Luke 20:35

My Notes

What Does Luke 20:35 Mean?

"But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage." Jesus answers the Sadducees' trick question about resurrection-marriage by describing the NATURE of the resurrection life: those worthy of the resurrection world neither marry nor are given in marriage. The institution that structures THIS world doesn't structure THAT world. Marriage — central to earthly life — is absent from resurrection life. The category doesn't apply. The institution doesn't transfer.

The phrase "accounted worthy to obtain that world" (hoi kataxiōthentes tou aiōnos ekeinou tychein — those deemed worthy to obtain that age) makes the resurrection world a DIFFERENT AGE: 'that world' (ho aiōn ekeinos — that age, that era) is DISTINCT from this one. The two ages operate by different principles. The structures of THIS age (marriage, death, biological reproduction) don't apply in THAT age. The worthiness to OBTAIN the other age is itself a divine determination.

The "neither marry, nor are given in marriage" (oute gamousin oute gamizontai — they neither marry nor are given in marriage) eliminates marriage from the resurrection: the active (marry — the man's role in ancient custom) and the passive (given in marriage — the woman's role) are BOTH denied. Neither party marries. The institution is absent in both directions. The resurrection life has a different relational structure than the earthly one.

Reflection Questions

• 1.What earthly institution are you assuming continues in the resurrection — and what if it doesn't?
• 2.What does 'that world' being a different AGE (not just an extension) change about your expectations?
• 3.How does the absence of marriage in the resurrection ELEVATE rather than diminish the next life?
• 4.What does the Sadducees' question being based on a false premise teach about assumptions in theological debate?

Devotional

In the resurrection, they don't marry. They're not given in marriage. The institution that defines THIS world doesn't define THAT one. The structures of earthly life — marriage, reproduction, biological continuation — are absent from resurrection life. The next age operates differently.

The 'accounted worthy to obtain that world' makes resurrection life a DIFFERENT CATEGORY: 'that world' isn't just THIS world continued. It's a different AGE — operating by different principles, structured by different realities, governed by different relationships. The worthy who OBTAIN this age enter something qualitatively NEW, not just quantitatively EXTENDED. The resurrection isn't more of the same. It's categorically different.

The 'neither marry nor are given in marriage' answers the Sadducees' trick question by DISSOLVING the question's premise: the Sadducees asked 'whose wife will she be in the resurrection?' (verse 33). Jesus' answer: the question doesn't apply. Marriage doesn't EXIST there. The institution the question assumes is ABSENT from the reality the question addresses. The trick question is built on a false premise.

The absence of marriage in the resurrection doesn't DIMINISH the resurrection. It ELEVATES it: the resurrection life is characterized by being 'equal unto the angels' (verse 36) and being 'children of God, being the children of the resurrection.' The relational structure of the resurrection isn't marriage-based. It's GOD-based. The relationship that defines resurrection life is the relationship with God — not the replacement of marriage but the surpassing of it.

What earthly institution are you assuming transfers to the next life — and would its absence be loss or gain?

Commentary

Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.

Cross References

Related passages throughout Scripture