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Marriage in the Resurrection
No Marriage in
the Resurrection? Here’s What Jesus Really Said
CHUCK
MCKNIGHT
A certain discussion between
Jesus and the Sadducees has led to a widespread belief among Christians that
there will be no marriage in the resurrection. But is that really what
Jesus taught?
The account is nearly identical in all three Synoptic Gospels, so
we’ll follow the passage in Mark, being most likely the earliest version.
“There came to him Sadducees, who say that
there is no resurrection. They asked him, saying, ‘Teacher, Moses wrote to us, “If
a man’s brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no children,
that his brother should take his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.”
“’There were seven brothers. The first took
a wife, and dying left no offspring. The second took her, and died, leaving no
children behind him. The third likewise; and the seven took her and left no
children. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise,
whose wife will she be of them? For the seven had her as a wife.’
“Jesus
answered them, ‘Isn’t this because you are mistaken, not knowing the
Scriptures, nor the power of God? For when they will rise from the dead, they
neither marry, nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven.
“’But about the dead, that they are raised;
haven’t you read in the book of Moses, about the Bush, how God spoke to him,
saying, “I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob?” He
is not the God of the dead, but of the living. You are therefore badly
mistaken.’” (Mark 12:18–27, WEB)
What is the context of this teaching?
If the Sadducees had asked
Jesus, “Will there be marriage in the
resurrection?” then the common interpretation of Jesus’ reply would be well
justified. But that isn’t what happened.
The passage begins by explaining that the Sadducees did not
believe in the resurrection. So we know from the start that they were not
asking Jesus a serious question.
Rather, they were attempting to
trap Jesus with a question they thought He could not answer.
They didn’t really care whose wife the hypothetical woman would be
— they were trying to disprove the resurrection itself.
Thus Jesus’ response must be
considered in the context of affirming the resurrection.
What was the view of marriage being discussed?
In order to trap Jesus, the Sadducees describe a woman who had
been married seven times to seven different brothers.
And their story depends on an
androcentric, patriarchal view of marriage, where the woman exists as the
property of the man.
The Mosaic law they reference (found in Deuteronomy 25:5–10) was
not given primarily as a way to care for the bereaved woman.
It may have had this side
effect, but the text is explicit that the intention was to preserve the name of
the dead brother. The woman was used as a commodity to accomplish this purpose.
The Sadducees’ story, then, is a sorrowful one, of a woman
who has been passed from man to man, dutifully attempting to carry out the will
of these men.
And then
they want to know, “Whose property will
she be in the resurrection?”
What did Jesus actually say?
It is to this women-as-property
view of marriage that Jesus responds. “For
when they will rise from the dead,” he says, “they neither marry, nor are given in marriage” (verse
25).
Note carefully the two parts Jesus specifies. He does not say that
people will no longer marry (though some translations unfortunately abbreviate
it this way).
Rather, Jesus says, “they neither marry,” that is, “men will no longer take possession of
women,” and then, “nor are given in
marriage,” that is, “women will no
longer be given as possessions to men.”
The ancient Syriac Peshitta
version of the Bible makes this distinction even more apparent. “They do not take wives, nor are wives given
to husbands” (Murdock’s translation).
Jesus does not say that marriage itself will be done away with; he
says that there will be no more giving or taking of humans as property.
What are the angels in heaven like?
Jesus follows this up with the
mysterious comparison, “but are like
angels in heaven.”
This phrase has led to no end
of speculation. And if we’re honest, we really can’t be sure about what Jesus
is referring to here.
But if I had to guess, based on the understanding of this passage
we’ve come to so far, I’d say it probably has something to do with ownership.
As far as we know, no angels
are in possession of any other angels.
Where does all this leave us?
Will there be marriage in the resurrection? That depends on what
you mean by marriage.
If by marriage you mean humans
taking ownership of other humans, then no, there will be none of that.
Additionally, I don’t believe that marriage vows made for this
lifetime are binding for the next life. Those who do not wish to continue their
marriage will be under no obligation to do so.
However, if any individuals should mutually decide to pursue an
egalitarian partnership throughout eternity, I see no reason to think that this
would not be allowed.
No doubt the dynamics of the
relationship will be different on many levels, but I believe that God will
honor such a commitment.
It is
perhaps more commonly phrased as “no
marriage in heaven.”
But that just confuses
the issue further, as heaven is an entirely different concept from the
resurrection, and heaven is not the focus of this discussion.
The account in Luke also adds the phrase, “for they can’t die any more” (Luke 20:36).
This may allude to the
fact that with no more death, there is no more fear of one’s name being lost
and thus no reason for men to use women as a means of obtaining an heir.
Or it may refer to how
it was the death of each brother that transferred the woman to the next. In
either case, it still connects to the idea of women as property.
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