Preached by Gregory W. Lee
4 June 2006
I. Introduction
-- turn in your Bibles to Galatians 3
26. You are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus,
27. for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.
28. There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
29. If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise.
-- this morning, we are finishing up our series inspired by the Da Vinci Code -- the best-selling book by Dan Brown and the subject for the current movie starring Tom Hanks and directed by Ron Howard
-- as we have discussed over the past several weeks, Brown made several outrageous claims about Jesus, the church, and the Bible in his book -- so during this series, we have discussed the Gnostic gospels, how the Holy Bible was brought together, and the divinity of Christ
-- this morning, we are going to address the most egregious claim made by Brown in his book -- and the one that has gotten the most attention by the mainstream media -- namely, that Jesus was married to Mary Magdelene and intended for her to lead His church following His death
-- he goes on to say that the early church leaders chose to rebel against this teaching and establish a male-dominated church -- going so far as to reject scriptures that emphasized the sacred feminine, the role of women in the church, and anything that mentioned that Jesus was married to Mary Magdelene -- even revising the Bible to cast her in the role of a prostitute so as to discredit her
-- so, this morning, let's spend a few moments looking at this issue -- first, we'll discuss the role of women in the first century -- then we'll look at the the church's teachings concerning women and their role in the New Testament -- and finally, we will talk about whether Jesus was married to Mary Magdelene or not
II. Role of Women in First Century
-- Brown is the latest -- although definitely not the first -- critic of Christianity who has alleged that Christianity is male-dominated and demeans women in church and in the home -- these critics, including some notable Bible scholars, have insisted that Christianity -- especially as taught by the Apostle Paul -- forced women into a subjugative role and oppressed them throughout the past two millenia
-- but, is that really the case? -- what was the actual role of women in the first century -- the time when Jesus was living on the earth and when the Apostles and the early Christians were beginning to put together a structure to this new religion that Christ introducted
-- when we talk about women in that day, we really have to look at two different classes of women -- Gentiles and Jews
-- the role of women in Gentile society in that day was evolving -- over 600 years before Christ -- when the Greeks were the world emperors -- women were heavily restricted in society and were very similar in status to that of modern-day Muslims in the Middle East
-- for instance, women could not go out in public alone -- they could be put to death by their husbands for drinking or for alleged adultery -- and they had no political identity or status -- they were regarded as the property of their fathers or husbands -- and were afforded no rights at all
-- this began to change when the Romans established their republic in 510 BC --
although women were still considered less than men, they were now afforded some political identity and status -- they were considered citizens and had some rights in the Republic, even though they were not allowed to vote -- they had more freedoms as Roman citizens than they did under the Greeks -- they were allowed some education -- some of the wealthier families taught their daughters to read and write
-- however, they were still considered to be under the custody of men -- and they were expected to accept the authority and protection of their fathers or husbands without question -- in fact, Romans did not name their daughters -- their daughters were identified with a feminized form of their father's name
-- curiously, the role of women in Jewish homes was more restrictive than that of the Romans who governed the land of Israel during that time -- in fact, several scholars have regarded the Jewish people as one of the most male dominant cultures in the world
-- like the Greeks, the Jews considered women to be second-class citizens -- similar in status to that of slaves -- according to Zhava Glaser, women were severely restricted in their lives and were separated from men in their private, public, and religious lives -- women could not testify in court -- could not be involved in commerce -- could not receive an inheritance -- and were rarely seen outside the home
-- when they did venture out, to the market or to the synagogue or temple, they had to be heavily veiled, had to walk six paces behind their husband, and could not converse with men
-- in regards to their religious life, women were typically not taught to read and received religious instruction only through the teaching of men -- they were not allowed into the inner part of the temple, but were restricted to the Court of Women -- a raised gallery along three sides of the temple -- here they could watch the rituals and ceremonies, but they could never participate in them
-- this was the lot in life for women in the first century -- whether they were a Gentile or a Jew, their lives were heavily restricted and were dominated by men -- they had few social freedoms and were not afforded the same opportunities to worship and minister in their religions as men in their day did
III. The Church and Women in the First Century
-- this was the situation that Christianity was birthed in -- this was the cultural heritage of the early believers of Christ -- it was the cultural heritage of Jesus Himself -- so, how did Jesus and His followers relate to women?
-- Dan Brown admits what most scholars agree on -- that Jesus broke social norms in relating to and ministering to women -- Brown says that Jesus put a heavy emphasis on women in His ministry -- and we would have to agree
-- it is obvious to the casual reader of the Bible that Jesus demonstrated the high value He placed on women by speaking with them in public and by offering the same opportunities for healing and forgiveness as He did for the men who followed Him -- in fact, unlike most rabbinic teachers in Jesus' day, He had a following of women who traveled with Him and who helped provide for His daily needs
-- but this was not unusual for Jesus -- Jesus showed no partiality in His dealings with anyone -- He healed the Gentile and the Jew alike -- He ministered to men and women alike -- and, of course, He died for all of us -- free or slave -- Jew or Gentile -- male or female -- it was this aspect of Jesus' life and ministry that inspired Paul to write the words in the passage that we opened with, " There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. -- If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
-- in reality, what Jesus was doing was restoring the traditional role of women that they had enjoyed in the early Old Testament Period -- Zhava Glaser points out that in earlier times in Jewish history women participated in every aspect of community life except the Temple priesthood -- women freely engaged in commerce and real estate and manual labor -- unlike the conditions in Jesus' day, they were not excluded from Temple worship -- women played music in the sanctuary -- they prayed there -- they sang and danced with men in religious processions -- and they participated in music and festivities at weddings
-- we all agree that Jesus' interactions with women were ground-breaking and restorative -- that He placed an emphasis on women as highly valued individuals -- precious in the sight of God and important to His church
-- but, did the leaders of His church follow Jesus' example or did they take steps to subjugate women and create a male-dominated hierarchy in the church as Brown insinuates?
-- if you would, turn in your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 14
33. For God is not a God of disorder but of peace. As in all the congregations of the saints,
34. women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says.
35. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church.
-- most of the critics of the teachings of the early church point to the Apostle Paul as an example of how the church oppressed women in its early days and as the foundation for the oppression of women that has continued through now
-- and, truth be told, the Apostle Paul did instruct the churches to limit the role of women in the church, most notably when he wrote to the church in Corinth and to Timothy and told them that women should remain silent during worship services
-- however, in context and taking into account the cultural norms of the day, it seems that Paul was advising them to not allow a woman to publicly lead the worship services or seemingly take authority over men for a couple of reasons
-- first, the early Christians were already being persecuted by both the Jews and the Romans -- and if the early church had propelled women into leadership roles, this would have been another complaint that the early church critics could have used against the church to justify their persecution
-- secondly, the Gentile women coming into these churches were coming from a pagan background where temple prostitution and unorderly worship services were accepted practices -- Paul's concern in this whole chapter in 1 Corinthians has been on order in the worship service -- so it is likely that he feared these women would bring their disorderly pagan worship practices with them into the Christian worship services
-- however, despite what his critics say, Paul was not opposed to women being in leadership roles or being involved in ministry -- look with me now in Romans 16 at verse 1
1. I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.
2. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me.
3. Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus.
4. They risked their lives for me. Not only I but all the churches of the Gentiles are grateful to them.
5. Greet also the church that meets at their house. Greet my dear friend Epenetus, who was the first convert to Christ in the province of Asia.
6. Greet Mary, who worked very hard for you.
12. Greet Tryphena and Tryphosa, those women who work hard in the Lord. Greet my dear friend Persis, another woman who has worked very hard in the Lord.
-- in the book of Acts and in Paul's epistles, we see numerous examples of women in leadership roles and being involved in ministry -- in this passage, Paul praises Phoebe for her service to the Lord in the church in Cenchrea -- and he mentions Priscilla, who, along with her husband, discipled and taught Apollos the basics of Christianity -- in all likelihood, Priscilla helped teach those who gathered in her home to worship Christ -- so it appears that Paul's concern about women being silent in the letter to the Corinthians only had to do with public worship and not with private meetings in homes -- obviously, Paul considered women to be equal co-workers in spreading the gospel of Christ
-- in addition to this recognition of the role of women in the church by Paul, other New Testament writers included instances of women ministering and being ministered to by Christ -- in fact, women had a prominent role in the formation of the early church according to the Bible
-- for instance, it was the women followers of Christ who were the last ones at the foot of the cross and the first ones to visit His tomb
-- it was a woman who first saw the risen Christ and who spread the word to the male disciples that Jesus had risen from the dead
-- the Book of Acts records that women were present at the first prayer meeting of the new church, and that women were the first to greet Paul and Silas when they first arrived in Europe to preach the gospel of Christ -- in fact, Luke records that the first convert to Christianity in Europe was Lydia, a woman
-- speaking of Christianity as a whole, Gillian Clark wrote that Christianity enlarged possibilities for women -- for the first time, women could choose to reject marriage and child-bearing and live at home with their mothers, or in solitude, or in a community of women -- they could be actively involved in prayer and Bible study and they could devote their lives and their wealth to the Church and to God's service
-- if the male leaders of the church had actually tried to remove the importance of women in the life and ministry of Jesus and the church, certainly they would have removed these instances and the instances of Jesus speaking with and ministering to women from the Bible
-- it appears that on this allegation, Dan Brown falls short again
IV. Did Jesus Marry?
-- I know I'm running out of time, so real briefly, let me touch on the allegation by Dan Brown that Jesus was married to Mary Magdelene -- this allegation is not scriptural -- it is not recorded in our New Testament -- and it is not recorded in any of the Gnostic gospels or writings -- no where do we find in print the statement that Jesus was married to Mary Magdelene
-- Alex McFarland pointed out an interesting observation based on 1 Corinthians 9:5 -- this verse reads, "Don't we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord's brothers and Cephas [Peter]?" -- in this verse, Paul defends the right of the apostles and other church leaders to be married -- now, if Jesus had been married, Paul most certainly would have cited Him as conclusive support for being accompanied by a wife -- in other words, this would have been the perfect place for Paul to write that Jesus was married -- but he didn't -- which implies that Jesus was not married and that no one in that time believed that He was married
-- we have to remember that Jesuss mission was not procreation but salvation -- as Focus on the Family states on their website, the "establishment of marriage, family and an earthly home were not Jesus' purposes" -- in reality, Jesus didn't need Mary Magdelene or any other woman to be His bride -- He already had a bride -- the church that He was preparing and sanctifying through His blood
V. Closing
-- so in closing, let me reiterate the teaching of the church from its earliest days -- women are important in the ministry and in the leadership of the church -- Jesus demonstrated the value that God places on women by elevating their status in a day when they were treated as second-class citizens -- and the church has continued to recognize the gifts and graces that women bring
-- in our own denomination, we allow the full ordination of women -- not only can women serve as Bible teachers and worship leaders and in various other functions in the church, but they can be ordained and serve in pastoral and administrative roles as elders and bishops
-- so, contrary to what Dan Brown professes and teaches, the church recognizes and values the influence of women in our ongoing ministry for Christ in this world
-- as we noted in our opening passage from Galatians, "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. -- If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."
-- let us pray
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