Why Was Jesus Celibate? by Bobbie Ann Cole

 

Last week, my lovely, free Yeshua Group Online discussed the conundrum that Jesus was both celibate and a Jew. The things is that Jews are not supposed to be celibate. No, Jews marry. “The deliberate renunciation of marriage is all but completely alien to Judaism.” says the Jewish Virtual Library. 

A SECOND WIFE IN WAITING

This is so important that, in second temple times, when Jesus walked on earth, the Chief Priest could only enter the Holy of Holies on Yom Kippur to atone for his people if he was a married man. Since polygamy among priests was not acceptable then, they would line up a reserve wife, just in case something terrible should happen to the first one at the last minute. In so, the second woman could step in to take her place.

Chabad Jews declare: “The first mitzvah (a good deed commanded by God) in the Torah is to “be fruitful and multiply." As the verse in Genesis states: "And G‑d said to them, 'Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth.'" (Gen. 1:28) This is considered a "great mitzvah" and in some cases even, "overrides certain other laws.”

The Shulhan Aruch, a table of the rules Jews should live by, states: "Every man is obliged to marry in order to fulfill the duty of procreation, and whoever is not engaged in propagating the race is as if he shed blood, diminishing the Divine image and causing His Presence to depart from Israel" ( Shulḥan Arukh: EH 1:1). 

Strong language. They sound like they really mean it!

JESUS AND PAUL - THE JEWISH EXCEPTIONS?

And yet, curiously, it would seem, we find Jesus and Paul advocating celibacy. Jesus says: “There are those who choose to live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it,” (Matthew 19:12).

While, discouraging divorce, Paul states: “I wish that all of you were as I am,” and, “It is good to stay unmarried, as I do.” (1 Cor 7:7, 8).

Were they the only Jews on the planet in favour of celibacy?

ESSENES

Some evidence exists that the Essenes were a celibate sect at the time of Jesus, implying Jesus and Paul were not alone.

There has been some speculation that Jesus was an Essene, but there is no evidence to point to that.

However, since there are women’s graves among those of the Essenes at Qumran and some Essene writings among the Dead Sea Scrolls contain marriage stipulations for their members, it is clear that not all Essenes were celibate.

It is now thought that some Essenes may have lived celibately for a season only, keeping themselves pure and holy, (ritually clean) while they gave themselves over to writing for God.   

Jewish Law says that bodily emissions, such as semen or menstrual blood, render a person unclean. To this day, Orthodox Jewish men will never shake a woman’s hand because she could be menstruating and shaking her hand could render them unclean.

Essenes who were engaged in holy writing were therefore perforce only men, because women’s menstrual cycle could render them unclean. 

These male scribes remained ritually clean and therefore fit to write holy words by avoiding  sexual relations with women. They were thus celibate during their writing stint, but returned to normal life at home afterwards,

We never read in the Bible of Jesus being rendered unclean, despite his touching dead bodies, lepers and even a woman with a long-term discharge of blood, all of whom in theory would have this effect on him. 

In fact, it was the reverse that applied: Jesus’ purity rendered the unclean clean.

Despite his unassailable, perpetual purity, he remained a lifelong celibate who rejoiced in and advocated singleness. Why so?

THE BRIDEGROOM

Our online group discussed how Jesus actually did ‘marry’. He first demonstrated his role as bridegroom at a wedding in Cana, where he changed water to wine.

His miracle draws our attention to his identity as bridegroom, since the bridegroom was responsible for providing the wine at 1^st century Jewish weddings. (The steward naturally assumed that the groom had supplied the fine wine at this wedding and complimented him, (John 2:9-10))

There were six jars of water that Jesus transformed into wine, this number being the days of the creation, after which sin entered the world through the first man, Adam. Purification from sin 'entered the world, (the public arena), at this second creation through the wine that stood for Jesus’ purifying blood: he was 'the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.'

MARY THE FIRST DISCIPLE

The Bridegroom married us, his followers, starting, in a mystical way, with his mother Mary, whom he addressed at Cana as ‘Woman’, demonstrating thus that she stood for all women.

Henceforth, all Jesus’ followers would be his ‘mother’, ‘sister’ or ‘brother’— his family, cleaving to him as a wife does to her husband, and becoming one flesh. His addressing Mary as ‘woman’ again on the cross, reminds us of her as the first bride that she has held since Cana. Her role is that of every believer: to tend his sheep and feed his lambs. As a bride she is a disciple, (Acts 1:14).

No doubt, Mary was present at Pentecost, when the disciples were equipped for their mission through the Holy Spirit, descending on them as tongues of flame. This took place on the Jewish festival of Shavuot, the self same day when Jews remember Moses, descending the mountain wielding God’s Law on heavy tablets of stone.  

We, his church, are both Jesus’ bride and his children, the living proof that he was obedient to the command to be fruitful and multiply, in a way that no one else ever has done or could do.

 

With thanks to all who contributed their ideas at this meeting of my Yeshua Group Online.

I look forward to reading your views in the comments below. 

 

Bobbie Ann Cole is a Christian writer, speaker and writing teacher.

Her free Yeshua Group Online— with members from UK, Ireland, Australia, South Africa, Canada  USA and Uganda— is open to all. Join this or one of her other free groups at http://ahava.space.

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A done for you version of this course for the overwhelmed, the bewildered and the busy is the Book Compass Kickstart Course, where she interviews you and provides your book plan for you. 

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