Was Jesus Married?

Dan Brown’s wildly popular novel-turned-movie, The Da Vinci Code, has taken the world by storm. At the heart of its success is a controversy over the most influential man to have ever lived, Jesus Christ. Numerous accusations are made within The Da Vinci Code regarding this man and the movement He inspired, not the least of which is the claim that Christ was married to Mary Magdalene. Purportedly, Jesus took Mary as His wife, and the pair even had a child together. However, the church, using religion to create a world of male dominance, revised history so that the gospel we know today is very different from the original story. According to Christianity Today, 60% of British readers believe "there is some truth" to these claims. Adding more fuel to the fire, some historians point out that it was rare for a Jewish rabbi to be single. This supposedly bolsters Brown’s claims.

Was Jesus married? If we are talking about Mary Magdalene, the answer is no. Darrell L. Bock, professor of New Testament studies at Dallas Theological Seminary, writes,

It has long been believed that Jesus was single. Every detail of Scripture indicates this. When he was in ministry, there is no mention of a wife. When he was tried and crucified, there is no mention of his having a wife. After his death, there is no mention of a wife. Whenever Jesus’ family is referred to, it is his brothers and sisters who are mentioned, but never a wife. Nor is there any indication that he was widowed. …So if we ask what the hard evidence is that Jesus was married, there really is a very short answer. There is none.

If Jesus had a wife, she is conspicuously absent from the four gospel accounts. When Matthew writes of how Jesus’ family interrupts His instruction in a synagogue, he only mentions “his mother and his brothers” (Mt. 12:46). Folks from His hometown in Nazareth scoffed, asking, “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?” (Mt. 13:55). If their question was meant to humanize this person who claimed to be the Son of God, it seems like they would have mentioned His wife. Hanging from a Roman cross, Jesus performed one of His final acts in entrusting the care of His mother to His beloved disciple John (Jn. 19:26-27). What about His wife?

There is no evidence whatsoever that Jesus was married to a woman named Mary Magdalene. Mary was one of Jesus’ faithful followers, nothing more. However, this is not to say Jesus was not married to anyone.

Jesus gave everything for a bride whom He loves dearly. He suffered, bled and died so that she might be joined to Him. The bride of Christ is the church. Christians are “married…to him who is raised from the dead” (Rom. 7:4, KJV). They have been “betrothed…to one husband” and presented “as a pure virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2). The church is the bride of Christ, and there is no other. In fact, Christ’s devotion to His bride is so strong that Paul makes it an example to all husbands (Eph. 5:22-33).

Christians ought to take their relationship with Christ seriously. He has been faithful to us in every way. Do we love Him enough to stay true?