Did Jesus marry Mary Magdalene?
This study began as an "Ask Pastor" article in our monthly newsletter, The Mustard Seed (March 2004).
This is the original article:
This is the original article:
"Did Jesus marry Mary Magdalene?"
No, not according to those who were eye witnesses to Jesus' life and ministry.
A recently published novel and movie have sparked a lot of sensational speculation on TV and in news magazines on this question. This story is fiction, but many readers and viewers who are unfamiliar with the historical record believe that the basis of the novel might be true. The Da Vinci Code's careless deviations from documented history are far too many to list here.
Author Dan Brown says that New Testament was compiled in AD 325 by Emperor Constantine to consolidate power in the Roman Catholic Church. One problem with this theory is that the Roman Catholic Church organization didn't begin to exist until 150 years later. Also, European, Middle Eastern, and African church leaders were teaching the NT Gospels and Paul's NT letters almost 200 years before Constantine was even born! The Da Vinci Code has so many basic facts of history about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Council of Nicea wrong, it should be no surprise that the novel got the Biblical record wrong, too.
Fanciful speculations of this sort are not new. During my life time there has been a sensational new "discovery" like this about once every ten years. But when you have the choice of either trusting the validated reports of eye witnesses, or accepting the speculations of a fiction writer 2,000 years later, the reasonable choice is obvious.
If you want to read about whom Jesus will marry, read Ephesians 5.25 and Revelation 21.
No, not according to those who were eye witnesses to Jesus' life and ministry.
A recently published novel and movie have sparked a lot of sensational speculation on TV and in news magazines on this question. This story is fiction, but many readers and viewers who are unfamiliar with the historical record believe that the basis of the novel might be true. The Da Vinci Code's careless deviations from documented history are far too many to list here.
Author Dan Brown says that New Testament was compiled in AD 325 by Emperor Constantine to consolidate power in the Roman Catholic Church. One problem with this theory is that the Roman Catholic Church organization didn't begin to exist until 150 years later. Also, European, Middle Eastern, and African church leaders were teaching the NT Gospels and Paul's NT letters almost 200 years before Constantine was even born! The Da Vinci Code has so many basic facts of history about the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Council of Nicea wrong, it should be no surprise that the novel got the Biblical record wrong, too.
Fanciful speculations of this sort are not new. During my life time there has been a sensational new "discovery" like this about once every ten years. But when you have the choice of either trusting the validated reports of eye witnesses, or accepting the speculations of a fiction writer 2,000 years later, the reasonable choice is obvious.
If you want to read about whom Jesus will marry, read Ephesians 5.25 and Revelation 21.
This article sparked a lot of follow up questions and discussion:
- Is there anything in the Gospels that indicates Jesus wasn't married?
- Who decided on what to include in the Bible?
- The Da Vinci Code says that Israel had female god named "Shekinah." Where did this idea come from?
"Is there anything in the Gospels that indicates Jesus wasn't married? There seems to be little said about the family life of the apostles."
While there is not a verse in the Bible that says, "Jesus never married," we can scratch beneath the surface and get more information.
The Gospels have some family information about Peter & Andrew, James & John, and Jesus. Then in Acts and the Epistles we learn about families of Paul, Timothy, Barnabas, Aquila & Priscilla.
The apparent disappearance of Joseph in Jesus' adult life is a mystery. It is safe to assume that Joseph died between the time Jesus was 12 and 30 years old. But continued references to Mary, her daughters, and her four other sons throughout the New Testament, add weight to the silence about a wife for Jesus.
Also consider that women in the NT are most frequently identified by their family relationships:
Mary Magdalene was always identified, not by her family relationships, but her city of origin (Magdala).
Dan Brown contends that in Da Vinci's depiction of the Last Supper, the disciple sitting on Jesus' right was not the Apostle John, but Mary Magdalene. However, the same Gospel writer who identifies that disciple explicitly describes him as male (John 13:23-25; 21:20,21).
Throughout the novel, Brown zealously promotes feminist goddess worship, and is critical of Christians for suppressing that "great treasure"... never mind the First Commandment given to Israel 1,500 years earlier, "You must have no other gods." According to The DaVinci Code, Jesus was not true God, but Mary Magdalene was a true goddess.
If you want to see what the Bible really says about Mary Magdalene, see our Bible study series on Women of the Bible.
While there is not a verse in the Bible that says, "Jesus never married," we can scratch beneath the surface and get more information.
The Gospels have some family information about Peter & Andrew, James & John, and Jesus. Then in Acts and the Epistles we learn about families of Paul, Timothy, Barnabas, Aquila & Priscilla.
The apparent disappearance of Joseph in Jesus' adult life is a mystery. It is safe to assume that Joseph died between the time Jesus was 12 and 30 years old. But continued references to Mary, her daughters, and her four other sons throughout the New Testament, add weight to the silence about a wife for Jesus.
Also consider that women in the NT are most frequently identified by their family relationships:
- Elizabeth, wife of Zechariah
- Mary wife of Joseph, mother of Jesus
- Mary's sister
- Mary the wife of Clopas
- Sisters Mary & Martha, and their brother Lazarus
- The unnamed wife of Peter
- The mother-in-law of Peter
- The unnamed wife of Zebedee; mother of James and John
- Herodius wife of Philip, then wife of Herod (Philip's brother)
- Johanna, wife of Chuza, Herod's steward
- Mary, mother of John Mark
- Priscilla, wife of Aquila
- Lois & Eunice, Grandmother & mother of Timothy
Mary Magdalene was always identified, not by her family relationships, but her city of origin (Magdala).
Dan Brown contends that in Da Vinci's depiction of the Last Supper, the disciple sitting on Jesus' right was not the Apostle John, but Mary Magdalene. However, the same Gospel writer who identifies that disciple explicitly describes him as male (John 13:23-25; 21:20,21).
Throughout the novel, Brown zealously promotes feminist goddess worship, and is critical of Christians for suppressing that "great treasure"... never mind the First Commandment given to Israel 1,500 years earlier, "You must have no other gods." According to The DaVinci Code, Jesus was not true God, but Mary Magdalene was a true goddess.
If you want to see what the Bible really says about Mary Magdalene, see our Bible study series on Women of the Bible.
Who decided on what to include in the Bible?
The books of the Bible, both Old Testament and New Testament, were written by people of faith, whom God had inspired to communicate His Word. The larger community of faith copied and distributed these documents - letters, history, poetry, prophecy - and recognized them for what they were, truth revealed from God Himself. Contrary to popular myths about the Bible, there wasn't a vote on what to include or exclude. Rather, recognition of the Holy Scriptures grew out of widespread consensus (agreement) by those who read them and understood them.
In The Da Vinci Code, author Dan Brown says Constantine edited and produced the Bible in AD 325 in order to suppress goddess worship, especially the worship of Mary Magdalene as a god. But consider the historical evidence: Long before Constantine was born, the Apostolic Fathers quoted the four New Testament Gospels & Epistles of Paul as authoritative...
The books of the Bible, both Old Testament and New Testament, were written by people of faith, whom God had inspired to communicate His Word. The larger community of faith copied and distributed these documents - letters, history, poetry, prophecy - and recognized them for what they were, truth revealed from God Himself. Contrary to popular myths about the Bible, there wasn't a vote on what to include or exclude. Rather, recognition of the Holy Scriptures grew out of widespread consensus (agreement) by those who read them and understood them.
In The Da Vinci Code, author Dan Brown says Constantine edited and produced the Bible in AD 325 in order to suppress goddess worship, especially the worship of Mary Magdalene as a god. But consider the historical evidence: Long before Constantine was born, the Apostolic Fathers quoted the four New Testament Gospels & Epistles of Paul as authoritative...
WHO |
WHEN |
WHERE |
Clement of Rome |
AD 95 |
Rome |
Polycarp |
AD 110 |
Smyrna (Western Turkey) |
Ignatius |
AD 115 |
Antioch (Syria) |
The Shepherd of Hermas |
AD 150 |
Rome |
The Apologist also quoted both OT and NT Scripture against heretical movements:
Justin Martyr |
AD 170 |
Born in Samaria; lived in Rome |
Ireneaus |
AD 177 |
Smyrna (Western Turkey) |
Tertullian |
AD 200 |
Carthage (North Africa) |
Hippolytus |
AD 235 |
Smyrna (Western Turkey) |
Clement of Alexandria |
AD 200 |
Egypt |
Constantine’s reign: AD 306-337
Council of Nicea: AD 325
Council of Nicea: AD 325
Obviously Christians in Central and Eastern Europe and Northern Africa, were reading the Bible, and they considered the New Testament books authoritative long before Constantine was even born!
Purpose of the Council of Nicea was to deal with Christology of Arianism (which loosely resembles today's teaching of the Jehovah's Witnesses), not to "vote" on which books to include in the Bible. Rather, Scripture was cited at the Council as evidence against the heresy. Dan Brown is right in claiming that the Council of Nicea voted to affirm the Biblical doctrine that Jesus Christ is True God. However, Brown claims that the vote was "relatively close." The actual vote was 298 for; 2 against. (The city of Nicea is located in Western Turkey.)
Click here for further examination of the reliability of New Testament.
Purpose of the Council of Nicea was to deal with Christology of Arianism (which loosely resembles today's teaching of the Jehovah's Witnesses), not to "vote" on which books to include in the Bible. Rather, Scripture was cited at the Council as evidence against the heresy. Dan Brown is right in claiming that the Council of Nicea voted to affirm the Biblical doctrine that Jesus Christ is True God. However, Brown claims that the vote was "relatively close." The actual vote was 298 for; 2 against. (The city of Nicea is located in Western Turkey.)
Click here for further examination of the reliability of New Testament.
The Da Vinci Code says that Israel had female god named "Shekinah." Is that true?
This is a popular theory that was made up from thin air. "Shekinah" is a feminine sounding name to Americans in the 21st Century. But even a beginner in the study of the Hebrew language has the tools to research the meaning and origin of the word "shekinah."
As every student of Hebrew knows, the root of nearly every Hebrew word is a verb composed of three consonants. If you want to look up a Hebrew noun, adjective, or adverb in the lexicon (dictionary), you need to know the root verb from which the word is derived.
"Shekinah" is an English noun which comes from the Hebrew verb "SHAKAN" (pronounce both syllables with a short"A" sound, like "ah"; emphasize the first syllable). The verb means "dwell, inhabit, reside, settle, rest." As a verb, this word appears 127 times in the Old Testament, and refers to
There are two nouns derived from this word:
Samples of verses that use this word in reference to God:
This is a popular theory that was made up from thin air. "Shekinah" is a feminine sounding name to Americans in the 21st Century. But even a beginner in the study of the Hebrew language has the tools to research the meaning and origin of the word "shekinah."
As every student of Hebrew knows, the root of nearly every Hebrew word is a verb composed of three consonants. If you want to look up a Hebrew noun, adjective, or adverb in the lexicon (dictionary), you need to know the root verb from which the word is derived.
"Shekinah" is an English noun which comes from the Hebrew verb "SHAKAN" (pronounce both syllables with a short"A" sound, like "ah"; emphasize the first syllable). The verb means "dwell, inhabit, reside, settle, rest." As a verb, this word appears 127 times in the Old Testament, and refers to
- nations residing in a territory,
- people residing in cities/villages,
- individuals residing in houses and tents,
- animals residing in forests.
There are two nouns derived from this word:
- SHAKEN (again, emphasis is on the first syllable) - "Inhabitant, resident, or dweller" - a nation, a person, or even an animal who lives in a certain place. This noun appears 20 times in the Hebrew Old Testament.
- MISHKAN - "Residence, presence, or dwelling place" - the land, the city, the house, the tent, or in the case of animals, the cave, tree, or mountain. This noun appears 140 times in the Hebrew Old Testament. This is the word often used to identify Israel's tent of worship, the Tabernacle, where Moses met with God.
Samples of verses that use this word in reference to God:
Exodus 24:16
Now the glory of the LORD rested (yishkon) on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it six days. And on the seventh day He called to Moses out of the midst of the cloud.
Exodus 40:34
Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the LORD filled the tabernacle (mishkan).
Deuteronomy 12:5
But you shall seek the place where the LORD your God chooses, out of all your tribes, to put His name for His dwelling place (shikenu); and there you shall go.
Psalms 26:8
LORD, I have loved the habitation of Your house, And the place where Your glory dwells (mishkan).
Psalm 94:17
Unless the LORD had been my help, my soul would soon have settled (shakenah) in silence.
Incidentally, the American Heritage Dictionary defines shekinah this way:
So is "Shekinah" the name of a goddess wife for Yahweh, the God of Israel, as Dan Brown claims? No, not even close!
To make his case for the "shekinah" theory, Dan Brown says that Jewish priests had sex in the temple as a form of worship to God. Here Brown is half right. There were times when the kings of Israel adopted worship of the sex cult of Baal & Asherah. One descendant of King David name Manasseh even brought idols of Baal and Asherah and their altars into the Lord's temple in Jerusalem. Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in worship to the idol of Molech. Needless to say, what Manasseh, the priests, and the people did was very wrong, and God said so, and He punished them for it. (2 Kings 21, and 2 Chronicles 33)
- She-ki-nah ... n. Judaism. A visible manifestation of the divine presence as described in Jewish theology. [Hebrew shekina, from shekan, dwell.]
So is "Shekinah" the name of a goddess wife for Yahweh, the God of Israel, as Dan Brown claims? No, not even close!
To make his case for the "shekinah" theory, Dan Brown says that Jewish priests had sex in the temple as a form of worship to God. Here Brown is half right. There were times when the kings of Israel adopted worship of the sex cult of Baal & Asherah. One descendant of King David name Manasseh even brought idols of Baal and Asherah and their altars into the Lord's temple in Jerusalem. Manasseh also sacrificed his own son in worship to the idol of Molech. Needless to say, what Manasseh, the priests, and the people did was very wrong, and God said so, and He punished them for it. (2 Kings 21, and 2 Chronicles 33)