Marriage and the Gospel

By Mark

God said that it was not good for the man to be alone and then created Eve (Genesis 2:18-25). Many people look at this passage from a human-centered perspective and say things like: "Adam was lonely" or "Adam needed a soul-mate" as if these are the primary reasons why God created a woman. However, God's purposes are much higher than human wants or "needs." The reason why it was not good for the man to be alone is because by himself he did not adequately reflect God's image.

Both the man and the woman say something unique about who God is, but when they are united together according to God's design they say something even more than they could as individuals. God is one, but God is not solitary. God exists as a community, the Trinity. He is in relationship with Himself. Therefore, in order for humanity to bear God's image, there had to be relationship. We should certainly not be surprised to see that God's method of saving His people involves relationship and is reflected in the human institution of marriage.

Movies like the Da Vinci code (and the theories associated with them) have cast Jesus in a rather uncomfortable light for some people. To suggest that Jesus actually married a sinful, human woman while He was here on earth seems sacrilegious. However, while such rumors about Jesus are absolutely untrue, it is understandable to see where people come up with such notion when we look closely at the language of the Bible.

If we were to sum up the Bible in a descriptive title it might say something like: "Kill the Dragon, Get the Girl." The imagery in the book of Revelation supports this title as it describes Satan's defeat (the dragon) and the wedding banquet of the Church (the bride) and Jesus (the bridegroom). However, we would also need to add the subtitle: "How God the Father arranged for His Son to marry a prostitute." Again, even though this language strikes us as terribly disrespectful, Scripture backs it up.

If we look through the Old Testament prophets, we see that God's people, the nation of Israel at that time, are portrayed multiple times as either a prostitute or an adulterous wife. Jeremiah 2 and 3, Ezekiel 16, and Hosea 2 all use very graphic language to describe the sin of the people and God's attitude toward it. In Ezekiel 16 we see a description of how God initially established His covenant with the people of Israel (v. 1-14), but later the people cheat on God as they degrade themselves with the false gods of other nations (v. 15-43). Even though God pronounces judgement on Israel because of their despicable actions, the chapter ends with God's promise to make a new covenant with His people and to make atonement for them (v. 59-63).

When Jesus comes, it is to establish a new covenant with a wayward people. His own actions and words declare to us loud and clear that He did not come for the "healthy" but for the sick. He did not come for "good" people, He came for the sinners (Matthew 9:12-13). We also see the marriage symbolism of the Old Testament continuing into the Gospels. Take, for instance, when Jesus speaks to a Samaritan woman at a well. Not only did men not speak to women in public at that time, and not only did Jews not associate with Samaritans, but by having this conversation at a well and starting it by asking for a drink, Jesus is deliberately reminding us of an Old Testament motif: whenever a man meets a woman at a well, a wedding is soon to follow. The wives of Isaac, Jacob, and Moses were all found this way (Genesis 24, 29 and Exodus 2). In this account, we also find out that this Samaritan woman has had five husbands and she is not married to the man with whom she is currently living. Nevertheless, this meeting at the well symbolically reveals who Jesus came to save (the lowest of the low) and that He is saving through a relationship as intimate as marriage (His covenant).

Finally we come to Mary Magdalene. Some people might even be tempted to blame her for all of the tawdry rumors that are told about her and Jesus. "It's true that they didn't do anything wrong, but she made Jesus look bad!" we might say. Actually, if we wanted to accuse someone of trying to make Jesus look bad, we would have to turn to Matthew who included four women with reputation issues in Jesus' genealogy (Tamar, Rahab, Ruth, and Bathsheba). But, of course, Matthew was not trying to smear his savior. Instead, he was pointing to the kind of messed up people that Jesus came to save. Similarly, Mary Magdalene is a type, a symbol, of who Jesus came to marry/rescue.

While there is some indication that Mary Magdalene may have been a prostitute, the Bible does not say so explicitly. We do know that at one time, Jesus cast seven demons out of her. The bottom line is that she was a fallen woman with a rough past. However, Jesus restores her and brings her out of that past into a promising future. She comes to follow Jesus, learn from Him, love Him, and support His ministry through her own means. She is present at the the crucifixion and burial of Jesus. She is among the first to see the empty tomb. And she receives the honor of being the first person to see Jesus resurrected.

Even in this encounter outside the tomb we see marriage symbolism. Just as Adam went to sleep and then woke up to meet his wife in a garden, Jesus dies and then rises to meet his symbolic "wife" in a garden. To be clear, Jesus did not come to enter into a literal, human marriage with Mary Magdalene or the woman at the well. But Jesus' interactions with these women demonstrate who He came to save ("sinners") and that He saves by reconciling His people to Himself into an intimate relationship (symbolized by marriage).

The illustration of marriage is used to describe the relationship between Christ and the Church in other places in the New Testament as well. In Ephesians 5:22-33, literal wives and husbands are instructed to mimic the relationship between Christ and the Church. Wives play the part of the Church by submitting to their husbands and husbands play the part of Christ by sacrificially loving their wives. In Revelation, we see the image of the Bride of Christ and the wedding feast that will take place (19:7-9; 21:2, 9-10). Heaven is not just described as a wonderful place to live. It is a celebration that focuses on the union between God and His people that will finally be complete (Revelation 21:3-7).

As we realize how the theme of marriage is intertwined with the Gospel, two points become clear. First, marriage is a big deal. Not only is it meant to be a gift to men and women in this life, but it points to something divine. Marriage is one of the greatest opportunities we have to image our Creator and Savior. Second, we need to realize that we are, in essence, Mary Magdalene. Because of our sin, we are no better than Israel, the prostitute. We have no merit of our own before the holiness of God. We are the same as the woman at the well. But the good news is that Jesus came for people just like us and will restore His people no matter how far they have fallen. If we forget our past, we will become proud, conceited, and self-righteous just like the Pharisees. If we forget our future, we will remain ashamed and guilt-ridden. We must remember that Jesus came to call the sinners, but He also came to transform His Bride into the righteousness of God  (2 Corinthians 5:21; Revelation 19:7-9).