Five big questions about the ‘Jesus’ wife’ discovery
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In a surprise announcement that seemed scripted by the novelist Dan Brown, a Harvard professor revealed an ancient scrap of papyrus on Tuesday (Sept. 18) that purports to refer to Jesus’ wife.
The so-called “Gospel of Jesus’ Wife” presents a dialogue between Jesus and his disciples, said Karen King, a well-respected historian of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School.
The fourth-century fragment says, “Jesus said to them, ‘My wife …,’” according to King. The rest of the sentence is cut off. The fragment also says “she will be able to be my disciple,” according to King.
The discovery that some ancient Christians thought Jesus had a wife could shake up centuries-old Christian traditions, King suggested.
But even King acknowledged that questions remain about the receipt-sized scrap, which contains just 33 words and incomplete sentences. Here are five of the biggest questions.
1. Where did the papyrus come from?
We don’t know. King says that “nothing is known about the circumstances of its discovery,” an admission that has raised red flags for other scholars.
King speculates that the fragment might have been tossed in an ancient garbage heap by someone who objected to the idea of Jesus being married. Christians fiercely debated celibacy and marriage in the first centuries after Christ’s death.
The papyrus now belongs to an anonymous collector who asked King to analyze it. King says three scholars have determined that the fragment is not a forgery, but that further tests will be conducted on the ink. The scholar also says that she will press the fragment’s anonymous owner to come forward.
2. Does it prove that Jesus was married?
No. King says the fragment is a fourth-century translation of a second-century Greek text. It’s not quite old enough to prove that Jesus was married, King says — only that early Christians discussed it.
“The earliest and most historically reliable evidence is entirely silent about Jesus’s marital status,” King says.
King also acknowledged that Jesus might have been speaking figuratively when he referred to “my wife.” After all, the fragment is just 33 words long, with incomplete sentences and very little context. [More]
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6 Comments
The name “Jesus” was a common name in Jewish circles in the day of our Lord. For example there was “Jesus the Zealot” and a rebel called “Jesus”…
In every instance when Our Lord appeared to seers at apparition sites throughout the world, he drew attention to and exposed his “heart” — not his other body parts. That is why whenever we see paintings or statutes of Jesus, his “heart” is exposed and he is pointing to it. So why would it possibly matter whether Jesus was married? Jesus is saying, It’s your “heart”, stupid!!!!
This is so ridiculous to even suggest that Jesus was married from a fragment of a sentence that could have contained other words (that were cut off) that completely change the meaning of the words that were preserved. Indeed, people have an agenda. Ridiculous.
How about this? “Jesus said to them, “my wife is anyone who loves me and does my will.’” That, of course, is what He said elsewhere about His mother. So, to draw the conclusion that Jesus was married from this sentence fragment, since we have evidence from first and second century Christian writings that Jesus was not married, is ridiculous, designed to be sensational and attract attention.
Jesus was like us in all things except sin!,
Why couldn’t he have been married? We can have more mysteries of the Rosary. Jesus goes on his first date, Jesus goes to PreCana at Cana, Jesus makes sure enough they order enough wine for the reception, Jesus gets engaged and Jesus gets married. All can be given rich indulgences for meditating on.
Much ado about nothing. So what if Jesus was married? But a fourth century document is very far removed in time and memory from the first century Jesus–hence unreliable though some people spent time and money producing the document from which this scrap came so there was some very important motif for it’s expensive production.