Lord  the God  of Abraham,  and  the God  of Isaac,  and  the God  of Jacob.  [38] For  not  a God  of the dead,  but  of the living:  for  all  live  unto him. 

What does Luke 20:37-38 Mean?

Contextual Meaning

Jesus also corrected the Sadducees by affirming that the dead rise. There is not just continuing conscious existence after death, as many Greeks believed. To prove His point Jesus cited a verse from the Pentateuch, which his critics respected greatly ( Exodus 3:6; cf. Acts 7:32). However the Sadducees had misinterpreted what Moses had written about God"s relationship to the patriarchs.
His point was that Moses spoke of God as presently being the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, all of whom had died. He inferred from this that God could only be their God then if they would rise from the dead eventually. God will raise all people eventually. All live to Him in that sense. Therefore "to Him all are alive" (NIV). Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob will experience resurrection at the Second Coming and will live in the kingdom as "sons of the resurrection" ( Luke 20:36).