Consider that Jesus could have married, but a marriage to the Messiah would have been absolute hell. His wife would always be deprioritized over his mission. She would always be scrutinized for her behavior. Given that Jesus never answered questions directly, their relationship would likely have been very tense. And everything would have been “her fault” on account of his “sinless perfection.” She may have come to resent him, and he may have had to challenge her resentment publicly in order to avoid disruption among his followers. If they had children, Jesus’ sons (especially) would wrestle first with privilege and then with bitterness. Or maybe they would have been hunted. Or enthroned. And what of the possibility they might be God’s grandchildren? Could there be a line of Messiahs? What would the relationship have been like between Jesus’ wife and mother? At best they would have aligned together to rescue Jesus from his mission, as Mary often sent Jesus’ brothers to talk sense into him. But at worst, they could have been at odds, both frustrating Jesus’ attempts to obey the Father and both entrenched in the pigheadedness of love.
Of course, when God gets involved, who can say what will happen? Perhaps Jesus could have made it work far better than our earthly marriages, and perhaps the reason he didn’t get married wasn’t because it would have been unconscionable, but because he was already devoted to the Church, his bride to be. Christ took the Church for his bride, and when we emulate him we pursue the path of self-sacrificial love. That makes for better families, better husbands, and better men than the model Jesus likely would have provided as a “normal” husband.
Adapted from the upcoming book Then. Now. Next, about the future of the Church. When published, the book will be available at David’s Amazon author page.