Did Jesus Have a Wife?

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National Geographic Article:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/04/140410-papyrus-jesus-wife-evidence-archaeology-science/
The recent discovery of an ancient text that shows “no evidence of forgery” seems to indicate that Jesus may have been married.  The text says, “Jesus said to them, my wife…she is able to be my disciple.”


LET’S THINK ABOUT THIS
Of course this makes a great news headline, but let’s consider some general facts that can help make an educated decision on how to view this.  There are 3 things I’d like to consider concerning “The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife”:

            1. Date of Document
            2. Reliability of the New Testament
            3. Theological Implications of Jesus’ Marriage


1. DATE OF THE DOCUMENT
The article states that this fragment was written between AD 659 and AD 869 (via carbon dating).  This is perhaps what the article means by “no evidence of forgery;” they mean to say that it actually is an old piece of paper, not made by someone within the last few years.  While this certainly makes it an old document, it was written roughly 700-800 years after the life of Jesus.  Contrast this with most documents concerning Jesus that appear New Testament being written before AD 100.

For further reading on how these dates are attained see this article:
http://carm.org/when-were-gospels-written-and-by-whom

Simply put, it’s incredibly unreliable in giving us accurate information about the life of Jesus.  While it might not be “forgery” and is actually a very old document, the other books (not just fragments) found in the New Testament were written much closer to Jesus’ life, and therefore are much weightier in their testimony.


2. RELIABILITY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT
Even if you don’t believe that the Bible is the written Word of God, you can still continue reading.  In fact I want you to.  Treat the documents found in the New Testament the exact same way you would treat this fragment known as “The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife.”  Treat them as historical documents that are testimonies to the life of Jesus.

The New Testament documents have over 5,600 copies confirming the accuracy of their texts.  Compare this with other ancient works, such as Plato, where there are only 7 copies.  Though the New Testament is constantly attacked for it’s reliability, we see that there are more manuscripts supporting the reliability of the New Testament than any other ancient text, even more than Plato, Aristotle, and even Homer (wrote the Iliad).  None of us doubt the works of these great thinkers and writers, yet are quick to doubt the New Testament.
Compare this with “The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife,” which only has one fragment of a document; not very reliable, even if it truly is an old piece of paper.

For more information on manuscript evidence proving the superior reliability of the New Testament:
http://carm.org/manuscript-evidence


3. THEOLOGICAL IMPLICATIONS OF JESUS’ MARRIAGE
Just for argument sake, what would a married Jesus mean?  Other gnostic Gospels (unreliable documents talking about Jesus’ life) hint that Jesus and Mary Magdalene had some chemistry, but never imply marriage.  What if Jesus really was married?

Well, there’s nothing sinful about being married.  He wouldn’t have been wrong for having sex with his wife, as this is blessed and encouraged by God within marriage (Genesis 1:28; 2:24; Matthew 19:5; Ephesians 5:31).  Jesus Himself affirmed this!

“Haven’t you read,” He replied, “that at the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’ and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?  So they are no longer two, but one flesh.  Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate.”
–Jesus (Matthew 19:4-6)

However, thinking of Jesus, The Son of God, having sex with a woman is quite a messy theological concept.  God loves all people equally, and to suggest that He picked one of them to have sex with, even within the bonds of marriage, is definitely a strange claim indeed.  The Bible also shows us no reason for Jesus to have married, especially with his mission being to “seek and save the lost,” (Luke 19:10).

Arguing that Jesus could have been married is an argument from silence, which is one of the weakest forms of arguments.  I could just as easily argue (and more easily defend) that using an iPhone is a sin, because the Bible never addresses it.


FINAL THOUGHTS
While this is an interesting find, it is nothing more than that.  “The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife” is perhaps a genuinely old document, but it’s timeline in history, compared with other documents testifying of the life of Jesus, show us that there is no reason to actually take this seriously.


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