THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO MATTHEW - Chapter 22 - Verse 31

Verses 31,32. As touching, etc. That is, in proof that the dead are raised. The passage which he quotes is recorded in Ex 3:6,15. This was at the burning bush, (Mark and Luke.) Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had been long dead when Moses spoke this: Abraham 329 years, Isaac 224, and Jacob 198. Yet God spoke then as being still their God. They must, therefore, be still somewhere living; for God is not the God of the dead—i. e., it is absurd to say that God rules over those who are extinct or annihilated—but he is the God only of those who have an existence. Luke adds, "All live unto him." That is, all the righteous dead; all of whom he can be properly called their God, live unto his glory. This passage does not prove directly that the dead body would be raised, but only by consequence. It proves that Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob had an existence then, or that their souls were alive, This the Sadducees denied, Ac 23:8. And this was the main point in dispute. If this was admitted—if there was a state of rewards and punishments—then it would easily follow that the bodies of the dead would be raised.