Was Jesus Married?

Last week various news outlets reported the discovery of a small papyrus fragment that includes the words, "Jesus said to them, 'My wife..'" 

I guess some people thought this would cause evangelical Christians to flip out. “Oh, no, maybe Jesus was married!”

The fragment, only the size of a business card, dates to the fourth century—300 years after the completion of the New Testament. And it turns out that this “controversy” is part of a larger agenda to try to discredit the historic Christian faith. The Harvard professor who “discovered” this manuscript is already on record for rejecting the traditional view of God’s word.

Here’s a good summary by Al Mohler:  

The energy behind all this is directed to the replacement of orthodox Christianity, its truth claims, its doctrines, its moral convictions, and its vision of both history and eternity with a secularized — indeed, Gnosticized — new version. Just look at the attention this tiny fragment of papyrus has garnered.

 Its few words and broken phrases are supposed to cast doubt on the New Testament and the doctrines of orthodox Christianity. A tiny little fragment which, even if authentically from the fourth century, is placed over against the four New Testament Gospels, all written within decades of Jesus’ earthy ministry.

“The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife?” Not hardly. This is sensationalism masquerading as scholarship. Nevertheless, do not miss what all this really represents — an effort to replace biblical Christianity with an entirely new faith.

You should read his excellent article at almohler.com. Click here.

Back to the question: was Jesus married? We have every reason to trust our Bible and the church’s historic view of our Lord. So the answer is, No, He wasn’t.

Unless you mean this:  Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.  Ephesians 5:25-27, my emphasis 

And in that case, it’s wonderful to know that Jesus is our Bridegroom and that we, His redeemed, are also His beloved.