Da Vinci Code Series Part Two: Was Jesus Married

1
Da Vinci Code SeriesPart TwoWas Jesus Married?
2
Was Jesus Married?

• Question started surfacing in Spring 2003.
• Didnt drop out of the sky but came from this
  bestseller.
• Already 19 of respondents of beliefnet have said
  they believe that Jesus was married.

3
Biblical ChallengesfromThe Da Vinci Code
4
Biblical Challenges

• p. 231 The Bible is a product of man, my dear.
  Not of God.
• p. 235 Almost everything our fathers taught us
  about Christ is false.
• p. 233 Youre saying Jesuss divinity was the
  result of a vote?

5
Biblical Challenges

• p. 231 More than eighty gospels were
  considered for the New Testament.
• p. 249 Mary Magdalene carried the royal
  bloodline of Jesus Christ?
• p. 249 Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married
  and had a child.

6
Sound Familiar?

• Most of the ideas can be found in the book Holy
  Blood, Holy Grail.
• The difference?
• The book Holy Blood, Holy Grail sold 20,000
  copies while The Da Vinci Code has already sold
  nearly five million.

7
What is the Da Vinci Code?

• Mary Magdalene is in Leonardo Da Vincis painting
  The Last Supper (244).
• V-shape is the symbol for the Holy Grail.

8
Who was Mary Magdalene?

• Mary was from the town of Magdala.
• Mary traveled with Jesus (entourage).
• Mary was at the cross, at the burial, and at the
  resurrection.
• Mary was not a prostitute
• Misperception began with Pope Gregory (AD 591)
  who conflated two different people into one.
• Confused with prostitute (Luke 736-50) who
  washed the feet of Jesus.

9
New Testament

• No reference to Jesus being married.
• Gospels talk about his natural relatives (father,
  mother, siblings), but never a wife.

10
Jesus Other Women

• Unlike other Jewish leaders, Jesus had close
  relationships with women.
• Several women (Mary Magdalene, Joanna, and
  Susanna) helped support Jesus and the disciples.

11
How do we answerthe challenges of The Da Vinci
Code?
12
The Last Supper
13
Gnostic Texts

• Discovered at Nag Hammadi in Egypt in 1945.
• They were an important archaeological find.
• Yielded 45 works, five of which were called
  gospels.
• Gospel of Truth, Thomas, Egyptians, Philip, and
  Mary.

14
Gnostic Texts

• A few of the texts are cited in The Da Vinci
  Code to prove that Jesus was married to
  Mary Magdalene.
• These are
• Gospel of Mary (2nd C.)
• Gospel of Philip (3rd C.)

15
Gospel of Mary

• But Andrew answered and said to the brethren,
  Say what you (wish to) say about what she has
  said. I at least do not believe that the Savior
  said this. For certainly these teachings are
  strange ideas. Peter answered and spoke
  concerning these same things. He questioned them
  about the Savior Did He really speak with a
  woman without our knowledge and not openly? Are
  we to turn about and all listen to her? Did He
  prefer her to us?

16
Gospel of Mary

• Then Mary wept and said to Peter, My brother
  Peter, what do you think? Do you think that I
  have thought this up myself in my heart, or that
  I am lying about the Savior? Levi answered and
  said to Peter, Peter, you have always been hot
  tempered. Now I see you contending against the
  woman like the adversaries. But if the Savior
  made her worthy, who are you indeed to reject
  her? Surely the Savior knows her very well. That
  is why He loved her more than us.

17
Gospel of Philip

• And the companion of the Mary Magdalene.
  loved her more than all the disciples and
  used to kiss her often on her . The rest
  of the disciples were offended by it and
  expressed disapproval.
• Gospel of Philip 6333-36

18
Gnostic Evidence

• Both texts are probably symbolic.
• Gospel of Mary Peter (Orthodox), Mary
  (Gnostics).
• Gospel of Philip kissing is most likely
  symbolic.
• Neither teaches that Jesus was married.

19
Other Evidence

• Mary traveled with Jesus.
• She was not the only women to do so.
• Mary had a special relationship with Jesus.
• Even if this is true, notice that this is never
  called marriage.
• Jesus as a good Jew would be married. He was
  also a teacher and functioned like a rabbi (Mark
  1121).

20
Was Single UnJewish?

• Jesus was not technically a rabbi, nor did He
  portray Himself as one.
• Jesus talks about eunuchs for the kingdom
  (Matthew 1910-12) and appears to model it after
  Himself.
• The Essenes were known for their emphasis on
  celibacy (Josephus, Antiquities 18.1.5.21 Jewish
  War 2.8.2.121-122 Philo, Hypothetica 11.14-18).

21
Contrary Evidence

• Mary is not tied to any male anywhere when she is
  named in Scripture.
• Jesus shows no special concern for Mary Magdalene
  at the cross.
• Other disciples were married, but Jesus is not
  named (1 Corinthians 94-6).
• Early church had no problem with prominent women
  (e.g. Mary, the Mother of Jesus).

22
Conclusion

• Jesus was not married to Mary Magdalene.
• She was not pregnant with his child
• She did not flee to France.
• There is no royal bloodline.
• There is no conspiracy to cover up what never
  happened.
• Next week Pat Zukeran will talk about New
  Testament reliability and the gnostic texts.

23
Why isThe Da Vinci CodePopular?
24
Three Umpires

• Theres balls and theres strikes, and I call
  em the way they are.
• Theres balls and theres strikes, and I call
  em the way I see em.
• Theres balls and theres strikes, and they
  aint nothing until I call them.

Truth Is Stranger Than It Used to Be (1995)
25
Three Views of Truth

• Pre-modernism God-centered universe,
  revelation, truth is absolute.
• Modernism (1850-1945) Enlightenment, science,
  truth is relative.
• Postmodernism (1945) loss of hope for truth,
  truth is created.

26
Postmodernism

• Postmodernism is the belief that truth is not
  discovered but created.
• It is the belief that truth doesnt exist except
  as the individual wants it to exist.
• In a postmodern world, the narrative becomes an
  important way to communicate truth.
• The Da Vinci Code is successful because it is a
  novel that tells a story.