MATTHEW 22

Jesus showed from the Scriptures that the spirits of God’s people are alive after death.

23 During that same day, some Sadducees came to Jesus. They are a Jewish sect who do not believe that people will become alive again after they die. They wanted to ask Jesus a question. 24 In order to discredit the idea that dead people will live again, they said to him, "Teacher, Moses wrote in the Scriptures, ‘If a man dies who did not have any children, his brother must marry the dead man’s widow in order that she can have a child by him. The child will be considered the descendant of the man who died, and in that way the dead man will have descendants.’ 25 Well, there were seven boys in a family living near us. The oldest one married someone. He and his wife did not have any children, and he died. So the second brother married the widow. But he also died without having a child. 26 The same thing happened to the third brother, and also to the other four brothers, who one by one married this same woman. 27 Last of all, the widow also died. 28 So, at the time when people are raised from the dead, which of the seven brothers do you think will be her husband? Keep in mind that they had all been married to her." 29 Jesus replied to them, "You are certainly wrong in what you are thinking. You do not know what is written in the Scriptures. You also do not know that God has the power to make people alive again. 30 The fact is that the woman will not be the wife of any of them, because after God causes all dead people to live again, no one will be married. Instead, people will be like the angels in heaven. They do not marry. 31 But as for dead people becoming alive again, God said something about that. ◄I’m sure you have read it./Have you not read it?► [RHQ] Long after Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had died, God said to Moses, 32 ‘I am the God whom Abraham worships and the God whom Isaac worships and the God whom Jacob worships.’ It is not dead people who worship God. It is living people who worship him. Abraham, Isaac and Jacob died long before Moses lived, but God said that they were still worshipping him, so we know their spirits were still alive!"

33 When the crowds of people heard Jesus teach that, they were amazed.