The Secret Wife of Jesus

Monday, December 3, 2012

Dear Friend, I hope you're doing great in the Lord's love. The flip side of staying rooted and grounded in the truth, is being able to discern and stand strong against falsehood. This brings up the international news story of the "Jesus Wife Papyrus." The Secret Wife of Jesus Word for the Month & for Saturday, Dec. 1 Scripture: 2 Peter 3:11 See Message: The Da Vinci Uncode The story made headlines across the world. A papyrus was found that contained the words "Jesus said to them, 'My wife'..." The finding was hailed by such specialists as Karen King, professor of early Christianity at Harvard Divinity School. "The fragment," she said, "suggests that some early Christians had a tradition that Jesus was married." The fragment, of faded papyrus measures only 1.5 inches by 3 inches, the size of a business card. It contains eight lines on one side in black ink, legible through a magnifying glass. Underneath the words speaking of Jesus having a wife is another phrase that reportedly says, "she will be able to be my disciple." The news quickly spread through the world's media amidst controversy. Those who had subscribed to such theories as in Dan Brown's "The DaVinci Code," were naturally excited with the news. The Smithsonian Channel hailed the find as "one of the most significant discoveries of all time." But just how significant is the find? The answer - very little. The Bible never gives the slightest hint of Messiah being married. So what does the papyrus add to the issue? Nothing. The fragment has been purportedly dated to the fourth century A.D. In other words, that would place it three centuries after the events recorded in the Gospels. How historically accurate would such writings be? Not very. The very authenticity of the fragment is itself in question. Its owner has remained anonymous. And no one appears to be sure of its origin. The earliest documentation of its existence is apparently from the early 1980s. Hany Sadak, the director of the Coptic Museum in Egypt, the land where the fragment was said to originate, has stated that the writings are not authentic. Alin Suciu, an expert in papyrus at the University of Hamburg said, "I would say it's a forgery." "The script doesn't look authentic," he said, when compared to other samples of Coptic papyrus dated to the 4th century." In view of the questions surrounding its authenticity, and the fact that even if it were authentic, its value as historic evidence concerning Jesus is nil - why was the find trumpeted throughout the secular media? Keep in mind, this is the same media that almost considers the name of Jesus 'taboo,' and appears to go to great lengths to avoid it. The answer appears to be that anything that even hints at attacking the claims of the Bible or New Testament is promoted by the media. The same dynamic can be seen in the fact that when Jesus is depicted on television, it is now most likely to be for the purpose of comedy and mockery - a sign of the end times when the sacred is increasingly desecrated. As believers, we should not panic at the latest attack or claim against the Gospel. These have been around since the first-century charge of the disciples stealing the body. But they change nothing, and the power of the Gospel continues to go forth and change lives. There is no secret wife of Jesus to only now be discovered. But there is a wife - it's us, the bride of Messiah. And perhaps if we would live less hidden, more bold, more on fire, and more radiant - the world would see the real bride and not search for a secret one. This month, set your heart to live all the more consistent as the bride of Messiah, holy, pure, unashamed, bold, and radiant. And may God greatly bless you as you do! Your brother and co-laborer, in His love and service, Jonathan