Q: Was Jesus married?

There is more to this question than first meets the eye!

To begin, there is no statement in the Bible which says or implies that Jesus was married to anyone. In fact, if He had exchanged vows with someone, the absence of any supporting Scripture would be strange, especially considering it was not out of the ordinary for the ordained men of God to have a wife. Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 9:5 that other apostles as well as the brothers of the Lord had wives that traveled with them. Matthew 8:14 also mentions Peter's wife in passing. In addition to this, the Bible also takes the time to mention Christ's brothers and sisters, some by name; His mother and step-father, who raised Him; His cousin, aunt and uncle; but never mentions a wife.

This would be very interesting, to say the least, but silence on a subject in the Bible may not conclusively prove nor disprove something. But, also consider that towards the end of His crucifixion, while His mother, Mary Magdalene and others stood at the cross (John 19:25), Jesus asked John to look after His mother (John 19:26-27), but does not take this opportunity to say anything about a wife or any child. This would be strange if He had been married and especially if Mary Magdalene was His wife, as some have purported. In this circumstance she is never referred to as such while everyone else standing by is defined by a relationship: Jesus' mother; mother's sister; and Clopas' wife.

Jesus, being a kind and compassionate man, would more than likely have taken His Commission into consideration and not had a wife for this reason as well. He was away often and many times had no home to go to (Matthew 8:20). Also, knowing His end at a young age, this would have been a foreseen hardship on a young woman that could have been avoided by not marrying in the first place.

When we look more closely at what Jesus came to do here, it adds another piece to the puzzle. He was sent by God with a purpose and singular focus to save sinners from the penalty of sin, magnify the law, preach the gospel of the kingdom of God, build the church, call and train disciples, etc. Christ would have more than likely been too busy to attend to a physical family. And as Paul points out in 1 Corinthians 7:32, 35, it is sometimes easier to accomplish this without the distractions of family life (compare Christ's words in Matthew 19:12).

Now, all that being said, technically Jesus had been married and divorced and was at the time of His ministry working towards marrying again. Of course we are talking spiritually! This was the crux of what He came to Earth to do. This is what He was occupied with and what He primarily came to accomplish. It would have left little if any time for a wife.

The One who became the Man Jesus, was the God of the Old Testament (For more information on this, please read our booklet, “Jesus Christ—A Great Mystery!”). He was the One that was intimately involved with the physical nation of Israel even to the degree that He MARRIED them. It was not something that was done flippantly in passing, but rather it was a formal and legally binding contract between Him and the Israelites.

We see that the One who became Christ, entered into a covenant (a contract or agreement under force of law) with the Israelites (Exodus 19-24). The Israelites agreed to the terms of the covenant (Exodus 19:8; 24:7) and He became a Husband to them (Jeremiah 31:32).

It was a MARRIAGE COVENANT! Simply put, within this agreement the Israelites were to stay faithful and obedient to Christ and were not to go after the false gods of the Gentile nations around them (Exodus 34:12-17). But Israel did not do this and they egregiously went whoring around and played the harlot with many other lovers (Jeremiah 3:1-2). The Israelites had committed spiritual adultery by taking on foreign gods and thereby rejecting God (1 Samuel 8:7-8).

Through all of this, Christ the Husband continued to plead with them through His servants the prophets (Jeremiah 7:25). Finally He had no other choice but to divorce them (Jeremiah 3:6-8), after everything possible had been done.

Because Israel was put away for cause, Christ was then eligible to get married again (1 Corinthians 7:15). As we may imagine, this all-knowing and all powerful Creator already had a plan in motion. In Jeremiah, it is categorically stated that "after those days", a time yet in the future, Christ would make another marriage covenant with Israel (Jeremiah 31:32-33). This time though He would make it with spiritual Israel. This new marriage covenant is made with spiritual Israelites today, and it will also be made in the future with physical Israelites who have become spiritual Israelites.

This fact is again reiterated in the New Testament, after Christ came and successfully accomplished all that He set out to do. Romans 7:4 states: "Therefore, my brethren, you also have become dead to the law through the body of Christ, that you may be married to another—to Him who was raised from the dead, that we should bear fruit to God."

The Wife (Ephesians 5:31-32) consists of those who are baptized and receive God's Holy Spirit and act accordingly. True Christians today are betrothed to Christ. The Bible refers to betrothal as a marriage, so we are already in that sense married to Christ, but the consummation of the marriage has not taken place yet--it will take place in the future when both parties are Spirit beings. This and the wedding supper will occur after His return (Revelation 19:6-8). You may want to read more on these concepts in our free booklet, "And Lawlessness Will Abound."

Christ came to do the Work of God. His purpose was to die for us so that we could live and become members of the body of Christ; so that we could become a part of the Bride. The body of evidence in Scripture overwhelmingly points to the conclusion that Jesus did not marry any one during His brief time here on earth, but rather that He was doing the Will of His Father and preparing for the great spiritual marriage to come.

Lead Writer: Wray Zehrung