Was Jesus Married?
PROS
CONS
  • Torah appears to require marriage (Gen 1:28, “Be fruitful and multiply,” is understood as “first commandment”)
  • Torah also requires abstaining from sexual intercourse before certain activities (e.g., holy war, Temple worship, priestly functions)
  • Jewish customs certainly supported marriage; it was a cultural expectation
  • There were celibate Jews (e.g., the Therapeutae sect, John the Baptist, and at least some of the Essenes)
  • Some claim that Josephus says descendants of the house of David thought themselves morally obligated to perpetuate the line (to ensure birth of awaited Messiah)
  • Moot point if Jesus believed he was that Messiah, or if he really was not of Davidic lineage (Jesus' genealogy presents Mary's pedigree in that respect, but inheritance was patrilineal)
  • Some allege that early church authorities had theological reasons to suppress evidence of Jesus’ marriage, claiming that “sexuality is defiled in Christian dogma”
  • Argument from silence
  • Already 2nd c. church writers (e.g., Justin Martyr, Clement of Alexandria) assert Jesus was not married
  • NT and other early church writers have no problem talking about important figures who are married (e.g., Peter, James)
  • Irenaeus of Lyons’ doctrine of recapitulation implies that Jesus redeemed & sanctified sexuality
  • Irenaeus himself never draws this conclusion
  • Even so, why would “sanctifying sexuality” require marriage?
  • John 12 anointing scene with “Mary” shows intimate relationship
  • If this woman were Jesus’ wife, why would the disciples object?
  • Same kind of intimacy with “Mary” seems to appear in John 20 and extra-canonical gospels
  • Confusing Mary of Bethany with Mary Magdalene
  • “Apparent silence” of the gospels on the subject of Jesus' marriage is because evangelists assume it
  • Again an argument from silence. All one can say is that the NT is silent on the question of Jesus’ marital status, nor is there hard evidence in any other ancient source
  • This is mere hyperbole and should not be read as having anything to do with sex
  • A nearly indisputable saying of the historical Jesus conveys his approbation of those “who have made themselves eunuchs for [the sake of] the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 19:10–12)
  • From antiquity, this statement has been understood to be a self-designation by Jesus
  • The invariable tradition of the Christian Church, through history and across denominational boundaries, maintains that Jesus was not married.
  • Dan Brown (The DaVinci Code) says so
  • The Knights Templar say so
  • The first one hears of Jesus’ alleged marriage is at the time of Charlemagne, who charged his court theologians with deriving a justification for his imperial claims by tracing his lineage to the royal house of David via Jesus
What other evidence can YOU find? What arguments can you make on either side of this debate?
The evangelists seem to think Jesus was not married during the time of his public ministry, even less to one of the women among his disciples. They say nothing, however, of his earlier life. Given that the customary age for marriage (for a Jewish man) was 16, it is possible that Jesus had been married but was a widower by the time he became a public figure. In your view, what difference does it make? What would be the pros and cons for such a reconstruction of the life of Jesus?
For a few other contemporary discussions of this topic from a non-Catholic perspective—all of which argue that Jesus was NOT married—see Darryl Bock, Ph.D., Professor of New Testament, Dallas Theological Seminary, "Was Jesus Married?; Albert Mohler, President, Southern Baptist Theological Seminary; Mark D. Roberts, "Jesus Married"