An Egyptian papyrus fragment earned much attention when it was made public in September 2012 by a professor at Harvard University. The contents of the ancient fragment includes the words “Jesus said to them, ‘My Wife'” and then on the following line, “she is able to be my disciple”. It was sent out to MIT experts and was tested to eliminate possibility of being a modern-day forgery. According to the experts, this fragment dates back to the seventh or eighth century A.D. Handwriting and language which included grammar and spelling were examined as well as testing of the ink and the papyrus itself. The results came back authentic with no signs of forgery. Although the identity of the author of the fragment is unknown, it doesn’t invalidate the contents on the fragment.

Although the Bible doesn’t obviously refer to Jesus Christ being married, it doesn’t necessarily reflect reality since this omission could be due to varying factors such as editing choices, author ignorance and irrelevancy. Over 40 authors wrote the currently 66 accepted books of the Bible. It’s very easy to believe the Bible was written and comprised in one setting at one time and compiled as one text altogether. However, it was written over a span of 1,600 years and by numerous authors on ancient papyrus, very much like this fragment, that were compiled to comprise the varying versions of the Bible.

It also gives light to the first commandment of the Torah to “be fruitful and multiply” which Jesus, being a Jew would’ve been subject to. Procreation requires marriage. Jesus came to the Earth in his flesh, subject to human emotions, passions and desires. He also needed to set the example for humankind and did so by living what he preached or else he would be guilty of hypocrisy. Jesus was referred to as Rabbi 12 times in the Bible and Jewish customs at the time, required Rabbis to be married. This also gives plausibility to the contents of the fragment.

Since some denominations withhold women from clergy positions or even as heads of families due to the belief that women cannot hold these positions, the fragment sheds much controversial light on the issue of the worthiness of women, wives and mothers to be disciples of Jesus Christ. There are over 10 women identified as disciples of Christ in the New Testament. The information on the fragment may give women more credibility to identify as independent followers of Christ capable of the same worthiness as men.