DID JESUS HAVE A WIFE?

No, Jesus did not have a wife. The recent discovery of an ancient fragment that makes this claim may have caused some to wonder. The interesting thing though is the claim has been around for a very long time. Recently, Justin Taylor posted a blog about this supposed finding and cites a study done of the fragment. In case someone asks you about it, it may be good for you to learn the facts. I have pasted the post below for you to read so you can be informed and respond to questions.  --Pastor Dave

The Gospel of Jesus’ Wife: How a Fake Gospel-Fragment Was Composed

Francis Watson of the University of Durham has provided a six-page analysis (PDF) of the Coptic fragment which seems to say Jesus was married. This is the most in-depth examination I have seen yet. Professor Watson concludes that

The text has been constructed out of small pieces – words or phrases – culled mostly from the Coptic Gospel of Thomas (GTh), Sayings 101 and 114, and set in new contexts.

This is most probably the compositional procedure of a modern author who is not a native speaker of Coptic.

Among other scholars weighing in, see Gary Manning Jr., Darrell Bock, Christian Askeland, Michael Kruger, Peter Williams and Simon Gathercole, Dirk Jongkind, Daniel Wallace.