So, were Jesus and Mary Magdalene married as Baigent speculates?  Nope. Not one scintilla of evidence from antiquity has been discovered that says Jesus was ever married to anyone. Even as God's wrath was being poured out on the Son of God as he hung on the cross to pay mankind's sin-debt, He showed concern for his mother.  "Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene.  When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, 'Dear woman, here is your son,' and to the disciple, 'Here is your mother.'  From that time on the disciple took her into his home" (John 19:25-27). 

If Mary Magdalene was Mrs. Jesus, why didn't He ask John to care for her?  Seeing that His wife was taken care of would have been His highest priority!

According to Baigent, Christians have been duped.  The evidence he offered for his historical revisionism is a set of "shocking documents" he calls the Jesus Papers.  He claims he saw and photographed the documents but somehow they slipped through his hands and into the stealthy Vatican's.  In an interview on Dateline NBC, Baigent offered this tidbit of speculation about the papers: "You can make sure they never see the light of day--that they're destroyed. That they're lost. That they're hidden away. And this is the situation that I've found."

Which is it?  Are the papers destroyed, lost, or hidden away?  And what proof does he offer for the evil Vatican's cover-up?  None!

Baigent accepts the fact that Jesus was crucified, but he says He didn't die on the cross. He was taken down and revived; thereafter He fled to Egypt with his wife.  Is it plausible that Jesus survived the crucifixion?  You decide.  From historical and eyewitness accounts we know that Jesus was severely beaten by Roman guards and the beating was followed by a flogging that few men survive.  After having terrible violence inflicted on His body, Jesus had nine-inch spikes pounded into His hands and ankles.  You'd have to agree that He lost a lot of blood during his ordeal. To top it off, He was pierced in the side with a spear. Medical pathologists maintain that Jesus would have experienced rapid fluid loss, resulting in organ failure from the severe beating and nail wounds. Thus, He would have gone into hypovolemic shock. 

The Romans knew a thing or two about inflicting pain.  They wanted Jesus dead.  End of story.   

Additional Reading:

The Jesus Papers - what are they?
http://www.gotquestions.org/Jesus-papers.html
Dateline NBC interview with Michael Baigent
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12084683/
The Da Vinci Code and Other Deceptions
http://www.crossroad.to/articles2/006/da-vinci-code.htm

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Copyright by Marsha West, 4/25/06.  All rights reserved.

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