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“Till Death Do Us Part”
Categories: Bulletin Articles, Clay Gentry
Till Death Do Us Part...
Exploring Marriage in Eternity
From wedding vows promising ‘til death do us part’ to funeral eulogies proclaiming, ‘together again,’ Christians navigate a paradox of marriage and death. On the one hand, we acknowledge the temporary nature of the marital union, yet our hearts yearn for a love that transcends mortality – a connection that persists into eternity. Are couples married here on earth still married in heaven? Are they really together again?
The question of marriage in heaven, particularly as addressed in Luke 20:27-33, presents a fascinating theological puzzle. Using the ancient practice of levirate marriage (Deuteronomy 25:5-10), the Sadducees thought they had come up with a scenario that reduced the doctrine of the resurrection to an absurdity.
Luke records, “There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, 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. Now, there were seven brothers. The first took a wife and died without children. And the second and the third took her, and likewise, all seven left no children and died. Afterward, the woman also died. In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as a wife.”
While Matthew 22:23-33 and Mark 12:18-27 also record Jesus’ interaction with the Sadducees, noting the absence of marriage in the resurrection, Luke’s account adds the crucial detail:
“The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 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, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection” (Luke 20:34-36).
Jesus’ assertion that there is no marriage in the resurrection, coupled with His explanation of the absence of death, invites a deeper exploration of the relationship between earthly existence and eternal life.
In our current life, marriage counters the inherent loneliness of human existence by providing a means for mutual aid, comfort, and intimacy (Gen 2:18). However, in eternity, marital companionship relied on in this life, yields to the all-encompassing presence of God, Who, unlike any spouse, destroys the sources of pain and loneliness when “He will wipe away every tear" (Rev 21:4).
As mortals, marriage serves as the vehicle for procreation. The command to “be fruitful and multiply” (Gen 1:28) given to the first couple underscores the importance of marriage in ensuring the continuation of humanity. The necessity of reproduction is directly linked to our mortal condition. However, in the absence of death, the need for procreation—and consequently the need for marriage—vanishes when we put on immortality (1 Cor 15:53).
In this life, societal pressures that often define a woman’s identity, such as the woman in the Sadducees’ example – marital and maternal status – become irrelevant in a world without death. In eternity, such earthly labels as wife and mother are surpassed in the perfect relationship with the Father (1 Jhn 3:1-2).
Lastly, in the earthly realm, marriage symbolizes the relationship between Christ and the church (Eph 5:22-33). In the resurrection, the symbolism of marriage becomes a reality in the perfect communion of Christ (Rev 19:6-10). A wife no longer submits to her husband (Eph 5:22-24), for she is in the presence of Christ Jesus, the head of all things (Col 1:18).
The absence of marriage in eternity, as explained by Jesus, does not negate the importance of marital love or companionship here and now but rather highlights the transformative power of eternal life, where all things are made new in the presence of God. As we yearn for a reunion with a departed spouse, remember that we will meet around the throne of God, not as marriage partners but as fellow believers united in Christ Jesus, which surpasses the intimacy experienced in even the best earthly marriage.
