They Cannot Die Anymore

by Edwin Crozier

When the Sadducees questioned Jesus about the resurrection in Luke 20:27-40, Jesus responded deftly and with wisdom. He demonstrated courage to stand up for truth in the face of opposition. He showed knowledge that trickery or foolishness could not assail.

He also showed that just because the person asking the question can’t imagine what the answer could be, it doesn’t mean there is no answer. In this case, Jesus, as God in the flesh, knew something about the resurrection which had not been revealed in Scripture. Those who attain to the resurrection of life neither marry nor are given in marriage. They become like the angels and are “sons of God.”

This vignette and the rest of the chapter make several points. But in the middle of Jesus’s explanation, He makes a brief statement that arrests my attention and fills me with hope and longing.

The resurrected do not marry and are not given in marriage “for they cannot die anymore” (Luke 20:36 ESV).

Wow! No death.

And if there is no death, there is nothing to fear. After all, when it boils down to it, aren’t most fears merely the extension of the fear of death? Why do I fear snakes if not the fact that I fear they will bite and kill me? Why do I fear heights except that I really fear falling from heights and dying? Why do I fear rejection and isolation if not that I fear these will, at least in a metaphorical sense if not a literal one, kill me? But if I cannot die and nothing can kill me, then everything I face will only make me stronger, right? I have nothing to fear.

That is the resurrection. No death. No fear.

And I’m looking forward to that. How about you?

But it’s only in Christ. If we can help you be in Christ, let us know.