Jesus Wife Papyrus Scroll
Recently there was a great deal of talk on the internet of an Ancient Coptic manuscript that was discovered in 2012. Many headlines online have stated that archeologists have determined that Jesus Christ in fact had a wife.
The main topic being discussed regarding the text on this papyrus manuscript is first, how seriously should this new theory be taken, and if it were in fact true how would that effect Christians’ beliefs in Christ as Savior and Lord. However, New Testament scholars and archeologists have brought to light some problems with concluding that Jesus had a literal wedded wife for various reasons.
When the text was first discovered in September 2012, scholars raised the possibility of forgery to the inscription. However, archeologists have stated that there is no trace of forgery by more contemporary hands. So the writing on the scroll itself was proved to be authentic if not the context of the inscription.
However, even if the text was intended to convey that Jesus Christ did in fact have a wife, the text was believed to have been written too late to be taken literally. Harvard professor Karen L. King expressed that the manuscript was probably from around the 4th century, which is almost 300 years after the crucifixion which took place at around the year 30 A.D. More recent analysis has put the scroll even further back to the 6th or 7th century.
In addition, New Testament scholar Darrell Bock pointed out how in the Bible, the church was described as the bride of God and Christ, so there is even the possibility that the statement in the papyrus scroll could just as easily simply be metaphoric of the church.
Though no new evidence has been discovered that confirms the statements made by the recently discovered primary source, many Christians have been expressing some concerns as to how this would affect their faith.
