Did Jesus Teach No Marriage In The Age To Come?
No. For those who are not interested in discovering why, stop reading now. For those who want proof from Scripture, continue reading. We offer two main texts to examine the evidence case. The first is Luke 20. The second is Mark 12. We will take them in reverse order in two separate posts.
First, notice the text in Luke 20.
Then some of the Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came to Him and asked Him, (Luk 20:27)
saying: “Teacher, Moses wrote to us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife, and he dies without children, his brother should take his wife and raise up offspring for his brother. (Luk 20:28)
Now there were seven brothers. And the first took a wife, and died without children. (Luk 20:29)
And the second took her as wife, and he died childless. (Luk 20:30)
Then the third took her, and in like manner the seven also; and they left no children, and died. (Luk 20:31)
Last of all the woman died also. (Luk 20:32)
Therefore, in the resurrection, whose wife does she become? For all seven had her as wife.” (Luk 20:33)
Jesus answered and said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. (Luk 20:34)
But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage; (Luk 20:35)
nor can they die anymore, for they are equal to the angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. (Luk 20:36)
Note, the Sadducees only ask about those people who died. They want to know about the deceased wife and her seven deceased husbands. They asked whose or to which of the seven would be the woman’s husband in the resurrection. Perhaps they had Tobit 3:8 in mind.
This leads many to only look at half of Jesus’ response. He mentioned both the resurrection and the age to come. Those are two different states. The resurrection occurs at the end of the Old Covenant age marked by the destruction of the temple.
The age to come follows the old covenant age. It has no end, (Eph. 2:7, 3:21, Heb 2:5, 6:5). It is the age in which believers exist and continue to live after 70AD, even until now.
Two Responses to the Marriage Question
The first response applied to the resurrection of the dead [ones]. Let’s view it from Mark’s account.
Therefore, in the resurrection, when they rise, whose wife will she be? For all seven had her as wife.” (Mar 12:23)
Jesus answered and said to them, “Are you not therefore mistaken, because you do not know the Scriptures nor the power of God? (Mar 12:24)
For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage but are like angels in heaven. (Mar 12:25)
But concerning the dead, that they rise, have you not read in the book of Moses, in the burning bush passage, how God spoke to him, saying, ‘I AM THE GOD OF ABRAHAM, THE GOD OF ISAAC, AND THE GOD OF JACOB? (Mar 12:26)
The nuance of Jesus’ statement is best observed when comparing both accounts. The careful reader will note that Jesus makes two statements, one for each respective group. The first statement speaks of those who enter the age to come. (More on this when we examine Luke’s account.]
The second statement addresses the “νεκρων” or those who belong to the Old Covenant community of the dead ones. This is a distinction also made by Paul in 1 Corinthians 15, in which he discusses the dead ones versus the living.
Marriage in the Age To Come?
The living are those in Christ of whom Paul says, “we shall not all sleep.” (1 Cor. 15:51, 52). In death, they were the “those who had fallen asleep in Christ,” and thus had a very different status than the dead ones under the Old Covenant. (1 Cor. 15:18).
The Old Covenant saints would be “raised from the dead” while the new covenant saints would be “changed” or “made different” from “αλλασω” (Strong’s #G243). 2 Corinthians 3:18 records this change as ongoing during the post cross pre-Parousia interim referred to as the eschaton. They also equate with those of 1 Thes. 4, of whom it is said, “we who are alive and remain [alive] until the coming of the Lord.” They survive through the Parousia. They are not raptured from the earth.
For when the out of (ek) the dead ones (νεκρων) they are raising themselves (αναστωσιν, aorist, active, subjunctive), they are not marrying nor are being given in marriage. Note the aorist subjunctive which is hortatory. It is used several times in both in Romans 13:12, 13 and 1 Corinthians 15 to speak of the participation of the living saints in their own resurrection.
See the following examples:
Note the aorist active subjunctive. It means they had already begun the action in the past (aorist) up to the present with strong probability (subjunctive) it would continue into the future to the consummation at the parousia.
- Rom. 13:12: απαθωμεθα, (aorist active subj) and “let us put on” (ενδυσωμεθα), aorist active subjunctive. They had already put on Christ at the “beginning” of their salvation. See Gal. 3:27.
- Rom. 13:13, let us walk περιπatησωμev (aorist active subjunctive) “They were already walking with Christ, yet were to arrive at the perfected state of that walk.
- 1 Cor. 15: Verse 26, Let us eat (φαγωμεν) and drink (πιωμεν) for tomorrow we die Literally reads: But concerning the dead ones that they are rising or raising themselves (pres. ind. mid. or pass.) εγειρονται
- 1 Cor. 15:49: As we bore the image of the earthy, we shall bear (φορεσωμεν) aorist subjunctive active, “We have begun and shall continue to bear the image of the heavenly.
These statements are used to refer to the living, not to the dead ones. Therefore, when Jesus speaks saying those who are raising up themselves from the dead in the “ek” or “out resurrection” are not marrying or giving in marriage, he speaks of those who would be alive in the age to come. Luke’s gospel makes this interpretation even more clear which we present in the next study.
The first statement Jesus makes regarding the marriage applies to those New Testament saints who survive the destruction of Jerusalem at the Parousia. The transitional statement, “moreover” calls attention to those of the company of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, i.e. O.T. saints.
Their resurrection occurred at the end of the O.C. age. It does not continue into the age to come. At that point, they are in the kingdom, Matt. 8:11, 12. It is therefore a mistake to read the entirety of Jesus’ response as referring to them. His statement, now that the dead are raised addresses the Sadducees questions specifically.
Many assume that Jesus answers the question of the Sadducees in the first part of His response. They would need to explain how the dead ones were actively participating in their own resurrection.
As The Angels (Messengers) In Heaven
The last part of the statement describing those in the age to come is that they would be as the angels in heaven. This statement causes some to believe the Lord is saying that believers would become like angels. Do angels have bodies or are they spirits? Spirits do not have flesh and bone. How then can it even be said that spirits could marry?
The angels here are the messengers of the gospel. In the O.T. two groups were called angels or messengers. They were the priests and the prophets. In Malachi 2:7, God speaks of the priests as the angels.
“For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, And people should seek the law from his mouth; For he is the messenger of the LORD of hosts. (Mal 2:7). The word messenger is the same word from which angel is translated. In the Hebrew it is the word “malak.”
Then Haggai, the LORD’s messenger, [malak] spoke the LORD’s message to the people, saying, “I am with you, says the LORD.” (Hag 1:13)
Who is blind but My servant, Or deaf as My messenger [malak] whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, And blind as the LORD’s servant? (Isa 42:19)
Who confirms the word of His servant, And performs the counsel of His messengers; [malak] Who says to Jerusalem, ‘You shall be inhabited,’ To the cities of Judah, ‘You shall be built,’ And I will raise up her waste places; (Isa 44:26)
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