Jesus replied, “The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. But those who are considered worthy of taking part in the age to come and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage.” (Luke 20:34-35)
Christian husbands are challenged to love their wives as Christ loves the church. I am fortunate my husband comes as close to doing that as humanly possible. Our hearts are joined, and I would never want to be married to anyone else.
Marriage in Jesus’ time was different than marriage today, at least in the Western world. A father would sell his daughter to a worthy man and a contract was written or understood. The Sadducees concocted the story of a woman on earth who had to marry seven brothers after each died. If she had gone to heaven, she would break Jewish law because she had seven husbands. The Sadducees expect Jesus to answer their question of which one she would be married to in heaven by saying, “There is no afterlife.”
In the same story in Matthew 22:29, Jesus begins his answer, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures or the power of God.” The Sadducees only studied the Torah, the first five chapters of the Old Testament which deals with Jewish law. They ignored the prophets who told about the Messiah and heaven. Jesus tells the Sadducees they are in error for not studying the Old Testament in its entirety and that the power of God will resurrect people to heaven and change their hearts.
In this Scripture, Jesus tells us those who are resurrected from the dead will not be given away in marriage. There will be no contractual marriage in heaven. We’ll be spiritually married to God and reunited with our families and friends. In the future, we’ll know what that looks like. But if you’re in a bad marriage or have been married seven times, have no fear. There is nothing but love and no tears in heaven.
Dearest Father in Heaven, thank you for the hope of resurrection into a life of love and happiness with You and our loved ones. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen
I have known people who believe that you are still married in Heaven. I personally don’t believe that because of this scripture. The wedding vows say, “until death do us part.” I guess it is similar to the Catholic priests. They are also married to God and can not have a wife because of that rule.
No one has more love for us than Jesus does, so He will be our first love in heaven. However, I believe that we’ll still hang out with our family, friends, and Guardian angels. Yes, priests are supposed to be married to Jesus, but while Jesus hides His face from us and while we still have bodies of flesh, it doesn’t work well.