Therefore in the resurrection, whose wife of them is she? For seven had her to wife. Luke 20:33
Experts tell us that the Sadducees used the theoretical situation of the wife of the seven brothers as a convincing argument to support their belief that there is no resurrection. They reasoned that a situation impossible to resolve would prove that there could not be a resurrection. If we were to continue reading the passage, we would find Jesus destroys their argument by simply pointing out that eternity does not have any need for marriage, which is so important to our existence and happiness in time. Aside from their rejection of the resurrection, the Sadducees were confusing the purpose of the law regarding the carrying on of family lines in Israel. The law required that when a married man died without an heir, his brother was to take the widow as his wife and raise up a son to take the name of the dead brother (Deuteronomy 25:5,6). This made sure that the title and rights of the dead brother were carried forward. That was as far as the Sadducees could grasp. They could not understand that all is different in the next life.
We have all heard the jokes about playing golf and baseball in Heaven, and the innumerable stories and illustrations drawn from our imaginations about events in Heaven. Most of them are based on erroneous ideas about eternity. We can grasp only what we understand of this world, and we automatically translate it into the next world. And we are usually wrong. The best we can do, really, is to grasp what Heaven is not like, by considering those things that we know here that will not be needed or desired there.
The purpose of marriage here is to show the mystical union between Christ and His bride (Ephesians 5:31,32). But in Heaven, the bride will be forever with her Bridegroom (Revelation 21:9), and the illustration is no longer needed. That also means that the family relationships that are so important to us now will be radically altered in Heaven. We use the term ‘blood is thicker than water’ when we refer to family ties. But in Heaven, we will all be there because we have been washed in the very same Blood of the Lamb. That’s all the blood relationship we will need. We rejoice as we consider the absence of a health care system in Heaven: no hospitals, clinics, or pills, not even a Band-aid. But other institutions of earth will be absent, too, such as schools and universities, because the Lord Jesus will Himself be our eternal Teacher. No entertainment or recreation facilities are needed either, because of the eternal delight of being forever in the presence of our Saviour. As we tax our imaginations to eliminate all of the temporal elements, we find ourselves unable to describe what will be in Heaven, to provide us with all of the comfort, rest, pleasure, joy, and fulfillment that are promised to us.
Don’t confuse the weak and temporary things of this world with what God has prepared for them that love Him. What a surprise He has waiting for us! – Jim MacIntosh