No More Marriage

Will We Be Married in Heaven?

27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, 28 and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man’s brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died without children.

30 And the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.” 34 And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, 36 for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. – Lk 20:27-29,31-36 (ESV)

One of the distinctives between the New Testament Pharisees and Sadducees was their understanding of the afterlife. While the Pharisees believed in a resurrection of the dead, the Sadducees did not.

On this occasion, the Sadducees came to Jesus with a question. The question related to the Law of Moses and the afterlife. Remember that the Sadducees did not believe in a resurrection, so the question was designed to trick Jesus and prove that belief in a resurrection was foolish.

The question related to the law of Moses regarding a wife whose husband died without a child to carry on his name. It stated that, in this situation, the brother of the deceased was to marry the widow and give her a son. The first son born of this union was to carry the name of the deceased brother so that his name would not be “blotted out of Israel.”

5 “If brothers dwell together, and one of them dies and has no son, the wife of the dead man shall not be married outside the family to a stranger. Her husband’s brother shall go in to her and take her as his wife and perform the duty of a husband’s brother to her. 6 And the first son whom she bears shall succeed to the name of his dead brother, that his name may not be blotted out of Israel. – Deuteronomy 25:5-6

The Sadducees bring a hypothetical case to Jesus about a family of seven brothers. The first brother in the family takes a wife but dies before she can bear a child. When his older brother died, the second brother took his widow as his wife, but he also died before giving her a child.

All seven brothers, one by one, married the eldest brother’s wife but died without providing a child to carry on the family name.

After having all seven brothers as husbands, the wife herself died childless, without an heir to carry on the family name.

The Sadducees’ question is this: “In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”

The Sadducees imagine a world where this one woman has seven husbands. In their mind, this was unthinkable. What kind of life would this be? What kind of chaos would an afterlife create? While the illustration is somewhat exaggerated, it does reflect how they thought.

Jesus is quite willing to answer the question. He tells them that their reasoning in this matter was from an earthly perspective. On this earth, men and women do marry and raise families. Marriage was instituted by God as a special kind of relationship on this earth. 

Jesus tells the Sadducees, however, that while marriage was instituted by God for this earth, there was no marriage in heaven. In other words, the woman would have no husband in the afterlife. He explains this more fully by saying that there is no marriage in heaven because life is eternal and those who dwell there cannot die. Let’s consider this in more detail.

One of the chief reasons for marriage was to produce children. If Adam and Eve did not have children after the Fall, then there would be no more people on the earth. The existence of the human race depends on the ability God gave the husband and wife to reproduce.

Marriage also provided a stable and godly unit for these children to be protected and instructed in the ways of the Lord. This was especially important in a sinful world where they needed to be protected physically and spiritually from harm.

Consider this now from the perspective of heaven. When people do not die, there is no need for reproduction. Where there is no sin or harm, children do not need protection. Consider what Isaiah has to say about the life to come in Isaiah 11:

 6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea. – Isaiah 11:6-9

The picture of the child playing over the hole of the cobra is striking. It is a picture of absolute security and safety with no possibility of harm.

What Jesus is saying here is that there will be no need for marriage in heaven because the two reasons for its institution on this earth will no longer exist.

According to Jesus there will be no more marriage in heaven. This will neither be a need nor the focus or our being. We will live in the presence of our Saviour in eternal bliss and happiness. For now, however, marriage has been instituted by God between a man and and woman for the propagation of the human race and the protection of its children in a secure, healthy and godly environment. If you need to address any issues in your marriage, now is the time, for this is the only time you will have.