27 Then some of the Sadducees, who say there is no resurrection, came to question Him. 28 “Teacher,” they said, “Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies and leaves a wife but no children, the man is to marry his brother’s widow and raise up offspring for him. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first one married a wife, but died childless. 30 Then the second 31 and the third married the widow, and in the same way all seven died, leaving no children. 32 And last of all, the woman died. 33 So then, in the resurrection, whose wife will she be? For all seven were married to her.”

34 Jesus answered, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy to share in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage. 36 In fact, they can no longer die, because they are like the angels. And since they are sons of the resurrection, they are sons of God.

37 Even Moses demonstrates that the dead are raised, in the passage about the burning bush. For he calls the Lord ‘the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob.’ 38 He is not the God of the dead, but of the living, for to Him all are alive.”

39 Some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, You have spoken well!” 40 And they did not dare to question Him any further.

REFLECTIONS

Written by Tim Mitry

The question posed to Jesus was asked with malicious motives. But Jesus graciously answered anyway, and his response reveals things about what eternity will be like. I came away reflecting on a few points.

First, I have a sure hope in the resurrection of my body, and that I will be with God, and I will live forever.

Second, God cares about our bodies, since he will resurrect them. There is an implication then that I should make sure to use my body reverently. I am also looking forward to seeing fellow saints in the new creation.

Finally, the fact that Jesus says marriage won’t exist in heaven makes me wonder about my own marriage. Elsewhere in the Bible we are told that marriage is a reflection of Christ and His bride, the church (Ephesians 5:25-33). That makes me realise I don’t need to live feeling sad that marriage doesn’t persist into the life to come, since we will all experience, in full, the thing that marriage is a preview of: being gathered with the triune God.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Tim is a member of our Fairfield Evening congregation.