First of all, let it be understood that there is no absolute proof that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married, let alone that they produced offspring. However, there are indications that this might have been so and, until proof turns up one way or the other, one should keep an open mind. It is certainly more interesting to do so!
There are several sources that the interested reader can pursue, one of the most meticulous being the writings on the subject by Dr Barbara Thiering (see Jesus the Man) based on her careful studies of commentaries on the Old Testament books in the Dead Sea Scrolls. These old documents provide vital clues to understanding the procedures and rituals that would have been followed by Jesus and Mary had they gone through the complex ceremonies of marriage and the rules dictating the specific times at which pregnancy was allowed.
Laurence Gardner points out that Mary Magdalene’s royal heritage would have made her a fitting partner for the heir to the Davidic dynasty. He further interprets Acts 6:7 and the parable of the Sower and the Seed (Mark 4:8) to indicate that Jesus became the father of a son. Other sources suggest that as many as three children were born to Mary Magdalene and Jesus.
In terms of the marriage theory, a marriage between Jesus and Mary Magdalene would have been the fusing of two royal Jewish bloodlines. Jesus was of the House of David and descended from King Solomon, king of the Jews. Mary Magdalene was of the royal House of Benjamin. The political potential of such a union is undeniable, since it contained the threat of future political upheaval were an attempt ever made to restore the line of Jewish kings. Such a threat would have been not only to Rome, but also to those Jewish groups – sometimes referred to as Herodians – who had accepted the rule of Rome and were materially benefiting from it.
A continuing bloodline would clearly have represented a long term threat, which would explain why Mary Magdalene would have had to leave the Holy Land without delay after the Crucifixion.
Some sources give the name of Jesus’ son as Jesus Justus. He would, in turn, have been heir to the Davidic dynasty. He was called Alain in the Grail tradition. Some sources claim that he married a granddaughter of Nicodemus in 73 AD, but died childless, so that the younger son of Jesus, Josephes, became heir.
In terms of documentation in favour of this theory, the heritage, as described by Laurence Gardner in Bloodline of the Holy Grail, passed to Josephes’s son, Josue, from whom the Fisher kings were descended.
The so-called ‘Fisher Kings’ (priest-kings or ‘fishers of men’) were the descendants of the House of Judah, and it is said that the Merovingian line was descended from Jesus through the Fisher Kings. Gardner says that the Merovingian branches of the family became the Counts of Toulouse and Narbonne and the Princes of a territory between France and Spain.
According to genealogist Gardner, the 12-year-old Jesus Justus visited Britain in 49 AD with Joseph of Arimathea. He points out that this event is celebrated in old West Country ballads, as well as in William Blake’s beautiful poem, “Jerusalem”.
A stone was set in the south wall of St Mary’s Chapel in Glastonbury to commemorate Jesus Justus’s visit. It was inscribed “Jesus Maria” and was much visited by pilgrims in the Middle Ages. It is of interest that the original chapel on the site was begun in 63 AD which was immediately after the death of Mary Magdalene in Provence and is said to have been dedicated to his mother by Jesus Justus in the following year. At this time, her son Josephes was Bishop of Saraz, the present Gaza.
Fact or legend? Only time will tell… and only then if old manuscripts come to light that contain evidence sufficiently convincing to silence official opposition
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