Luke 20:34 kjv
And Jesus answering said unto them, The children of this world marry, and are given in marriage:
Luke 20:34 nkjv
Jesus answered and said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage.
Luke 20:34 niv
Jesus replied, "The people of this age marry and are given in marriage.
Luke 20:34 esv
And Jesus said to them, "The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage,
Luke 20:34 nlt
Jesus replied, "Marriage is for people here on earth.
Luke 20 34 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Matt 22:30 | "For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." | Parallel account of Jesus' teaching. |
| Mark 12:25 | "For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven." | Another parallel account. |
| Lk 20:35 | "But those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage." | Immediate continuation, defining 'that age'. |
| Gen 1:28 | "And God blessed them. And God said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply...'" | Primary command for marriage in this age. |
| Gen 2:18 | "Then the LORD God said, 'It is not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a helper fit for him.'" | Divine purpose of companionship in marriage. |
| Gen 2:24 | "Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh." | Definition of earthly marriage union. |
| Deut 25:5 | "If brothers are living together and one of them dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family..." | Levirate marriage, context for Sadducees' query. |
| Rom 12:2 | "Do not be conformed to this age, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind..." | Description of "this age" and believers' separation. |
| Eph 2:2 | "...in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air..." | "This age" as influenced by spiritual darkness. |
| Gal 1:4 | "...who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age..." | Emphasizes "this age" as a time of evil. |
| Titus 2:12 | "...training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in this present age..." | The characteristics and conduct within "this age." |
| Eph 1:21 | "...far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come." | Contrast of "this age" with "the age to come." |
| Heb 6:5 | "...and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come..." | Acknowledges the reality of "the age to come." |
| Dan 12:2 | "And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to everlasting contempt." | Old Testament prophecy of resurrection. |
| John 5:28-29 | "Do not marvel at this, for an hour is coming when all who are in the tombs will hear his voice and come out..." | Jesus' teaching on the general resurrection. |
| 1 Cor 15:35-57 | (Extensive chapter on the resurrection body, transformed existence) | Details the nature of the resurrected body. |
| 1 Cor 7:29-31 | "This is what I mean, brothers: the appointed time has grown very short. From now on, let those who have wives live as though they had none..." | Suggests a temporary nature to earthly relations in view of eternity. |
| Heb 9:27 | "And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment..." | Mortality, a defining feature of "this age." |
| Rev 19:7-9 | "Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come..." | Metaphorical ultimate heavenly union. |
| 2 Cor 5:17 | "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come." | Principle of transformation and passing of old. |
| Rev 21:1-4 | "Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away..." | Describes the ultimate, transformed eternal state. |
Luke 20 verses
Luke 20 34 Meaning
Luke 20:34 states a foundational truth concerning the nature of life in the present world system. Jesus declares that "the sons of this age," referring to people who live and operate according to the characteristics and temporal limitations of the current worldly epoch, engage in marriage and are given in marriage. This statement establishes a direct contrast between the transient realities and social structures of the current existence and the transformed, eternal realities of the resurrection and the age to come. It underscores the temporal institution of marriage as it exists within human mortality.
Luke 20 34 Context
Luke 20:34 is part of Jesus' teaching in the Temple, where He engages with various Jewish factions. Immediately prior, Jesus has been confronted by the Sadducees (Lk 20:27-33), a group within Judaism that famously denied the resurrection of the dead, angels, and spirits (Acts 23:8). They posed a hypothetical scenario concerning a woman married seven times through levirate marriage (Deut 25:5-10) to challenge Jesus and supposedly expose the absurdity of belief in resurrection: "In the resurrection, whose wife will she be?" Their question reflected their materialistic and temporal understanding, assuming the structures and institutions of this earthly life would directly translate into the eternal state. Jesus' response, beginning with verse 34, directly addresses and refutes their limited understanding by contrasting "this age" (the present, temporal world where marriage is a given) with "that age" (the eternal, resurrected life where marriage as we know it will not exist). This setup is crucial for understanding His profound teaching on the nature of resurrected existence and the power of God.
Luke 20 34 Word analysis
- And: Greek "καὶ" (kai). A simple conjunction, connecting Jesus' immediate response to the Sadducees' challenging question. It indicates a direct and consequential reply.
- Jesus: Greek "Ἰησοῦς" (Iēsoús). The Son of God, the Messiah, the central figure in the Gospel accounts. His identity lends ultimate authority to His words.
- answered and said to them: Greek "ἀποκριθεὶς εἶπεν αὐτοῖς" (apokritheis eipen autois). A common Greek construction for introducing a direct speech or reply. "Ἀποκριθεὶς" (answered) is an aorist participle, showing the action of answering is completed before "εἶπεν" (said). It signals a direct and definitive response to the Sadducees. "Them" refers specifically to the Sadducees who posed the question.
- The sons of this age: Greek "οἱ υἱοὶ τοῦ αἰῶνος τούτου" (hoi huioi tou aiōnos toutou).
- οἱ υἱοὶ (hoi huioi): Literally "the sons," but used idiomatically in Semitic and Greek thought to denote those characterized by, belonging to, or possessing the qualities of something. Here, "sons of" signifies individuals living within the temporal realities and limitations of this present world.
- τοῦ αἰῶνος (tou aiōnos): Genitive case of "αἰών" (aiōn), meaning "age," "eon," "era," or "world" in a temporal sense, contrasting with a spatial "κόσμος" (kosmos) (though "kosmos" can also have a temporal sense, "aion" often more explicitly refers to the duration or characteristics of an epoch). It refers to the current created order as it is experienced in time, characterized by birth, growth, reproduction, and death.
- τούτου (toutou): "this," a demonstrative pronoun, emphasizing the present age in direct opposition to "that age" mentioned in the subsequent verse (Lk 20:35).
- Significance: This entire phrase clearly defines the sphere of existence being described. It is the realm of humanity subject to mortality, time, and earthly institutions like marriage. Jesus identifies a distinct contrast between two "ages": the present one, defined by its temporality and physical processes, and the future one, defined by transformed existence.
- marry: Greek "γαμοῦσιν" (gamoumin). Present active indicative, third person plural. It describes the common, active practice of men taking wives. This highlights a fundamental aspect of life and society within "this age," a universal activity connected with procreation and social structure.
- and are given in marriage: Greek "καὶ ἐκγαμίζονται" (kai ekgamizontai). Present passive indicative, third person plural. The passive voice ("are given") typically refers to women, who were traditionally "given away" by their fathers or guardians in marriage. This ensures that the statement encompasses both sexes and the full process of forming a marital union in "this age." The verb carries a nuance of being given "out of" the parental home. This reiterates that the act of marriage, for both male and female, is characteristic of life in the present world system.
Luke 20 34 Bonus section
The concept of "this age" and "the age to come" is a significant eschatological framework found throughout the New Testament. This dualism helps to articulate the transition from the current fallen order to the future, consummated Kingdom of God. "This age" is characterized by sin, death, and earthly limitations, while "the age to come" (or "the eternal age") is defined by righteousness, everlasting life, and divine order, particularly through the resurrected life in Christ. Jesus' use of this concept here not only addresses the Sadducees' specific question but also educates His listeners on the dramatic, transformative nature of God's redemptive work, emphasizing that ultimate realities transcend current experiences and perceptions. It challenges any worldview that reduces God's plan and human destiny to merely what can be observed or conceived within present, physical parameters.
Luke 20 34 Commentary
Luke 20:34 acts as a pivot in Jesus' crucial teaching to the Sadducees regarding the resurrection. It establishes the current state of affairs on earth: in "this age," marriage and procreation are integral to human life. Jesus acknowledges this evident reality to then draw a stark contrast. The "sons of this age" are those whose existence is bound by time, physical bodies, and societal institutions like marriage, which serve the purpose of procreation and continuity in a mortal world. The Sadducees' fundamental error was projecting the temporal limitations and requirements of "this age" onto the eternal, spiritual realities of the resurrection. They could not conceive of existence outside of these earthly parameters because they failed to grasp the transformative power of God and the full scope of Scripture. Jesus' simple statement sets the stage to correct their misconception by affirming the present while preparing to unveil the distinct, elevated nature of the age to come. This verse is not a critique of marriage in "this age," but rather a description of its contextual and temporary function within God's broader plan for creation and new creation.