The Da Vinci Code and the Waste of Time over it

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The Da Vinci Code and the Waste of Time over it

A few years back, there came a book with the name of "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. It soon became a bestseller and caught the imagination of a large number of people. It’s main thesis was a supposedly sensational revelation that there was evidence that Jesus had married Mary Magdalene, that he had a daughter through her, that the Moravingians were direct descendants of Jesus, and that some of his descendants are still alive. This contradicted the official position of the church, and a lot of time was spent in defending it against the attack.

What a waste of time! What a waste of time on both the sides over a totally irrelevant issue! To the proponents of the thesis of the book I ask: Even if what has been written in the book is true, what is it going to avail you or anyone else on Judgment Day? On Judgment Day, is God going to judge you on the basis of whether you got Jesus’ marital status right? Or the status of his physical descendants right? The topic is not even going to come up! You are going to be judged by how well you have lived your life, and how much of it conforms to the ideal life described by Jesus. Why are you wasting your valuable time over an irrelevant issue? So what if Jesus was indeed married to Mary Magdalene and had descendants through her?

And to the defenders of the official position of the church, I ask the very same question: So what if Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and had descendants through her? The Bible nowhere contradicts that possibility. In fact certain statements in the Bible support that possibility! In the lists of women who had followed Jesus in his last hours, Mary Magdalene’s name is always put first, even ahead of women who were most likely elder to her! This would be appropriate only if in some way, Mary Magdalene was more important, and a good possibility of that would be if she was his wife! Mat 27:56 reads "Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedee's sons." Mat 27:61 reads "Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb." Mat 28:1 says "After the Sabbath, at dawn on the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to look at the tomb." Mark 15:40 says, "Some women were watching from a distance. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome." Mark 15:47 says, "Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses saw where he was laid." Mark 16:1 says, "When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body." Mary Magdalene's name is always put first!

According to Mark 16:9, when Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene. Mary Magdalene is again mentioned first in Luke 24:10 which says, "It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles."

Mary’s behavior in John 20:1-18 further strengthens the view that in some way Mary Magdalene was closer to Jesus than believed. According to John 20:1, early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, it was Mary Magdalene who went to the tomb first and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance. In John 20:10-11, even after the disciples went back to their homes, Mary stood outside the tomb crying. The exchange between Jesus and Mary in John 20:16 certainly seems to have a touch of endearment. According to John 20:17, Mary held on to Jesus and the meaning of the Greek word "haptou" is closer to "clung to Jesus," a behavior only appropriate for a wife in first-century Jewish society.

I am in no way suggesting that all this is proof enough to support the thesis that Jesus was married to Mary and I have no intention of getting into any argument for or against either side. The whole issue is irrelevant. It is no sin to marry, and marriage was the custom in Jewish society. According to Genesis 1:28, it was God’s blessing to "be fruitful and increase in number" and it would have been no sin for Jesus to live according to it. He might have very well been married to Mary Magdalene. My point is that the whole issue is irrelevant. On the Day of Judgment, we are not going to be judged on whether we got the truth about Jesus’ marital status right. We are going to be judged according to the way we have lived our lives.

And what would Jesus say about his children and grandchildren and further descendants? Going by Mat. 12:46-50, Mark 3:31-35 and Luke 8:19-21, he would most probably say, "Who are my children, and who are my grand-children? Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven are my children and grandchildren! My children and grandchildren are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

Enough time has been wasted on both the sides over an irrelevant issue. Superficial people always gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear (2 Tim 4:3). It helps them to avoid facing the hard questions of life. For those who know that there are far more important issues at stake, the Da Vinci Code is a big waste of time over a totally irrelevant issue.