Right from the start, the
notion of a man also being God was a problem.
The Jews wound up executing Jesus for claiming
to be God in the flesh, and Gentile cultures
had similar difficulties. In Greek thinking,
matter (flesh and blood) was inherently evil,
while spirit was good, and like water and oil
the two simply didn't mix. God could not become
a man, nor man a god.
This unresolved conflict led to the so-called
Gnostic Error that denied the deity of Jesus
and proposed the acquisition of knowledge (gnosis)
as the way to salvation. To Gnostics Jesus,
being human and composed of matter, couldn't
be sinless and therefore couldn't be our Savior,
while God being an eternal spirit couldn't have
died for us. There had to be another path to
salvation.
The Gnostic Error, already a growing force
in Christianity by the end of the First Century,
caused three big problems for subsequent generations.
It was the seed from which secret societies
like Freemasonry sprang, wherein the progressive
acquisition of secret knowledge elevated one
closer and closer to perfection. It also contaminated
early texts like Codex Siniaticus, from which
some modern translations of the New Testament
are taken, which has the effect of preserving
the thought that salvation is a progressive
realization rather than a single event. And
from this problem of reconciling flesh and spirit
first came the notion that Jesus and Mary Magdalene
were married with kids.
I first heard this idea put forth in an issue
of Biblical Archeology Review about 15 years
ago, and since then have run across it several
times. The movie "The Last Temptation of
Christ" hinted at it, and in the Musical
"Jesus Christ, Superstar" the composers
have Mary singing "I Don't Know How To
Love Him" an obvious reference to her feelings
toward Him. But the recent TV special on the
DaVinci Code has people thinking about it again.
Let's look at the facts.
By some accounts Mary Magdalene was from a
small village called Magdala on the west shore
of the Sea of Galilee, north of Tiberius. By
others the word Magdalene comes from a root
meaning braided hair and hints at her supposed
profession, prostitution. This is supported
by the reference in Mark that Jesus cast 7 demons
out of her (Mark 16:9). Some see her as the
sister of Martha while others think the two
are different, one being from the Galilee and
the other from Bethany on the outskirts of Jerusalem,
far to the south.
But all agree she became one of the Lord's
closest followers, probably the only one who
really understood His mission, and is likely
the sinner who washed His feet with her tears
and dried them with her hair at the home of
Simon the Pharisee (Luke 7:26-50). She was first
to see Him after the Resurrection, and ran to
tell the others.
While it's easy to see the intensity of her
devotion to Him and to imagine how she must
have felt in her heart, the Bible makes no mention
of any romantic relationship between them and
certainly not of a marriage and children. But
can we take the Bible's silence in this matter
as a denial of the claim?
Here's where the application of some simple
logic can work wonders. Would the Bible, with
its emphasis on the sanctity of marriage and
the importance of family, have omitted something
as significant as the marriage of Jesus in capturing
the great events of His life?
And would the Jewish betrothal customs (so
predictive of the Second Coming where our Lord
takes the Church as His Bride) which required
a public commitment ceremony followed by a year
of very limited and closely chaperoned visitation
have been ignored and in fact violated by the
One Who ordained them?
And how about this? Jesus came to be our High
Priest. The Law forbids a priest from marrying
a woman who isn't a virgin unless she's the
widow of another priest. The High Priest couldn't
marry a non-priestly widow and was specifically
forbidden from marrying a prostitute. (Lev 21:13-14)
Jesus said He didn't come to abolish the Law
but to fulfill it.
In Genesis 6 the Bible says that one reason
for the Great Flood was to judge those from
the angelic host who took on the appearance
of men, married human women and produced children
contaminating the human gene pool. Would a Righteous
and Just God now take this privilege for Himself
while holding those others in chains for judgment?
Think about it!
But most importantly would God, who became
man to offer His sinless life as a ransom for
the sins of humanity, have permitted His mission
to be destroyed and mankind to be lost by falling
into sin Himself? The reason for the restrictive
betrothal customs was to keep the couple from
yielding to temptation. Remember any sex outside
of marriage was punishable by death in those
days, and the Lord himself cautioned us that
even lustful thoughts render us guilty (Matt
5:28). His own Law required the shedding of
innocent blood as the only acceptable sacrifice
for sin. In order to be our Savior, He had to
remain sinless in thought, word, and deed.
Proponents of this theory are trying to portray
Jesus as a mere man. Could a man, in love with
a beautiful woman, prevent even one lustful
thought from entering his mind? And if his betrothed
was a former prostitute could he prevent anger
and jealousy from ever raising their ugly heads
as well? It doesn't make sense!
Clearly this notion of a relationship between
Mary and Jesus violates both the letter and
the spirit of the Law. It's the work of unbelievers
who are themselves ignorant of Biblical truth
and rely on the ignorance of others for their
acceptance.
And behind the scene just beyond the limit
of our vision stands the Great Deceiver preying
on those ignorant souls, using them to distort
and pervert the Word of God in his frantic attempt
to render humanity hopeless and helpless, portraying
our only Savior as having disqualified Himself
to redeem us.
These attempts will become more and more persuasive
as the time draws closer. Let this serve as
a warning, that we must know what we believe
and why to withstand these attacks on our faith.
A Bible Study by: Brother Jack Kelley
Source: http://www.gracethrufaith.com
