Resurrection Marriage?

Luke 20:27-47

Jesus was an equal opportunity offender. He offended the Pharisees, the scribes, the chief priests, the Levites, and the Sadducees. In Jerusalem, all of these different religious groups are present and they all have urgent questions and points of debate for Jesus. The Sadducees were a group that only believed the first five books of the bible (the Torah) were authoritative. Finding no explicit reference to the resurrection in the Torah they denied it. Their question for Jesus seeks to reinforce their non-belief in the resurrection by coming up with an exaggerated example of a woman who married 7 different brothers because they all died: "therefore, whose wife will she the woman be?" (Luke 20:33) Jesus answers that in the earthly realm people are given in marriage but in the age to come this will no longer be necessary. And he adds: "Indeed they cannot die anymore, because they are like angels and are children of God, being children of the resurrection." (Luke 20:36)

Jesus' response illustrates the idea that in the life to come much of what we worry about will no longer matter. The issue with marriage, and being given in marriage, was directly tied to children. Having children was the point of marriage in Jesus' day, but in heaven there will be no more children born.  The resurrection does not mean that all of our human relationships are disintegrated but it does mean that the relationships will be transformed. Marriage was largely transactional in the ancient world, but in heaven all people will be children of God with no power differentials. This is a wonderful hope and beautiful vision. One to which the Sadducees had no response.