WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE DIE?
Opening Prayer
Thank you, faithful Father, for the many evidences of promises you have kept and for those yet to be fulfilled—in me, in the world, and in heaven.
Read LUKE 20:27–44
The Resurrection and Marriage
27 Some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to Jesus with a question. 28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man must marry the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a woman and died childless. 30 The second 31 and then the third married her, and in the same way the seven died, leaving no children. 32 Finally, the woman died too. 33 Now then, at the resurrection whose wife will she be, since the seven were married to her?”
34 Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God’s children, since they are children of the resurrection. 37 But in the account of the burning bush, even Moses showed that the dead rise, for he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’[a] 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to him all are alive.”
39 Some of the teachers of the law responded, “Well said, teacher!” 40 And no one dared to ask him any more questions.
Whose Son Is the Messiah?
41 Then Jesus said to them, “Why is it said that the Messiah is the son of David? 42 David himself declares in the Book of Psalms:
“‘The Lord said to my Lord:
“Sit at my right hand
43 until I make your enemies
a footstool for your feet.”’[b]
44 David calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?”
Footnotes
- Luke 20:37 Exodus 3:6
- Luke 20:43 Psalm 110:1
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
‘I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne; and the train of his robe filled the temple’ (Isaiah 6:1). Use this picture today to help you focus on God’s great glory.Understanding what happens when we die is one of mankind’s enduring questions. This passage doesn’t answer it fully, but it should fill us with hope.
Jesus showed the Sadducees that their thinking on this was too small. Heaven will not simply be an extension of this life, with its loss, loneliness, and lusts. We won’t need to produce children to continue our species. We won’t need the companionship of one ‘special’ person to keep us happy. And we will have pleasures far greater than sexual intercourse can offer. The apostle Paul tells us that marriage was given to us, at least in part, as a picture of the relationship between Christ and the church—the worldwide body of believers (Ephesians 5:32). We will neither want nor need another union when that one is complete.
All believers should remember that union with Christ is the ultimate goal—not marriage or any of the other good things we enjoy on earth—and we must live with that in mind.
Apply
What does the Bible speak to you about heaven? What first comes to mind?
Closing prayer
Lord, please help me recognize when I am getting caught up in worldly cares. Show me what it means to live in the light of my eternal future life with you.
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