The Love Life of Jesus

[Jimmy]

I believe Jesus had many lovers but then changed his ways. I also believe he was in love once. I think he spent parts of his life alone.

 

[1213]

Why do you believe Jesus asked after the woman's husband?

Interesting question. I don't know more than what is said in the Bible, sorry. Why do you think he asked that?

 

[Colt]

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:

"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.​

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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.​

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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.​

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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...​

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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.​

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The betrothal type-scene, with the relevant verses from John 4 in brackets, is:​

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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)​

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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.​

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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

No, the Son was forbidden from leaving behind offspring on earth.

 

[Vouthon]

Interesting question. I don't know more than what is said in the Bible, sorry. Why do you think he asked that?

That's a non-answer. You were asked why you think the Bible has Jesus ask that question in the context of the passage/conversation at the well in John chapter 4?

 

[1213]

That's a non-answer. You were asked why you think the Bible has Jesus ask that question in the context of the passage/conversation at the well in John chapter 4?

If I make a guess, what would it matter? You would not have any way to check was it really so. But, maybe the reason for what Jesus said was that the woman would understand who Jesus is?

For you have had five husbands, and now he whom you have is not your husband. You have spoken this truly. The woman said to Him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
John 4:18-19

 

[Vouthon]

If I make a guess, what would it matter? You would not have any way to check was it really so. But, maybe the reason for what Jesus said was that the woman would understand who Jesus is?

For you have had five husbands, and now he whom you have is not your husband. You have spoken this truly. The woman said to Him, Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet.
John 4:18-19

Yes, he leads her to the awareness of his 'omniscience' but that's the result of her statement "I do not have a husband". There is an entire back-and-forth dialogue before this which prepares the reader for Jesus to ask about her relationship status. She understands him to be 'testing the waters' to see if she's an eligible bride-to-be or not, which naturally flows from their prior verbal coquetry using sexual innuendos, double entrendres and euphemisms from the Hebrew Bible and the type-scene at the well from the Torah.

Let's compare this scene to its exact precursors in the Torah after which it's modelled, for instance Isaac (son of Abraham) marrying Rebekah in Genesis chapter 24:

Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 24 - New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

The Marriage of Isaac and Rebekah - Now Abraham was old, advanced in years, and the LORD had blessed Abraham in all things. Abraham said to his servant, the oldest of his house, who had charge of all that he had, “Put your hand under my thigh, and I will make you swear by the LORD, the God of...

www.biblegateway.com

And he said, “O Lord, God of my master Abraham, please grant me success today and show steadfast love to my master Abraham. 13 I am standing here by the spring of water, and the daughters of the townspeople are coming out to draw water. 14 Let the young woman to whom I shall say, ‘Please offer your jar that I may drink,’ and who shall say, ‘Drink, and I will water your camels’—let her be the one whom you have appointed for your servant Isaac. By this I shall know that you have shown steadfast love to my master.”​

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15 Before he had finished speaking, there was Rebekah, who was born to Bethuel son of Milcah, the wife of Nahor, Abraham’s brother, coming out with her water jar on her shoulder. 16 The young woman was very fair to look upon, a virgin, whom no man had known. She went down to the spring, filled her jar, and came up. 17 Then the servant ran to meet her and said, “Please let me sip a little water from your jar.” 18 “Drink, my lord,” she said and quickly lowered her jar upon her hand and gave him a drink. 19 When she had finished giving him a drink, she said, “I will draw for your camels also, until they have finished drinking.” 20 So she quickly emptied her jar into the trough and ran again to the well to draw, and she drew for all his camels. 21 The man gazed at her in silence to learn whether or not the Lord had made his journey successful.​

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22 When the camels had finished drinking, the man took a gold nose ring weighing a half shekel and two bracelets for her arms weighing ten gold shekels 23 and said, “Tell me whose daughter you are. Is there room in your father’s house for us to spend the night?” 24 She said to him, “I am the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, whom she bore to Nahor.” 25 She added, “We have plenty of straw and fodder and a place to spend the night.” 26 The man bowed his head and worshiped the Lord 27 and said, “Blessed be the Lord, the God of my master Abraham, who has not forsaken his steadfast love and his faithfulness toward my master. As for me, the Lord has led me on the way to the house of my master’s kin.”...​

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Then Laban and Bethuel answered, “The thing comes from the Lord; we cannot speak to you anything bad or good. 51 Look, Rebekah is before you, take her and go, and let her be the wife of your master’s son, as the Lord has spoken.”​

Now moving onto Isaac and Rebekah's son Jacob meeting his wife Rachel at another well:

Bible Gateway passage: Genesis 29:1-14 - New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Jacob Meets Rachel - Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying there beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered. The stone on the well’s mouth was large, and when all the...

www.biblegateway.com

Then Jacob went on his journey and came to the land of the people of the east. 2 As he looked, he saw a well in the field and three flocks of sheep lying there beside it, for out of that well the flocks were watered.​

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Rachel came with her father’s sheep, for she kept them. 10 Now when Jacob saw Rachel, the daughter of his mother’s brother Laban, and the sheep of his mother’s brother Laban, Jacob went up and rolled the stone from the well’s mouth and watered the flock of his mother’s brother Laban. 11 Then Jacob kissed Rachel and wept aloud. 12 And Jacob told Rachel that he was her father’s kinsman and that he was Rebekah’s son, and she ran and told her father.​

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13 When Laban heard the news about his sister’s son Jacob, he ran to meet him; he embraced him and kissed him and brought him to his house. Jacob[a] told Laban all these things, 14 and Laban said to him, “Surely you are my bone and my flesh!” And he stayed with him a month...​

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Now Laban had two daughters; the name of the elder was Leah, and the name of the younger was Rachel. 17 Leah’s eyes were weak,[b] but Rachel was graceful and beautiful...21 Then Jacob said to Laban, “Give me my wife that I may go in to her, for my time is completed.” 22 So Laban gathered together all the people of the place and made a feast. ​

Now Moses meeting his wife Zipporah at another well:

Exodus 2:16–22 NRSV - The priest of Midian had… | Biblia

The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. But some shepherds...

biblia.com

But Moses fled from Pharaoh. He settled in the land of Midian, and sat down by a well. The priest of Midian had seven daughters. They came to draw water, and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. 17 But some shepherds came and drove them away. Moses got up and came to their defense and watered their flock. 18 When they returned to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come back so soon today?” 19 They said, “An Egyptian helped us against the shepherds; he even drew water for us and watered the flock.” 20 He said to his daughters, “Where is he? Why did you leave the man? Invite him to break bread.” 21 Moses agreed to stay with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah in marriage. 22 She bore a son, and he named him Gershom; for he said, “I have been an alien residing in a foreign land.”

John chapter 4 is asking its (biblically literate Jewish and Samaritans) readers to recall these earlier meetings between men and women at wells - betrothal scenes.

Consider the dialogue again, Jesus knew perfectly well what he was doing when he approached her and asked for a 'drink' at Jacob's well:

Bible Gateway passage: John 4 - New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition

Jesus and the Woman of Samaria - Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, “Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John” (although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized), he left Judea and started back to Galilee. But he had to go through Samaria. So he...

www.biblegateway.com

Now when Jesus learned that the Pharisees had heard, ‘Jesus is making and baptizing more disciples than John’— 2although it was not Jesus himself but his disciples who baptized— 3he left Judea and started back to Galilee. 4But he had to go through Samaria. ​

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So he came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. 6 Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.​

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7 A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” 8 (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) 9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.)[b] 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” 11 The woman said to him, “Sir,[c] you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? 12 Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” 13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” 15 The woman said to him, “Sir,[d] give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”​

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16 Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” 17 The woman answered him, “I have no husband.”​

 

[Vouthon]

And now back to Proverbs 5:15-20 which uses the exact language of the discussion between Jesus and Photini (as if the author could have belaboured the point any more that there is a clear sexual subtext to all of this!)

15 Drink water from your own cistern,
living water from your own well.
16How should your springs be scattered abroad,
streams of water in the streets?19
17 Let them be for yourself alone,
and not for sharing with strangers.
18 Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,
19 A lovely deer, a graceful doe.
May her breasts satisfy you at all times;
May you be intoxicated always by her love.
20 Why should you be intoxicated, my son, by another woman
and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?

Read:

An Eco-Theological interpretation of Proverbs 5:15-20 in the light of water crises experienced in present-day Africa

The metaphor of cistern/well refers to cool, limpid refreshment for hot desires, which are satisfied by 'drinking,' that is, lovemaking.​

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Proverbs 5:15-20 is not about ecological issues such as water management. However, its use of water-related metaphors as a way of speaking about faithfulness in marriage is ecologically insightful. The young man is commanded to drink water from his own cistern/well and to prevent the water from his own fountains/springs from flowing into the streets and public places (vv. 1518). ​

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In Prov 5:15-20, the cistern and well are vehicles for a wife, while springs/fountain streams are vehicles for the man's semen. Sexual intimacy within marriage is the referent, which is linked to the vehicle through the tenor. The tenor concerns elements of the vehicle (cistern/well and springs/fountain) that invite particular understandings of the referent (erotic love). The tenor of the cisterns/wells refers to their state as water containers, while the tenor of springs/fountains relates to their natural preciousness.​

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The aim of the present article is thus to interpret the water management metaphor in Prov 5:15-20 in order to reveal the ecological insights contained within those water-related images as pertaining to the imagination of the "erotic world" of Prov 5:15-20.​

 

[Vouthon]

No, the Son was forbidden from leaving behind offspring on earth.

The question of whether or not he had a sex life is distinct from that of whether or not he fathered children from said union(s). Why do you say so though?

 

[1213]

...coquetry using sexual innuendos, double entrendres and euphemisms ...

Sorry, I don't see that. But interesting to hear how differently some people can read those texts.

 

[Rival]

Sorry, I don't see that. But interesting to hear how differently some people can read those texts.

I guess you haven't a bucket, and the well is too deep.

 

[Vouthon]

Sorry, I don't see that. But interesting to hear how differently some people can read those texts.

Granted but you haven't addressed the linguistic and textual evidence that I presented at all.

 

[Rival]

Sorry, I don't see that. But interesting to hear how differently some people can read those texts.

Rebekah meets her spouse (Isaac) at a well.

Rachel meets her spouse (Jacob) at a well.

Zipporah meets her spouse (Mose) at a well.

Jesus and the Samaritan lady meet at a well almost directly following a marriage scene, and he asks the lady if she is married.


If you believe Jesus is the exception here, please explain why.

 

[1213]

Granted but you haven't addressed the linguistic and textual evidence that I presented at all.

Sorry, I think it is too far fetched. But, maybe I don't understand correctly, what is your point, what do you think the story means?

 

[1213]

Rebekah meets her spouse (Isaac) at a well.

Rachel meets her spouse (Jacob) at a well.

Zipporah meets her spouse (Mose) at a well.

Jesus and the Samaritan lady meet at a well almost directly following a marriage scene, and he asks the lady if she is married.

If you believe Jesus is the exception here, please explain why.

Sorry, please clarify, exception to what?

 

[Rival]

Sorry, please clarify, exception to what?

Uhhhhhhh

People in Jewish scriptures who meet at wells get married.

Jesus met a woman at a well.

Why is this hard for you? Why should Jesus be the exception to the marriage rule?

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

I don't see the point of this. If Jesus was banging women, that would make him a fornicator and a sinner. Since he wasn't married - and I see no reason why that wouldn't be mentioned if he was - and supposed to be a holy man and God, I think it makes more sense that he were celibate. Moreover, he was accused of all kinds of sinful behavior by his enemies but I don't recall them accusing him of fornication. Surely they would've done it if he even made it seem like it could be true. He would've been seen as odd already as an unmarried adult Jew.

 

[1213]

Uhhhhhhh

People in Jewish scriptures who meet at wells get married.

Jesus met a woman at a well.

Why is this hard for you? Why should Jesus be the exception to the marriage rule?

Interesting, so, all Jews who go to a well get married? Did that happen also to the disciples who were with Jesus?

 

[Rival]

Interesting, so, all Jews who go to a well get married? Did that happen also to the disciples who were with Jesus?

Peter was married, he may well have met his wife at a well. It is a trope. It means when you see two opposite sex characters in the Scriptures meet at a well, you know the outcome. Jesus met the woman at the well.

 

[Rival]

I don't see the point of this. If Jesus was banging women, that would make him a fornicator and a sinner. Since he wasn't married - and I see no reason why that wouldn't be mentioned if he was - and supposed to be a holy man and God, I think it makes more sense that he were celibate. Moreover, he was accused of all kinds of sinful behavior by his enemies but I don't recall them accusing him of fornication. Surely they would've done it if he even made it seem like it could be true. He would've been seen as odd already as an unmarried adult Jew.

It wouldn't have been fornication. It would have been concubinage or he married her. Fornication isn't a Jewish belief that applied to men. In the early days having sex with someone was a form of betrothal.

Celibacy isn't a Jewish virtue. Marriage is preferred.

 

[Saint Frankenstein]

It wouldn't have been fornication. It would have been concubinage or he married her. Fornication isn't a Jewish belief that applied to men. In the early days having sex with someone was a form of betrothal.

Celibacy isn't a Jewish virtue. Marriage is preferred.

Okay. I don't have a dog in this fight, either way. I don't care. Jesus is really whatever you want him to be at this point.