“Like the angels”?: Embodiment and Eschatology in Matthew’s Gospel

Jesus’ reply to the Sadducees indicates that the resurrected will be “like the angels” (Matthew 22:30, Mark 12:25, Luke 20:36).

Interpreters often assume that the comparison to the angels describes the composition of the resurrected body. This interpretation has led to further questions over the future of biological sex and gender in the age to come.

But what precisely is meant by the comparison “like the angels”?

But what precisely is meant by the comparison “like the angels”? How might the depiction of angels in the Hebrew Bible and the literature of Second Temple Judaism, along with the eschatological outlook of Matthew’s Gospel, specifically the παλιγγενεσία (Matt 19:28), contribute to an understanding of embodiment in the age to come.