Wednesday, July 26, 2006

The Marriage of Jesus - The Ultimate Oppression

So lately I've been thinking about what it might mean if the DaVainci Code wasn't a work of fiction. What if Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married?

Now, let's try this out in several theological constructs. Imagine if Jesus wasn't divine... imagine if he was just a man. It is clear, even if he were just human, that the gospels portray him as the Messiah. The annointed one of God. Now imagine if this annointed one this Messiah got married. His wife, in this case Mary Magdeline, would be married to teh one who was to reestablish David's Throne and wrest Israel from the hands of it's oppressors. Now... this means, that anytime Mary decided to disagree with her husband, she would be disagreeing with the Messiah, with God's purposes, with Israels salvation. This is not marriage, this is oppression.

Now let's try this out as a Christian. Jesus being both human and divine, one with the Father, and part of the triune God. God, the creator of all things, first creates Mary Magdalene to be Jesus wife. Remembering how far above us God is the very thought of immortal God marrying a mortal human being is almost beastial and/or incestuous. Further, it would almost be like a human being creating a robot to supply their needs.

However, imagine now what it might be like for Jesus and Mary Magdalene in their marriage. In this scenario every time Mary Magdalene disagreed with her husband, every time she got angry with him, she would be committing a sin. Further, anytime she wasn't wanted, Jesus by his almighty power could mirculously silence her or send her away. The difference in power is just too extreme for such a marriage to ever be healthy. Further it paints a rather sickening picture of God creating a woman to satisfy his own needs.

Just a few thoughts...

3 comments:

Michelle said...

Good thoughts, Michael! I've never sat down and thought this one through before.

IF, however, by some divine theological twist Jesus did marry, there's no way that he would act as an oppressor because he would model how to be the perfect husband, to love perfectly. He would give himself away to her as he did in the other parts of his life. He wouldn't "use" her to supply his needs.

I don't think M. Magadalene would be sinning anymore than the rest of us.

I mean, every time one of us mistreats our friend/spouse/enemy/etc., we are sinning against Jesus, as well. And quite possibly there were times that M. Magdalene did disagree with Jesus, as did the disciples (i.e. Peter). And so did his family members, for that matter.

And I imagine we disagree with Jesus (in thought, word, and deed) all the time without even knowing it.

This topic reminds of an issue I raised with a couple folks after class last semester while I was taking John Wesley's Theology:

Would you want to be married to an entirely sanctified person?

Roy said...

Wow. I've ignored the DaVinci stupidity and not given this much thought. But the disagreeing in marriage is intriguing. To answer another question, marriage to an entirely sanctified person isn't scary. It's not like they are perfect in a negative sort of way. They are just perfect in their intention toward God. Just like Jesus was.

Alfred Kuchinski said...

The DaVinci code is a FICTION book that Dan Brown conjured up using various half truths and a good imagination. It is a good work of fiction.
Could Jesus (Y'shua) have married Mary Magdalene or any other woman for that matter?
The answer is yes! Jesus (Y'shua) was raised as a good Jewish male. His father, in this case Joseph, had to:
A Have Jesus circumsised
B Present Jesus in the Temple to the religious community
C Educate Jesus in the Torah
D Teach Jesus a trade
E Find Jesus a suitable wife

Scripture shows us that Joseph did indeed follow through with the first four things. It is not inconceivable that a suitable wife for Jesus was found.
Jesus was both HUMAN and DIVINE so it would have added quite a bit of pressure on his wife.
Could Mary Magdalene have been the wife of Jesus? ABSOLUTELY!
Many things in Holy Scripture were not recorded. One interesting thing is why was not the crucifixion of Saint Peter mentioned? Things just were left out!
Is it important that Jesus was married? NOT REALLY
What is important is that he died for our sins and opened Heaven to all believers.
Alfred Kuchinski