Papyrus Fragment Claiming Christ had a Wife

| September 18, 2012

Matthew was written A.D. 65-70, Mark was written A.D. 48-55, Luke was written A.D. 57-62, and John was written in A.D. 90, all of the authors were disciples of Christ or in the case of Luke, able to talk with eye witnesses about the events of Christ’s life. This is the verified truth. Any document, especially one that comes several hundred years after Christ walked on the earth and does not line up with biblical record must be found wanting. Jesus talked about the Church being His bride, thus His wife, and perhaps this is where an error was made in this manuscript.  To believe that the inspired Word of God would leave out the fact that Jesus was married, when it covered every other aspect of His walk here on earth is absurd.

Papyrus Fragment Claiming Christ had a Wife

Karen L. King,  Hollis Professor of Divinity, a historian on early Christianity did caution that this fragment of papyrus, which according to the article in the New York Times is smaller than a business card and its origin unknown,

“should not be taken as proof that Jesus, the historical person, was actually married. The text was probably written centuries after Jesus lived, and all other early, historically reliable Christian literature is silent on the question, she said.”

Her excitement hinges on her hope to show that marriage and sex, was part of Christ’s life and therefore a life of celibacy not a requirement to be a follower.  However, the translation of the text is lacking much context and similar to the Gnostic writings of Gospels of Thomas and Mary, and not included in the Canon of the Bible.

Somehow the idea of a tiny fragment, lacking clarity and context, hundreds of years after Christ walked the earth, and  upheld as the proof text that Jesus was married, seems reaching at best.  The documents most closely written to when Jesus walked on earth are  the Gospels found in the New Testament and these do not allude to such a life.   Because God  created marriage and does say much about it through out the Bible, it follows that had Jesus been married, He too, being God, would have spoken about His own married life and how to live and love successfully.  But the text of the Bible, not silent on marriage, but deathly silent on Jesus being married, makes suspect any text found that makes such claims, especially when it is so many years past the time of Christ.

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Category: Bible, New Testament

About the Author ()

The season of my life is in a perpetual "back to school" mode. I would describe myself as a lifelong learner due to the fact that I home school my four children and must remain smarter than them! My husband Russ and I have decided to remain married for at least 98 years or until death do us part. I think there is a warranty involved?!!!? I hold a bachelor’s degree from California State University Long Beach in Political Science with an emphasis in Constitutional Law. I am excited to be part of Caffeinated Thoughts and hope to contribute substantially to the Conservatism foundation that America was built upon. My love of country drives me to write in order to get others thinking, and perhaps agitated at times, that they too may join the conversation and therefore help make a difference “Righting” the wrongs in our country before it is too late. I love music with every extra ounce of my body and if there are any ounces left at the end of the day, I enjoy unwinding with my guitar. I am a worship leader for a small church in my town and I teach guitar as well. I also am an American and World History with Art and Government and Economics instructor for the Biola STAR Academics, a home schooling program in Southern California. And most of all, should the Lord tarry, and if I live to see my 98th wedding anniversary, I choose to love, serve and honor Jesus Christ while I have breath in my body. You can find Mary on Twitter as @1Theosebes (Theosebes is Greek for Worshipper of God) and also on Facebook.
  • Springdale

    I agree with Mary Selby that this papyrus script apparently written or copied long after Christ’s life on earth and the New Testament books is of little significance in trying to prove that Christ was married. From the early days of Christianity heresies and spurious writings sprang up. In modern times there have been reinstatements of these centuries old heresies and new degradations of Christ. Some in the homosexual movement have claimed that Christ was a homosexual. Others have denigrated Him in various ways.
    The body of early Christians over a period of time adopted and accepted the New Testament books as we have them today (sometimes referred to as the canon or accepted books). According to the New Testament Christ attended a wedding. He accepted human marriage and His teachings promote faithfulness in the marriage relationship. But nothing indicates that Christ was married.
    Christ is the eternal son of God; born of the Virgin Mary through the instrumentality of the Holy Spirit; lived a sinless life in His earthly journey; died on the cross as a perfect sacrifice to redeem those who would repent of their sins and believe in Him as their Saviour; rose from the dead; ascended into heaven, and is coming in a future day to gather His own, judge the world and usher in the heavenly kingdom. I believe that this covers the basic doctrines of the Christian faith, which are set forth in the New Testament as we already have it.

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