34 Jesus replied, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage. 35 But those who are considered worthy of taking part in that age and in the resurrection from the dead will neither marry nor be given in marriage, 36 and they can no longer die; for they are like the angels. They are God's children, since they are children of the resurrection.
Remember being a child at Christmas time and peeking on tiptoes through a crack in the door in order to catch a glimpse of the gifts beautifully arrayed under the Christmas tree? In our verses for today, Jesus is giving us such a glimpse into heaven. I believe that He not only wanted to set the record straight with the Sadducees regarding resurrection, but He also desired to give His followers a bit of glorious hope regarding their future. Clearly, the Bible teaches that we will not be able to comprehend all that awaits us, yet we are often given snip-its, if you will, into our future eternal bliss. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians:
9 However, as it is written: "No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who love him" -- 1 Cor 2:9 (NIV)
Jesus also tells us in John:
1 "Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me. 2 In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. John 14:1-3 (NIV)
“It is because of faith that we exchange the present for the future.” Fidelis of Sigmaringen
“Our duty as Christians is always to keep heaven in our eye and earth under our feet.” Matthew Henry
Jesus tells us that those who will be inhabitants of this future eternal bliss are those who are “considered worthy of taking part in it” – those who have trusted in Jesus as their Savior and are therefore standing in His righteousness in lieu of their own righteousness which God, by the way, considers as “filthy rags”.
6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;
we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Isaiah 64:6 (NIV)
The Bible teaches that Jesus was made sin for our sins so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Scripture states it like this:
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Cor 5:21 (NIV)
“It is a worthiness imputed by which we are glorified, as well as a righteousness imputed by which we are justified.” Matthew Henry
As believers we are able therefore to stand confidently in the promises of Scripture just as Paul tells us:
6 Therefore we are always confident and know that as long as we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord. 7 We live by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, I say, and would prefer to be away from the body and at home with the Lord. 9 So we make it our goal to please him, whether we are at home in the body or away from it. 2 Cor 5:6-9 (NIV)
“What sustained Paul was the realization that this was a temporary and transitory state. He focused not on present but on future conditions, not on the seen but the unseen. To live this way is to live by faith, not by sight. It is to live in light of ultimate rather than immediate realities, to be obedient to God’s commands despite the hardships that obedience produces.” Bible Knowledge Commentary
“The future belongs to those who belong to God. This is hope.” W.T. Purkiser
While on earth, death reigns yet in heaven there will be no more death – it is forever excluded - for the old order of things will have passed away. This is why He compares our eternal states to that of angels as we, like they, will never die. Yet, unlike angels, Jesus calls us God’s children – co-heirs with Him. Paul tells us in Romans:
15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. Romans 8:15-17 (NIV)
“This life therefore is not righteousness, but growth in righteousness; not health, but healing; not being but becoming; not rest but exercise. We are not yet what we shall be, but we are growing toward it. The process is not yet finished, but it is going on. This is not the end, but it is the road. All does not yet gleam in glory, but all is being purified.” Martin Luther, “Defense and Explanation of All the Articles”
“Do you know who you are? Do you know who you were designed to be? Do you know the Father’s intent for your life? You are meant to hear in your spirit the same thing Jesus heard when he came out of the waters of baptism at the beginning of his ministry: ‘You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased’...J I Packer puts it simply. ‘What is a Christian? The question can be answered in many ways, but the richest answer I know is that a Christian is one who has God for his Father’...Our highest privilege and deepest need is to experience the holy God as our loving Father, to approach him with out fear and to be assured of his fatherly care and concern.” Greg Ogden, Discipleship Essentials