“And as touching the dead, that they rise: have ye not read in the book of Moses, how in the bush God spake unto him, saying, I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?”
My Notes
What Does Mark 12:26 Mean?
"I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." Jesus quotes Exodus 3:6 to the Sadducees as proof of resurrection. His argument hinges on the verb tense: God says "I am" — present tense — the God of Abraham. Not "I was." If Abraham is dead and gone, God would use past tense. The present tense implies Abraham is still alive. And if Abraham is alive after death, resurrection is real.
The argument is brilliant because it works within the Sadducees' own limitations: they only accept the Torah (the five books of Moses). Jesus finds resurrection evidence in Exodus — a book they can't dismiss. He doesn't need Isaiah or Daniel. He finds the truth in their own accepted text.
The theological principle is deeper than grammar: God doesn't identify Himself as the God of the dead. He's the God of the living (verse 27). His relationship with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob is ongoing, not concluded. Death didn't end the covenant; the covenant implies continued existence.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does God's present-tense relationship with Abraham teach about life after death?
- 2.How does finding resurrection proof in the Sadducees' own Scripture change the debate?
- 3.What does 'God of the living, not the dead' mean for your relationship with Him?
- 4.How does the verb tense 'I AM' carry the weight of eternal relationship?
Devotional
I AM the God of Abraham. Not I WAS. Present tense. Which means Abraham isn't past tense either.
Jesus demolishes the Sadducees' denial of resurrection with two words: "I am." The grammar is the theology. If God currently IS Abraham's God — present tense, active relationship, ongoing covenant — then Abraham currently IS alive. Dead people don't have present-tense relationships. The alive-ness of the relationship proves the alive-ness of the person.
The brilliance is that Jesus finds this in Exodus — the only Scripture the Sadducees accept. He doesn't need prophetic texts they'd reject. He finds resurrection embedded in the Torah they claim to believe. The proof was always in their own book. They just never read it carefully enough.
The deeper truth: God is the God of the living, not the dead. His relationships don't terminate at death. The covenant He made with Abraham isn't over because Abraham's body is in a cave. The covenant is alive because Abraham is alive. Death doesn't close God's accounts.
This means your relationship with God doesn't end at death either. The God who says "I am your God" is using present tense eternally. The relationship you have with Him now continues beyond the grave — because He is the God of the living.
The verb tense is the gospel. I AM — not I was — your God.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
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Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture