Matthew 22:32 - Printer Friendly

ESV: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not God of the dead, but of the living.”

NIV: I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob'? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.'

NASB: ‘I AM THE God OF ABRAHAM, THE God OF ISAAC, AND THE God OF JACOB’? He is not the God of the dead, but of the living.'

CSB: I am 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."

NLT: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ So he is the God of the living, not the dead.'

KJV: I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.

NKJV: ‘I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”

Jesus has corrected the wrong assumptions built into a question put to Him by a group of Sadducees. Now He turns things around: using their own strategy against them. Their question attempted to use Scripture to prove something to be absurd, though the attempt failed. Christ is now showing a valid example, where Scripture proves that there is life after death. Since the Sadducees only accept the Pentateuch—the first five books of the Old Testament—Jesus makes the case for resurrection from the book of Exodus.

God spoke the words of Exodus 3:6 to Moses from a burning bush. Moses lived centuries after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died. And yet, as Jesus notes, God would not have described Himself as Jacob's God if Jacob had ceased to exist. He did not say "I was the God of Jacob," but claimed "I am the God of…" those patriarchs. Jesus insists that God is the God of the living and not the dead. This means Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob all still existed, in an afterlife.

Matthew records in verse 34 that Jesus silences the Sadducees with this. They had no response to His correction.

Matthew 22:23–33 contains another challenge for Jesus. This one comes from the Sadducees: a Jewish religious group that did not believe in an afterlife. Attempting to prove their view, they describe a hypothetical situation based on a requirement from the Law of Moses. A woman is married to seven brothers, one after another, as each dies and passes her on. Whose wife will she be in the resurrection? Jesus replies that the question is flawed: there is no marriage in the resurrection. He then references Scripture to show that the Lord is God of the living, including faithful patriarchs such as Abraham and Jacob. Parallel accounts are recorded in Mark 12:18–27 and Luke 20:27–40.

Continuing a dialogue with hostile religious leaders, Jesus tells a parable comparing the kingdom of heaven to a wedding feast which ends up being attended by those not initially invited. He answers trick questions about taxes, marriage, resurrection, and the Law of Moses. These responses are the source of common English idioms such as "render to Caesar…" and "many are called but few are chosen." Finally, Jesus asks how the Messiah can be both the son of David and the Lord of David. None can answer Him, so they stop challenging Him in public.

This chapter extends an exchange between Jesus and several groups of religious leaders in the temple. The previous chapter concluded with two parables about the failures of the religious leaders. This chapter begins with a third parable, about chosen guests who refuse to attend a wedding feast. Jesus then fields questions from several religious groups, who fail in their attempts to trip Him up. His wise and profound answers silence all of them. At this point, Jesus launches into a full-throated condemnation of the Pharisees in chapter 23.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.