Did Jesus Have a Wife?

Jesus Christ: Wedded?

The background

Did Jesus Christ have a wife? A professor at Harvard, Karen King, thinks so. She’s revealed a Coptic scripture from the 4th century in which the words: “Jesus said to them, ‘my wife’” appear, reported the BBC. Which may well mean Mary Magdalene. The same text says that Magdalene was worthy of being Jesus’ disciple. Work still needs to be done on the papyrus to determine its age and the composition of the ink.

She said researchers had identified the words “Jesus said to them, ‘my wife’”, which might refer to Mary Magdalene. The scripture will cause controversy over celibacy in the priesthood and the role of women in Christianity, said King.

It doesn’t mean anything

Jim West, a professor and Baptist pastor in Tennessee, said: “A statement on a papyrus fragment isn’t proof of anything. It’s nothing more than a statement ‘in thin air’, without substantial context.”

The church has manipulated Mary Magdalene’s role

“I don’t believe for a minute she’s faking anything,” says a post on the PaleoBabble blog. “However, the text is unprovenanced, which is a problem. . . .  the church has manipulated the testimony of Mary Magdalene.”

Why shouldn’t Jesus have a wife?

Victor Lana on Blogcritics.com said “The scriptures as Jesus knew them were filled with directions to marry, beginning with Adam and Eve, whom God told to be fruitful and multiply (Genesis 1:28). Is it so incongruous for us to believe that Jesus, a man so filled with love in every way, would not have loved (and wanted to love) a woman fully as his wife, fulfilling the scripture as his Father would have all men do?”

If Jesus really had a wife…

The Daily Mash took a typically tongue in cheek view of the matter:  ”A passage in the ancient text describes a dialog involving Jesus where the founder of Christianity says ‘for God’s sake don’t get married – my wife is a nightmare’. He then tells his disciples about her terrifying mood swings and rank hypocrisy and confirms that ‘loving thy neighbor does not count if you live next door to Mary Magdalene’”.

If you’re such a great carpenter why don’t you build something instead of healing the sick. They have insurance! #JesusWife

— robhimself79 (@robhimself79) September 19, 2012