Opinion : Pastors Blog - “Someone Found Another Gospel?”

Last week, the Associated Press and several other news networks released yet another ‘gospel’.  Harvard University professor Karen King, an expert in the history of Christianity, has identified what many are now calling, “The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife.”  She claims that this papyrus challenges one of the cornerstones of Christian religion, the celibacy of Jesus.

 

King says this manuscript is ‘the only ancient text quoting Jesus explicitly referring to having a wife.’  She admits this is the ‘first evidence that some early Christians believed Jesus has been married.’  

 

With all due respect towards an established Harvard University professor, I disagree.  I’m skeptical of her claims for a variety of reasons, as are many other historical and religious scholars, and as I suspect you may be as well.  In order to understand whether professor King’s interpretations are true or not, we need to know the answers to the following questions (highlighted in bold):

 

First, what evidence can she give that proves this ‘gospel’ has ‘Christian’ origins?  

 

It seems that her whole argument for the truthfulness and reliability of this new ‘gospel’ rests on the premise that this document is ‘Christian.’  In other words, what professor King is saying is: because it’s a ‘Christian’ text, it represents what [some] Christians believed.  

 

Don’t you think it’s strange that both King and the press are calling this a ‘Christian’ manuscript when we know absolutely nothing about the document except that it was written in Coptic sometime during the 4th century?

 

Let me point out the obvious here: Christian thought didn’t evolve in someone’s basement with one or two manuscripts, but is largely conveyed in the Bible, the Holy Scriptures, a compilation of religious and historical documents that far outweighs ANY other historical document in its historical supporting evidence!   

 

No, this new ‘gospel’s‘ assertion is indeed NEW to Christianity!  Never has anyone who accepted the authority of the Scriptures believed Jesus to have married- the Scriptures prove exactly the opposite!  None of the Apostles, none of the early church fathers, and none of the early church historians make record of Jesus having a wife- none. The evidence supporting Jesus’ celibacy does not rely on a single, four-word manuscript from the fourth century.  On the contrary, the evidence is overwhelming: thousands upon thousands of ancient manuscripts, many predating this new ‘gospel’ by 200-300 years, all disagree!  How can she say that her new ‘gospel’ challenges the cornerstone of the Christian faith?  

 

Once again, what evidence proves this new ‘gospel’ is Christian?

 

Second, ‘Christian’ origin assumes ‘Christian’ authorship.  So, please tell us who wrote it.  How can we know which ‘Christian’ wrote it and for what reason?

 

There’s really not much to discuss here.  No one knows who wrote this new ‘gospel’ nor to what religious community he/she belonged.  Spurious letters written in the names of the Apostles did indeed circulate among the early church, but the church rejected them because their authorship was brought into question as well as their authenticity as being part of the Scriptures.

 

In other words, how can professor King conclude this document represents Christian thought when we don’t know who wrote it or to what religious community he/she represented?

 

Third, If the document proves to be both ‘Christian’ in origin and authorship, does its message agree with earlier Christian texts?  

 

In other words, if the document is truly Christian, we would expect its message to agree with other Christian thought.  Unfortunately for this new ‘gospel’, we only have four [Coptic] words (six English words) to examine.  

 

Leaving this significant problem aside for a moment, the meaning of these four words is indeed radical- if its true.  Professor King herself says ‘this is the first historical evidence to support that some Christian believed Jesus had been married.‘  Though this new document is indeed the first ‘evidence’ of its kind, doesn’t it seem odd that its message has stood alone, without ANY historical evidence as professor King admits, for some 2000 years?  Think about it for a moment: if this new ‘gospel’ is indeed true, why does it stand alone?  Why wouldn’t there be hundreds of other manuscripts supporting the same claim?  Wouldn’t the early Christian historians have agreed?  

 

Well, this new ‘Christian gospel’ doesn’t agree with any Christian thought.  In fact, the earliest Christian evidence proves just the opposite of professor King’s conclusion- Jesus never married.  Here’s the historical, biblical, Christian evidence:

 

The “Gospel of Matthew” was written by Matthew, one of Jesus’ disciples, around AD 60.   He makes no mention of Jesus having a wife, but He does indicate mention that Peter had a wife (8:14).  Instead he ends His book right before Jesus ascends to heaven.

 

The “Gospel of Mark” was the first eye-witness account written before AD 60 by John Mark, the son of Mary (the sister of Barnabas).  He was one of Paul’s companions on his first missionary journey (Acts 12:25).  Concerning Jesus, Mark records that shortly after Christ’s resurrection, He spoke to His disciples and then ascended to heaven.  There’s no mention of Jesus having a wife.

 

The “Gospel of Luke” and the book of “Acts of the Apostles” were written by Luke, an early Christian and eye-witness to Jesus’ earthly ministry.  He wrote this first-hand account before AD 70 and makes no mention of Jesus having a wife.  He concludes the “Gospel of Luke” as the others did so far: Jesus Christ died, was buried, then arose from the grave, was seen by His disciples, gave them instructions, and departed to heaven.  His “Acts of the Apostles” begins where the “Gospel of Luke” left off: with Jesus ascending to heaven.  It’s interesting to note that in Luke 8:32-33, Luke quotes from the book of Isaiah (745-680 BC) a short excerpt from Isaiah’s Messianic prophecy in Isaiah 53:8: “No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream.”  Jesus had no progeny, no blood descendants because He remained unmarried.  He had not come to set up an earthly kingdom populated by His own human descendants, but rather a spiritual kingdom in which those who repent of their sins and trust in Him to save them would become His children (John 1:12).  In fact, when Jesus’ mother and half-brothers demanded to speak to Him, Jesus indicated that He had even closer relatives than they: “Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!” (Matthew 12:50).  Jesus’ entire purpose was to set up a spiritual kingdom that would include people from every race, every nation, every tribe, and every tongue (Revelation 5:9).

 

The “Gospel of John” gives us some additional detail of Jesus’ life.  The apostle John, the writer of this book as well as 1,2,3 John and Revelation wrote these five books before his death on the island of Patmos sometime between 90-100 AD.  In John’s Gospel, he records Jesus’ personal encounter with Mary Magdalene, the very figure professor King suggests was married to Jesus.  When Christ met Mary after His resurrection and she finally realized it was indeed her Messiah who had raised from the dead, John records Christ’s own words: “Don’t cling to me,” Jesus said, “for I haven’t yet ascended to the Father” (John 20:17).  This is hardly the response of one who is married.  Furthermore, Jesus, like the other Apostles / writers attested, ascended to heaven shortly after these events occurred.

 

In John’s book called “Revelation,” he records Jesus’ wedding celebration between Himself and the church in Revelation 19:7-8: “Let us be glad and rejoice, and let us give honor to him. For the time has come for the wedding feast of the Lamb, and his bride has prepared herself. 8 She has been given the finest of pure white linen to wear.” For the fine linen represents the good deeds of God’s holy people.”  Then later in Revelation 20:9, an angel shows the apostle John the bride of Christ: “Come with me! I will show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”  The one bride of Christ is the church.

 

Finally, the Apostle Paul, the author of more than half of the New Testament, tells us that Jesus did not marry, but that one day, He will!  In the middle of Paul’s discourse concerning the relationships between husbands and wives, he identifies the future ‘bride of Christ’ as the church in Ephesians 5:25-33.  In fact, the oneness that husbands and wives enjoy is the same kind of oneness between Jesus Christ and His bride, the church.      

 

So there’s the historical, biblical, Christian evidence for the celibacy of Jesus Christ.  Obviously professor King and others disagree.  If you had to weigh two opposing propositions between an anonymous, four-word, partial manuscript and the overwhelming historical and manuscript evidence supporting the Gospels and letters of the New Testament, which would you believe?

 

In conclusion, does this new ‘gospel’ represent true Christian thought?  No- not even a little bit.  There’s no correspondence whatsoever.  In fact, there’s so much evidence to the contrary, I can’t understand why professor King believes this new ‘gospel’ is: 1)... authentically Christian, 2)...written by a Christian for the Christian community and 3)...represents the greater scope of Christian and religious antiquity.  True Christian cornerstones cannot be moved that easily.

 

Perhaps it’s best to close with Jesus’ own words on the matter: “The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the Word of our God stands forever.”  Isaiah 40:8.

 

Zach Zajicek is the pastor at:

First Baptist Church of Vinton

 

phone: (319) 472-3881

email: vintonfirstbaptist@yahoo.com

web: www.vintonfirstbaptist.com

 

all Scripture quoted from the New Living Translation