“But those who are counted worthy to attain that age, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry nor are given in marriage.”
— Luke 20:35 (NKJV)
Within Luke 20, Jesus consistently distinguishes between “this age” and “that age.” His statement in verse 35 makes clear that marriage, as an institution belonging to this age, does not carry forward into the resurrection. This distinction is not incidental; it is essential for understanding how legacy stewardship must be framed.
While Jesus makes no explicit reference to Genesis 2, His words provide possible insight into the creation narrative and why Adam had to be told that it was not good for him to be alone. God’s declaration in Genesis suggests that Adam may not have been created with an intrinsic need for a wife, but that marriage was introduced partly to fulfill God’s mandate to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). Marriage, therefore, belongs to an ordered economy of life within this age.
If this is the case, then Luke 20:35 leads to the inference that, upon the advent of the age to come, there will be no need for multiplication. Those who enter that age will consist exclusively of God’s elect—those counted worthy—and eternal life will consist of one primary reality: knowing God and Jesus Christ (John 17:3). In that age, marriage has no place, not because it lacked value in this life, but because its purpose belongs to this present order.
Luke’s concern, however, extends beyond explaining marital status in the resurrection. Jesus’ words function as a corrective to the Sadducees’ denial of the resurrection. By revealing that even something as sacred as marriage does not exist in the age to come, Jesus exposes the inadequacy of imagining resurrection life as a continuation of present social arrangements. The age to come is not an extension of this life; it is something altogether different.
This revelation serves as a caution to the Sadducees, whose rejection of the resurrection stems from ignorance of its true nature. Yet it also confronts those who profess belief in the resurrection. The disappearance of marriage in the age to come is jarring because it forces a reordering of value. Relationships that are central to life in this age—spouses, parents, children, siblings—do not define life in the next.
Here the implications for legacy stewardship come sharply into focus. Stewardship in this age often centers on preserving relationships, resources, and continuity across generations. Yet Jesus’ teaching reveals that even the most cherished human bonds are temporary. They must not be treated as ultimate or enduring in themselves.
“Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, who shall not receive many times more in this present time, and in the age to come eternal life.”
— Luke 18:29–30 (NKJV)
What is relinquished in this age is not lost, but surpassed. The joy and fulfillment found in earthly relationships will be multiplied beyond measure in the age to come, not through marriage or lineage, but through eternal life in God’s presence.
Thus, Luke 20:35 reframes legacy stewardship. The relationships and structures of this age are real and meaningful, but they are provisional. Physical death severs them, and resurrection life transcends them. True legacy, therefore, is not ultimately measured by familial continuity, accumulated inheritance, or relational preservation, but by orientation toward the kingdom of God.
Jesus reveals that the age to come awakens humanity to what it was always meant for: eternal life with God, our Redeemer and Maker. Legacy stewardship, rightly understood, prepares not merely for succession in this age, but for faithfulness in light of that age. Amen.
By Christopher L. Walker at myfathersestate.com
