Did Jesus have a wife?
I live in the Deep South where it is customary to hear prayer “in Jesus’ name” at city functions. Many people here are startled at the idea that anyone could actually have different religious views. Not that this attitude is at all mean-spirited; it is just an assumption. Meanwhile, a new discover has stirred the pot! An ancient (4th Century) fragment of Egyptian Coptic parchment has emerged. On it are just a few tantalizing words—“Jesus said to them, my wife…” Of course, it is not “proof” of Jesus’ wedded state, only evidence that early Christians believed Jesus was married, as the blockbuster novel The DaVinci Code postulated.
Personally, I don’t find this shocking at all. Every Jewish mother wants her son or daughter to get married. On top of that, it turns out that God also had a wife. I stumbled upon this revelation doing research for my novel, Noah’s Wife. I set the story at the time of a great flood of the Black Sea, which is likely to have been the inspiration for the Biblical story of Noah and the ark. According to geologists, that time was 5500 BCE. The culture of the area (ancient Turkey) at that time included the worship of both god and goddess. In fact, the Mother Goddess remained an important figure in the Middle East for thousands of years. Early Hebrews worship included her, even inside the Temple in the holiest place in Judaism! Archeologists are finding ancient pottery inscriptions that say “Yahweh and his Asherah.” (Asherah was a Canaanite goddess, who was the wife of “El.”) It appears there was a systematic “erasing” and redacting of the story (which had never been written down before), when the Hebrew priests blamed their expulsion from Israel and the destruction of the Temple on worship that included the goddess.
History is what those who write it say it is… until evidence emerges that makes us rethink the past. For a long time, it was absolute “gospel” that the universe revolved around the Earth. So, if Jesus did have a wife, what does that mean?
Postscript: “Now after more than 18 months, scientists from Columbia, Harvard and MIT have reported that, in the words of the New York Times . . . ‘The ink and papyrus are very likely ancient and not a modern forgery.'” — Hershal Shanks “First Person” in July/August 2014 issue of Biblical Archeology Review
T.K. Thorne is a retired police captain (Birmingham, Alabama), director of City Action Partnership, and an award-winning author of fiction and non-fiction.
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T. K. THORNE 
I love this post. This is information for those of us who want a complete picture of our history and faith – not an understanding based solely on handed-down rote and rules. Thank you for your research, and for sharing.
Thanks Jimsey. Hope it inspires some thought and conversation. Teresa
I like this idea of Jesus being married. It makes sense to me and I can only imagine the joy of being married to such a man as this. Mother in Heaven; I have believed in her for a long time. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
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Thanks for your comment Kathy. Perhaps we know in our bones that there is a feminine element to the divine, whether it be God or the divine potential within us!
I hope so. However, I am Southern Baptist so it may be blasphemous to say so.
I don’t trust the media much now. My review of history suggests not much has really changed.
I like your take on whether or not Jesus had a wife. I’ve always wondered “why not?” It has long been my belief, long before The DaVinci Code, that Mary Magdalene was most likely the wife of Jesus. Though she has not even been given the title of “Apostle,” she most certainly was an apostle, and even the Bible mentions how close they were to each other. As in many books, written before the Council of Nicea decided which books would and which books wouldn’t be included in the Bible, there was mention of a “special” relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene. Now with the discovery of the lost Gnostic books, we have “The Gospel of Mary Magdalene.” As a Catholic, I would like to point out to Kathy Jones, that we believe the “Mother in Heaven” is Mary, the mother of Jesus. She is our Madonna and our Mother of God. But I must admit that the Catholic Church, almost from its inception, has either downplayed the role of women in the Bible or ignored them altogether. For a very long time it continued to portray women as “occasions of sin.” Thankfully, Pope Francis is trying to change many of the old views of the Church and to move it toward being inclusive to all people of all genders and sexual persuasions.. He has said, “Who am I to judge? Only God can judge.” To that I add my “amen.”.
Thank you for your wise comment, Elsa. I add my “amen” to yours.