ISB ~ Matthew 22 v32

Abraham … Isaac … Jacob:The Sadducees lack faith in God’s power and thus misinterpret Scripture. At another level, Jesus’ controversy with the Sadducees may also involve the canon of the Bible. The Sadducees accepted only the five books of Moses (Gen-Deut) as Sacred Scripture and rejected the full authority of the OT prophets. Jesus appears aware of this, since he could have cited several passages from the prophets that speak clearly of the resurrection (Is 26:19; Ezek 37:1-14; Dan 12:2). Instead, he tailors his response to the Sadducees by strategically citing one of the books of Moses (Ex 3:6).

• In context, God revealed himself to Moses in the burning bush as the God of the long-deceased patriarchs (Ex 3:1-6).

Jesus draws two conclusions from the text:(1) Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob are still alive with God; (2) their ongoing presence with God is the decisive precondition for their resurrection in the future (CCC 581).