Would it be a bad thing if Jesus was married?
"But would it be a bad thing, if Jesus was married?" (a question from Lore)
I left off my last post, which listed biblical evidence that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were not married, with the promise to discuss the question which logically follows: does it matter whether Jesus was married? Would it be a bad thing if he were? Would this create theological problems? After all, he was fully God and fully man.
To be fair, there are Christian scholars who don’t see any difficulty with the concept of the son of God being married; he was human (keep in mind, though, that these scholars still see no evidence that he actually was married to MM or anyone).
However, I do see a problem. When I read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, I find Jesus living a very purposeful life. His purpose? Well, it wasn’t to build a house, find a wife and raise a gaggle of kids. His best friend, John, recorded Jesus’ purpose like this:
- "Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!" (from a public statement by John the Baptist, Jesus’ cousin)
- "You are the Son of God; you are the King of Israel." (said to Jesus by Nathanael, who became a disciple.)
- When he drove the moneychangers from the temple, Jesus said to the Jews: "Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days." (He was speaking of his coming death and resurrection)
- Jesus told Nicodemus, a Pharisee and Jewish leader, that "the Son of Man must be lifted up, that everyone who believes in him may have eternal life." (Jesus was referring to his impending death on the cross)
- The Samaritan woman at the well told Jesus she knew that Messiah/Christ "is coming." Jesus
"declared, ‘I who speak to you am he.’ " - When the disciples brought Jesus some food, just after his conversation at the well, Jesus replied that "my food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work … open your eyes and look at the fields! They are ripe for harvest."
- When teaching in the Temple courts, with the Pharisees looking to arrest him for claiming to be the son of God, Jesus said, with a sense of urgency, "I am with you for only a short time, and then I go to the one who sent me."
- "You are of this world," Jesus said to the people. "I am not of this world."
- And, finally, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me … anyone who has seen me has seen the Father."
Just these few examples from the book of John (and there are many, many more) outline a Jesus who clearly proclaimed he was the son of God, explained that he was on earth for a very important purpose, and demonstrated that he was intent on fulfilling that purpose.
Once when I was puzzling over the teachings of a particular book, a very wise woman gave me this advice:
"Always go back to the words of Jesus. Read the Scriptures. Let Jesus himself be your teacher."
So, was Jesus married? No; the evidence is not there.
Does it matter if he was married or not? Yes it does.
I’ll leave you with a quote from Dr. Katherine McReynolds, a scholar with a doctorate from USC:
"It is not that there is anything wrong or sinful with the idea of marriage. The point is that Jesus had a special mission–a very unique mission–as the Son of God and the Savior of the world, and he stands in a long tradition of prophets that were set aside by special vows to God. And so I think it does make a theological difference that he remained single and totally devoted to his mission."
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SUSY FLORY is a New York Times best selling author, speaker, and journalist who searches out big stories with happy endings. She's I'm always looking for true stories that inspire and challenge her readers to embrace a life of passion, boldness, & adventure. 
I agree wholeheartedly … it would be a bad thing if Jesus was married. It would totally open the door to questions around what’s not in the bible. Based on Jesus’ teachings, we know that we are supposed to die to ourselves (sinful nature) and become more like Jesus. As a result, I would say that it is really important that we know and understand all that we can about who Jesus was and is. Why would he then leave out something as significant as being a husband? Jesus is everything He said he is … and He did not say He was a husband.
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You’re right–it’s so important to get to know Jesus through his own words, not commentaries and speculations written hundreds of years after his life on earth.
After I read your post, it reminded of what Scripture says about Jesus as a husband … to the church. Remember that passage in Ephesians 5?
“‘A man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.” “Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her [there’s the price he paid!], that he might sanctify her . . . so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing.” (Ephesians 5:25-27)
SUSY
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I think that if Jesus was married with children, the Bible would most certainly tell us. Many times God, and other people in the Bible, refers to Himself as “Abba, Father.” And many times Jesus is referred to as the bridegroom and the church His bride. I would think Jesus would be called differently if He had a wife and family. Plus, the scriptures talk about marriage and parenthood (Ephesians) and if He were married and with family, why wouldn’t Paul use Him as an example of a noble husband and committed father?
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Great comment–Jesus is a noble husband and committed father … of the church! John Piper explains it like this:
“King Jesus came into the world to take a wife. Not a harem. And not for sex. But to give her pleasures that make sex taste like cardboard. He paid for her with his life. And he is now at work by his Spirit and by his word purifying and beautifying her for himself and for her joy.”
SUSY
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Everything Jesus said & did are *not* recorded in the canonized Bible. Christ has *not* been Silent for the past 1700 years.
Jerome (340-420), who translated the Scriptures into Latin, writing in the period when the Biblical Canon was established, wrote about the Apocrypha: Those books “were read for edification, but not for confirming the authority of church doctrine.”
The Biblical canon was chosen *not* for Fullness of Divine Truth, not for completeness of revelation about Jesus — but “for confirming the authority of church doctrine”.
The Bride cannot recognize her True Husband when the “Jesus” the Bride worships is an idol of her own faulty beliefs — thru believing in a canon that was compiled & edited by those who had already, in lack of spirit, divorced the Living Christ, to establish *their* temporal pseudo-authority over others — a canon constructed by *men* to replace direct on-going communion with the Holy Spirit Who Jesus, himself, pointed those who loved him to *instead* of to any scriptures. [John 14:16]
The Aramaic & Hebrew words translated “Spirit” are feminine. Jesus called the Holy Spirit *She* and not “he”. The Latin translation of Jerome changed the “She” Jesus used to the “he” that people who don’t *know* the Living Jesus still use.
~~in Christ,
~~wynn manners