|
|
|
- Preaching
the Living WORD through the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4:2 - |
|
|
|
UNLOCKING THE DA VINCI CODE (ATTACK AGAINST THE WORSHIP OF
CHRIST - PART 4) Pastor I.
MARY MAGDALENE: INTRODUCTION A. How does an important but insignificant character in the Bible
such as Mary Magdalene, gain so much attention in Dan Brown’s book? B. How does she go from an insignificant character to the leader of
the church, to the wife of Jesus, to the mother of Jesus’ offspring, and
eventually to a status of a goddess? C. If Mary is who the Da Vinci Code says she is, and if Jesus is
who the Da Vinci Code says he is, then Christianity is not what the Bible
says it is. D. Otherwise, the Da Vinci Code is a well-crafted attack against
Christianity and the worship of Christ. II. MARY MAGDALENE: THE LEADER OF THE CHURCH A. Mary Magdalene was given charge over the church (Da Vinci Code) 1.
"The woman they are speaking
of," Teabing explained, "is Mary Magdalene. Peter is jealous of
her." "Because Jesus preferred Mary?" "Not only that. The
stakes were far greater than mere affection. At this point in the gospels,
Jesus suspects He will soon be captured and crucified. So He gives Mary
Magdalene instructions on how to carry on His Church after He is gone. (TDC pg. 247) 2.
Facts: Six Marys in the Bible a)
The
Greek name for Mary appears as Maria
or Mariam in the NT. Both are
Graecized forms of the Heb. name Miriam,
which appears in LXX as Mariam (used of the sister of Moses). b)
The
Marys of the Bible (1)
Mary
the mother of the Lord (Luk 1:30-31). (2)
Mary
of Bethany, the sister of Martha (Joh 11:1) (3)
Mary
the mother of James (Mat 27:56; quite possibly, "Mary the wife of Clopas," Joh 19:25). (4)
Mary
the mother of Mark (Acts 12:12). (5)
Mary
greeted by St Paul (Rom 16:6). (6)
Mary
of Magdala (Luk 8:2) (a)
She
became a follower of Christ early in Christ's ministry (Luk 8:1-2). (b)
She
was at the crucifixion of Christ (Mat 27:56; Mar 15:40; Joh 19:25). (c)
She
helped with Christ's burial (Mar 15:47). (d)
She
was the first to witness the resurrection of Christ (Mar 16:1, 9; Joh 20:1). (e)
She
announced Christ's resurrection to the disciples (Luk 24:10; Joh 20:18). B.
Was
Mary the Prostitute with the alabaster jar? 1.
"That, my dear," Teabing
replied, "is Mary Magdalene." Sophie turned. "The
prostitute?" Teabing drew a short breath, as if the word had injured him
personally. "Magdalene was no such thing. That unfortunate misconception
is the legacy of a smear campaign launched by the early Church. The Church
needed to defame Mary Magdalene in order to cover up her dangerous secret -
her role as the Holy Grail.” (TDC pg. 243-44) 2.
She
was probably not the sinful woman who came to Jesus with the alabaster jar in
Luke 7:36-50. 3.
If Luke had known that the Mary of Ch.
8 was the same person as the sinner of ch. 7, would he not probably have made
the connection explicit? (New
Bible Dictionary) 4.
In the anointing at Bethany (Joh
12:1-8), it was Mary, sister of Martha and Lazarus, who anointed Jesus.
[Luke’s] incident takes place in Galilee and involves “a woman … who was a
sinner”—i.e., a prostitute. There is no reason to identify this woman with
Mary Magdalene, as some have done (MacArthur). III. MARY MAGDALENE: THE WIFE OF JESUS A. Mary Magdalene was married to Jesus (Da Vinci Code) 1.
Unfortunately for the early editors, one
particularly troubling earthly theme kept recurring in the gospels. Mary
Magdalene." He paused. "More specifically, her marriage to Jesus
Christ." "As I said earlier, the marriage of Jesus and Mary
Magdalene is part of the historical record." He began pawing through his
book collection. "Moreover, Jesus as a married man makes infinitely more
sense than our standard biblical view of Jesus as a bachelor."
"Why?" Sophie asked. (TDC, pg. 245) 2.
"Because Jesus was a Jew,"
Langdon said, taking over while Teabing searched for his book, "and the
social decorum during that time virtually forbid a Jewish man to be
unmarried. According to Jewish custom, celibacy was condemned, and the
obligation for a Jewish father was to find a suitable wife for his son. If Jesus
were not married, at least one of the Bible's gospels would have mentioned it
and offered some explanation for His unnatural state of bachelorhood.“ (TDC, pg. 245) 3.
Facts: a)
It is
true that during OT times men were expected to marry. However, by Jesus’ day,
the view was more flexible. b)
John
the Baptist was a celibate. c)
Paul
encourages those with the gift of celibacy (1Co 7:7), and he himself was a
celibate (1Co 7:8). d)
Jesus
taught about celibacy (Mat 19:12). e)
Nowhere
do the Scriptures mention Jesus’ marriage. f)
There are about four thousand men that
live in this way [Essenes at Qumran], and neither marry wives, nor are
desirous to keep servants; as thinking the latter tempts men to be unjust,
and the former gives the handle to domestic quarrels; but as they live by themselves,
they minister one to another. (Antiquities of the Jews
18:20-21 ) g)
One of the few things on which a vast
majority of liberal and conservative Jesus scholars agree is that Jesus was
single. Crossan in his Beliefnet.com piece did not feel the need to defend
the case that Jesus was single. (Darrell Bock, Breaking the Da Vinci Code, pg. 33) B. Mary Magdalene was loved and kissed by Jesus (Da Vinci Code) 1. "The
Gospel of Philip is always a good place to start." Sophie read the
passage: And the companion of the
Saviour is Mary Magdalene. Christ loved her more than all the disciples and
used to kiss her often on her mouth. The rest of the disciples were offended
by it and expressed disapproval. They said to him, “Why do you love her more
than all of us?” (TDC) 2.
Facts: a)
…the
key part of the text [concerning Jesus kissing Mary] is broken at 63:33-36
and reads, “And the companion of the {…} Mary Magdalene, {… loved} her
more than {all} the disciples {and used to} kiss her {often} on her …}.” (Darrell Bock, Breaking the Da Vinci
Code; pg. 21) b)
The
kiss could have been on the cheek or forehead. Quite possibly it would have
been a kiss of fellowship (nine ref. cp. Rom 16:16; 1Co 16:20; 1Pe 5:14). But
even a kiss on the mouth is a far cry from an assumption of marriage. c)
(Heb: nashaq; Grk: phileo, Grk:
kataphilo, Grk: philema): The kiss is common in eastern lands in salutation,
etc., on the cheek, the forehead, the beard, the hands, the feet, but not (in
Pal) the lips (Cheyne, E B, under the word "Salutations"). (ISBE) C. Mary Magdalene was the companion of Jesus (Da Vinci Code) 1.
The words surprised Sophie, and yet
they hardly seemed conclusive. "It says nothing of marriage."
"Au contraire." Teabing smiled, pointing to the first line.
"As any Aramaic scholar will tell you, the word companion, in those
days, literally meant spouse." Langdon concurred with a nod. Sophie read
the first line again. And the companion of the Saviour is Mary Magdalene.
Teabing flipped through the book and pointed out several other passages that,
to Sophie's surprise, clearly suggested Magdalene and Jesus had a romantic
relationship. (TDC) 2.
Facts a)
The
Gospel of Philip was not written in Aramaic.
It was written in Coptic – a late form of Egyptian. b)
No Aramaic or Hebrew words for “companion”
normally means spouse.
(Craig Blomberg) c)
The
word for “companion” is the Greek loan word, koinonos, which typically
means a partner, associate, or comrade. The common Greek word for “wife” is
gunę. IV. MARY MAGDALENE: THE MOTHER OF JESUS’ OFFSPRING A. Mary Magdalene carried Jesus’ royal lineage (Da Vinci Code) 1.
"That Jesus was a father."
Sophie was still uncertain. "Yes," Teabing said. "And that
Mary Magdalene … carried His royal lineage. (TDC) 2.
"According to the Priory,"
Teabing continued, "Mary Magdalene was pregnant at the time of the
crucifixion. For the safety of Christ's unborn child, she had no choice but
to flee the Holy Land. With the help of Jesus' trusted uncle, Joseph of
Arimathea, Mary Magdalene secretly traveled to France, then known as Gaul.
There she found safe refuge in the Jewish community. It was here in France
that she gave birth to a daughter. Her name was Sarah.” (TDC) 3.
… Christ's line grew quietly under
cover in France until making a bold move in the fifth century, when it
intermarried with French royal blood and created a lineage known as the
Merovingian bloodline. … the Merovingians founded Paris. (TDC, pg. 257) a)
Merovingian
A Frankish ruling dynasty (c. A.D.450-751) founded by Merovech (fl. fifth
century). b)
Paris
was founded by the Celts, Gauls, and Parsii, between 250-200 B.C. 4.
Facts: a)
It is
true that Mary Magdalene was present at Christ’s crucifixion, but so was his
Mother as well as others (Joh 19:25). b)
Jesus
speaks seven sayings from the cross. One is familial, yet it is not to Mary
Magdalene, but to his Mother and John (Joh 19:26-27). c) Jesus stated earlier in his ministry
that his true spiritual family was those who obey His Word (Luk 8:19-21; Rom
8:29). V. MARY MAGDALENE: THE WORSHIP OF THE CHURCH A. Mary Magdalene is elevated to goddess status (Da Vinci Code) 1.
The Holy Grail is Mary Magdalene...
the mother of the royal bloodline of Jesus Christ. … (TDC) 2.
"The Grail is literally the
ancient symbol for womanhood, and the Holy Grail represents the sacred
feminine and the goddess, which of course has now been lost, virtually
eliminated by the Church.
(TDC) 3.
The Priory of Sion, to this day, still
worships Mary Magdalene as the Goddess, the Holy Grail, the Rose, and the
Divine Mother."
(TDC) 4.
The ancients envisioned their world in
two halves - masculine and feminine. Their gods and goddesses worked to keep
a balance of power. Yin and yang. When male and female were balanced, there
was harmony in the world. When they were unbalanced, there was chaos." (TDC) 5.
The Priory believes that Constantine
and his male successors successfully converted the world from matriarchal
paganism to patriarchal Christianity by waging a campaign of propaganda that
demonized the sacred feminine, obliterating the goddess from modern religion
forever." (TDC) B. Facts: 1.
The
Scriptures teach that Yahweh alone created the heavens and the earth and
rules the universe (Gen 1:1; 2:4; Isa 45:18). There are no other gods or
goddesses. 2.
The
Godhead subsists as three Persons, but one God in essence (Gen 1:26-27; “God”
Elohim is plural). 3.
God
the Son and God the Holy Spirit were also part of the creation process (Joh
1:3; Col 1:16-17; Gen 1:2). 4. God revealed himself in the masculine
(Gen 1:27; Isa 64:8; Mat 6:9) and created Adam first with headship, even
though male and female share equally God’s image (1Ti 2:13-14). 5.
Not
only does Dan Brown humanize Christ, but he elevates Mary Magdalene to deity
as a sacred feminine goddess. 6.
This
can only be concluded as a blatant attack on the person and worship of
Christ. 7.
Note
the concluding paragraph of the book ……. a)
Like the murmurs of spirits in the
darkness, forgotten words echoed. The quest for the Holy Grail is the quest
to kneel before the bones of Mary Magdalene. A journey to pray at the feet of
the outcast one. With a sudden upwelling of reverence, Robert Langdon fell to
his knees. For a moment, he thought he heard a woman's voice... the wisdom of
the ages... whispering up from the chasms of the earth. (TDC) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
