Do you think that Jesus was a celibate man or perhaps had a love life? How (if you are a Christian) would your answer to this question influence (or as the case may be not influence) your understanding of Christology?
An assumption is often made by many Christians that Jesus refrained from sexual relations. In some denominations, his singleness is held up as a model for celibate priesthood and/or monasticism. The Church, the body of believers, is described in Paul's letter to the Ephesians as the virgin bride of Christ and in the Book of Relevation she is depicted as joining Him, the Lamb slain on the cross, in an eschatological wedding banquet. St. Augustine quite beautifully referred to the "marriage-bed of the cross". In the Old Testament, YHWH-God often refers to his covenantal relationship with Israel in nuptial terms, playing the role of a divine husband to his people - what scholars call the hieros gamos, or hierogamy. This theology can lend itself well to a celibate Christ, inasmuch as he is understood to have been figuratively 'wedded' to his mission and to his disciples as the Bridegroom Messiah, the God of Israel incarnate.
However, even though it's rarely spoken about (I think in part for reasons of religious sensitivity and not wanting to rock any doctrinal boats), there's actually textual evidence in the NT itself that could suggest Jesus had sexual relationships, namely in the Gospel of John.
According to scholars, the Gospel of John employs literary motifs from courtship scenes between biblical patriarchs and betrothed women at wells in Genesis, the erotic Song of Songs in the Tanakh and Graeco-Roman romance novels to depict Jesus's relationships with at least two but possibly three women in succession (the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene).
A number of scholars have drawn attention to the strong bridal mysticism in the text of the Fourth Gospel, here I cite Jocelyn McWhirter and Fehribach in the 2008 study, The Bridegroom Messiah and the People of God: Marriage in the Fourth Gospel:
This is particularly apparent in the narrative in John chapter 4 where Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar, anonymous in the text but known in Greek tradition as St. Photini. Jesus conversation with the Samaritan woman is the longest dialogue between Jesus and a woman found in the New Testament. It’s safe to say that it’s pretty important. But what’s just as important is the way that John sets the scene and describes the action.
Consider these scholarly studies:
THE WOOING OF THE WOMAN AT THE WELL: JESUS, THE READER AND READER RESPONSE CRITICISM
Husband Hunting: Characterization and Narrative Art in the Gospel of John
Another scholar, Calum Carmichael, goes right for the jugular and refers to this scene bluntly as a 'sexual encounter':
Calum Carmichael. Sex and Religion in the Bible.
Thoughts?
@Rival @RestlessSoul @exchemist @Augustus @Treks @Brickjectivity @metis
An assumption is often made by many Christians that Jesus refrained from sexual relations. In some denominations, his singleness is held up as a model for celibate priesthood and/or monasticism. The Church, the body of believers, is described in Paul's letter to the Ephesians as the virgin bride of Christ and in the Book of Relevation she is depicted as joining Him, the Lamb slain on the cross, in an eschatological wedding banquet. St. Augustine quite beautifully referred to the "marriage-bed of the cross". In the Old Testament, YHWH-God often refers to his covenantal relationship with Israel in nuptial terms, playing the role of a divine husband to his people - what scholars call the hieros gamos, or hierogamy. This theology can lend itself well to a celibate Christ, inasmuch as he is understood to have been figuratively 'wedded' to his mission and to his disciples as the Bridegroom Messiah, the God of Israel incarnate.
However, even though it's rarely spoken about (I think in part for reasons of religious sensitivity and not wanting to rock any doctrinal boats), there's actually textual evidence in the NT itself that could suggest Jesus had sexual relationships, namely in the Gospel of John.
According to scholars, the Gospel of John employs literary motifs from courtship scenes between biblical patriarchs and betrothed women at wells in Genesis, the erotic Song of Songs in the Tanakh and Graeco-Roman romance novels to depict Jesus's relationships with at least two but possibly three women in succession (the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, Mary of Bethany and Mary Magdalene).
A number of scholars have drawn attention to the strong bridal mysticism in the text of the Fourth Gospel, here I cite Jocelyn McWhirter and Fehribach in the 2008 study, The Bridegroom Messiah and the People of God: Marriage in the Fourth Gospel:
"The “literary conventions of the day” include character types, type-scenes, and techniques of characterization. These can be found first of all in the Hebrew Bible, “one of the most important literary resources for understanding the Fourth Gospel” and the source for several allusions. Four allusions are confirmed: Jer. 33:10–11 in John 3:29, Gen. 29:1–20 in John 4:4– 42, Song 1:12 in John 12:3, and Song 3:1– 4 in John 20:1–18.
Important background literature also includes Hellenistic-Jewish writings such as the books of Judith and Susanna, as well as popular Greco-Roman romance novels like Xenophon’s An Ephesian Tale and Chariton’s Chaereas and Callirhoe.
John uses these literary and cultural conventions to portray Jesus as the messianic bridegroom. The mother of Jesus acts as the “mother of an important son”. The Samaritan woman, Mary of Bethany, and Mary Magdalene are all depicted as his betrothed or bride.
An allusion to Song 1:12 in John 12:3 likens Mary of Bethany to the Song’s bride, conventionally understood as the people of God. An allusion to Song 3:1– 4 in John 20:1–18 allows Mary Magdalene to assume the conventional role of the woman in search of her dead lover’s body." (p.80)
This is particularly apparent in the narrative in John chapter 4 where Jesus encounters the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar, anonymous in the text but known in Greek tradition as St. Photini. Jesus conversation with the Samaritan woman is the longest dialogue between Jesus and a woman found in the New Testament. It’s safe to say that it’s pretty important. But what’s just as important is the way that John sets the scene and describes the action.
Consider these scholarly studies:
THE WOOING OF THE WOMAN AT THE WELL: JESUS, THE READER AND READER RESPONSE CRITICISM
"Modern readers of the story about the woman at the well have called attention to three features: first, the story seems to be modelled on a recurring Old Testament story about a meeting between a man and a woman at a well (Genesis 24; 29; Exodus 2; cf. 1 Samuel 9); second, there are a number of double entendres in the vocabulary used by Jesus and the woman...
In the Old Testament there are at least three instances of a scene in which a man and a woman meet at a well, resulting in their betrothal. Though each instance of the type-scene has its own contextual peculiarities there is a pattern of similarities and the scene in John 4 shapes these likenesses.3 By modelling the story on a type-scene familiar to his readers from scripture, the author of chapter 4 is able to draw on the meaning of prior instances to guide his reader's understanding of the meeting between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. Because the previous occurrences of such a meeting always result in the betrothal of the two characters, the reader is led to believe that this fourth instance will have the same result.
The betrothal type-scene, with the relevant verses from John 4 in brackets, is:
i. The future bridegroom (or surrogate) journeys to a foreign land (vv. 1-6).
ii. There he meets a girl, usually described as a "maiden" (na 'arfi) at a well
(vv. 6-7).
iii. Someone, the man or the maiden, draws water from the well (vv. 7—15).
iv. The maiden rushes home to bring news of the stranger (vv. 28—30, 39-42)
DOUBLE ENTENDRE
Supplementing the influence of the type-scene are a number of double entendres made by the two characters in conversation. The reader's recognition of the double entendres, all of which have sexual overtones, leads to the belief that both characters are engaging in a bit of covert verbal coquetry. The formal suggestiveness of the betrothal type-scene is supported from within the story by the characters, whose interaction seems to have an implicit sexual orientation."
Husband Hunting: Characterization and Narrative Art in the Gospel of John
Direct approaches to the characterization of Jesus in the Gospel of John produce E. Käsemann's glorified Lord. If one looks at Jesus through the eyes of two of the female characters, the Samaritan woman and Mary of Bethany, one encounters a potential lover or mate, a man capable of being loved and loving in return. By employing a mimetic theory of characterization and approaching the character of Jesus indirectly through the secondary characters, the reader constructs a "round" person. This reading of Jesus' character is supported by the exploration of these women's motives for their actions. In both cases, έρωζ, the desire to have and to keep that which is good or beautiful for one's own, compels them to act. In the first case, the result is comedy; in the second case, pathos. In either case, Jesus' response to their words and acts provides them with sufficient motivation to proceed with their overtures of love.
Another scholar, Calum Carmichael, goes right for the jugular and refers to this scene bluntly as a 'sexual encounter':
Calum Carmichael. Sex and Religion in the Bible.
In Sex and Religion in the Bible, Calum Carmichael deciphers sexual metaphor and explores the links between biblical laws that regulate sexual activity and narrative exploits of beloved matriarchs and patriarchs. For preachers, homileticians/teachers and theologians who appreciate better understanding the subtle sexual nuances and symbolism of language and possible ways the laws evolved as a result of lived experiences of biblical actors, they will be intrigued by Carmichael’s approach.
When Carmichael examines the story of Jesus’ interaction with the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:27), he refers to it as a sexual encounter because of the sexual symbolism of the water. Water, according to Carmichael, is biblically associated with female sexuality (Prov 5:15, 5:18, 9:17). Therefore, when Jesus invites the woman to partake of living water, he is in effect seducing her.
Thoughts?
@Rival @RestlessSoul @exchemist @Augustus @Treks @Brickjectivity @metis
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