Was Jesus Married?
All the available evidence points to an answer of "no."
By Darrell L. Bock
It has long been believed that Jesus was single. Every detail of
Scripture indicates this. When he was in ministry, there is no
mention of a wife. When he was tried and crucified, there is no
mention of his having a wife. After his death, there is no mention
of a wife. Whenever Jesus' family is referred to, it is his
brothers and sisters who are mentioned, but never a wife. Nor is
there any indication that he was widowed.
Attempts to suggest that any of the many women associated with his
ministry were, in fact, his wife are empty speculation. This
includes the woman with the alabaster container who anointed Jesus
(read Luke 7:36-5 0). This woman's act was shocking and would not
have been nearly so surprising had she been his wife.
We can contrast Jesus to the rest of the apostles, Peter, and the
brothers of the Lord, all of whom are said to have had wives (1
Corinthians 9:5). This passage shows that the church was not
embarrassed to reveal that its leaders were married-or to suggest
that they had the right to be. The same would have been true of
Jesus, if he had been married.
It is often suggested that because Jesus was a teacher and
functioned like a rabbi that he would have been married as well,
since that was the Jewish custom. Sometimes it is noted that the
apostles called him 'rabbi' (Mark 11:2 1).
However, two factors make this argument weak. First, Jesus was not
technically a rabbi, nor did he portray himself as one. The
apostles addressed him as such to say he was their teacher, not
because he held any kind of official Jewish office. The Jews asked
Jesus 'by what authority' he did certain things because he did not
hold any kind of formal office within Judaism. He did not have an
official position that would have permitted him to do things like
act within the temple (Mark 11: 2
. As far as the Jewish
leaders were concerned, Jesus had no recognized role within
Judaism. Read another view on whether Jesus acted as a rabbi.
Second, the example of the call to be 'eunuchs for the kingdom'
appears, in part, to be rooted in Jesus' own commitment and example
not to be married (Matthew 19: 10-12). In fact, the rationale for
the Roman church's later view that priests should not be married
partially stems from the view that Jesus was not married.
So if we ask what the hard evidence is that Jesus was married,
there really is a very short answer. There is none.
So why remain single? What advantage is there to this? In 1
Corinthians 7, Paul elaborated on Jesus' theme about 'eunuchs for
the sake of the kingdom.' Paul expressed his preference that people
remain single. Paul explained that the present time of distress, by
which he meant the difficulty of life until Jesus returns, made
being single better when it came to serving the kingdom. The
married person must worry about the affairs of earth: how to care
for his wife and, by implication, his family. The unmarried person
can serve the Lord without such distraction (1 Cor. 7:
27-35).
Nevertheless, Paul also made it clear this was a choice, not a
command: "But if you marry, you do not sin." (7:2. Paul
himself chose to remain single, probably for the very reasons he
suggests in 1 Corinthians 7. He understood, as Jesus did, that
others were not called to be single (1 Cor 7: 1-7).
Traditions encouraging a dedicated single life also existed
elsewhere in Judaism. Members of the ascetic Jewish sect of the
Essenes were known for their emphasis on celibacy (Josephus,
Antiquities 18.1.5. 21; Jewish War 2.8.2.121-122; Philo,
Hypothetica 11.14-1. At Qumran, most
appear to have been celibate, although a Dead Sea Scroll about the
community suggests some possibility (1QSa 1:4-10) of marriage,
woman, and children in the messianic times. For those Essenes at
Qumran, the point of remaining single was also dedication to
God.
So Jesus was single. His marital status was one dimension of his
dedication to God. At least, that is how many Jews would have
understood it. As Jesus faced rejection, it was of benefit that he
did not have a wife or children. These are likely some of the
concerns Paul alluded to in speaking of "worry for earthly things."
Jesus had a singular focus on preaching the kingdom of God, and his
choice to be single underscored that calling.
