“I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob” (Exodus 3:6). God is not the God of the dead, but of the living.”
Jesus quotes God’s word from Exodus (Exodus 3:6): “I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.” Through this statement He shows that the reality of the resurrection is confirmed in that very expression. If God speaks in the present tense, saying, “I am,” it means that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob were alive before God at the time when these words were spoken by God to Moses, and therefore they are alive now and always, even though they have died in the body. If God is called their God, then they continue to exist in God’s presence. With these words Jesus reveals the divine foundation of the resurrection: death does not cut a person off from God. Those who belong to Him live forever, because the bond with God is not limited by the end of bodily life. This word becomes the highest testimony of the resurrection: it confirms that those united to God by faith share in God’s living presence. Thus, the Lord not only answers the Sadducees’ question, but also reveals the deep mystery of eternal life as the unbreakable union of God and man.