Mark Tabata’s Weekday Devotionals:
Monday November 24 2025
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Matthew 16:13-18-When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, “Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?” 14 So they said, “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” 15 He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” 16 Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” 17 Jesus answered and said to him, “Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. 18 And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it.
We have learned that the doctrine of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene being married is not a product of the New Testament Scriptures, nor is it derived even from the later Gnostic books.
Where, then, and WHY, did this idea originate?
Let’s study.
The authority of the New Testament Books as the pattern for the church was in many ways taught by the Apostles of Christ.
“The apostles imposed their writings. Since the apostles were aware of their authoritative office it is reasonable to think that they intended to write books that would guide the church under that authority….Imposition can be seen in the commands that letters be circulated among the churches, even read publically in worship meetings (1 Thess. 5:27; Col. 4:16; Rev. 1:3)….“Imposition is more subtle in other letters, yet it can still be seen. It was already mentioned that Peter wrote to “the pilgrims of the Dispersion” scattered broadly throughout five different regions (1 Pet. 1:1). James also wrote “to the twelve tribes which are scattered abroad” (Jam. 1:1). These are not the words of apostles writing to individual churches. It is reasonable to think that the apostles intended their letters to be widely distributed (i.e. imposed throughout regions)….“The best and earliest example of apostolic imposition comes from the Bible itself. In Acts 15 we read that letters were written containing the decision of the apostles and elders at the close of the first Jerusalem Council (v. 23). Their decision was just not verbally imposed upon the church (v. 27) but circulated through written letters (v. 20, 23). [47] This set a clear precedence from the beginning. A written letter from an apostle (or apostles) was just as authoritative as if the commands were given in person by an apostle. To receive a written letter from an apostle was equal to a visit (cf. 3 John 13–14). Furthermore, spreading info this way was very useful. Written letters helped when making a trip in person was not possible (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:2). It also helped reach a wider audience more quickly with an important message. Thus the apostles imposed their authority via written communication.” (Norman Geisler & Shawn Nelson, Evidence of an Early New Testament Canon, 269-295 (Kindle Edition); Matthews, NC; Bastion Books)
As has been noted in previous studies, the church recognized and showed great familiarity with the New Testament Scriptures between the first and fourth centuries A.D. However, our brothers and sisters faced great opposition. One realm of adversity was from persecution by the Roman Empire, which saw the Christian community as a threat to its’ national, civic and religious power. According to the belief of the day, the Roman Caesar was considered Divine. All Roman citizens were required to periodically offer a pinch of incense publicly to him and proclaim, “Caesar is Lord.” Of course, followers of the Son of God could not do this. They must obey God rather than men (Acts 5:29). They instead worshiped the Son of God and proclaimed, “Jesus is Lord,” which earned them the wrath of the Empire.
During this time, paganism also began to infiltrate Christianity in the form of religious belief known generically as “Gnosticism.” Derived from the Greek word ginosko (“to know”), Gnostics proclaimed that they had superior knowledge of Jesus then His Apostles did. Combining elements of paganism with Christianity, they formed several different “schools” of thought. When the Roman Empire officially ceased its’ relentless wars on Christianity in 313 A.D., several of the Gnostic teachings became much more prominently known. The majority of these groups denied certain elements of the New Testament doctrine regarding either the Deity (Godhood) or the humanity of Jesus Christ.
For example:
One Gnostic group was known as the Docetists, who proclaimed that Jesus was not human but only appeared to be human.
Another group, the Ebionites, began to teach that Jesus was ONLY human, but a great prophet.
A third Gnostic group (the Adoptionists) argued that Jesus was merely a very good human being who was “adopted” to be the Son of God when He was baptized. Gnostic books usually declare that the “Christ” overtook Jesus at His baptism, and then departed from Him before He was crucified.
A fourth group, the Modalists, argued that God the Father became God the Son (I.e., Jesus), and then God the Son became God the Holy Spirit. (This is similar in form to many Oneness Pentecostal groups of our time).
A fifth group, the Arians, were led by Arius. They declared that Jesus was not truly God, but was the first created being. (This is the same basic teaching held to by the religious group known as the Jehovah’s Witnesses).
The Roman Emperor, Constantine, who had officially become a Christian by this time, convened the Council of Nicaea (also spelled Nicea by some) in 325 A.D., in order to investigate the claims of Arius. The following two authors provide great historical context into the background of the Council of Nicaea:
“Thankfully, by the fourth century, the church didn’t have to worry about struggling for survival. Theologians began to formulate systematic doctrine and construct simple, memorable creeds that could be memorized and recited by all believers. They did this for two reasons: (1) they needed to and (2) they could. The “need to” was twofold. First, they wanted to correct error. Second, they wanted to instruct new believers—including one rather high-profile new believer named Constantine. So they began to sit down together and hash out what they believed the original orthodoxy was. Their goal was to both defend and define the faith. The primary error that the Council of Nicaea took to task was one being spread by Arius. Arius believed that the Father is the only true God; the Son is of an entirely different status. In other words, Arius believed that the Son was a created being. Athanasius, who was the bishop of Alexander at the time, strongly opposed Arius by pointing out a number of devastating consequences to Arius’ dangerous theory. Athanasius’ argument went like this: (1) No creature can redeem another creature; true redemption must come from the Creator. (2) According to Arius, Jesus Christ is a creature. (3) Therefore, according to Arius, Jesus Christ cannot redeem humanity. Unfortunately, the pendulum swung too far in the opposite direction, and the next heretical theologian of note was Apollinarius who argued that Jesus could not be considered totally human. He was opposed by Gregory of Nazianzus. At this point, Constantine intervened. Brown portrays the emperor as a master manipulator, using Christianity to his own political purpose. Maybe that accusation is justifiable; maybe it’s not. Constantine’s conversion may not have been entirely sincere, but he was a masterful politician who recognized that schisms of this magnitude would constitute a destabilizing force in the empire. If that sounds too cynical, we could give Constantine the benefit of the doubt and say that, having committed himself to Christianity, he wanted, understandably, to know exactly what he was supposed to believe. Whatever the reason, it was he who called together more than 300 church leaders from across the empire—primarily from the east—to gather at Nicaea (in modern-day Turkey) in the summer of 325, asking them to come up with a clear statement of belief. The fact that most of the bishops in attendance were eastern should have been favorable to Arius’ cause. That was where he had the most influence. People traveled for thousands of miles to attend the gathering. The Arians submitted their statement that Jesus was merely a creature and must have had a beginning with this famous statement from their leader: “There was [a time] when He [the Son] was not.” The Council recognized the incongruity between this idea and the combined teaching of all of the accepted Gospels of the church. According to Arius, there was no sense in which Jesus could be called God. If Jesus wasn’t God, he couldn’t redeem fallen humanity. A creature cannot redeem a fellow creature. He believed that the New Testament writers referred to Jesus as God in name only and that he did not share in the nature of God. Arianism was officially condemned, and Arius was exiled when he refused to move from his heretical position. The bishops drew up a statement based on the writings of the New Testament that affirmed Jesus’ divinity. This had been, after all, the historic position of the church for nearly 300 years. The new creed was adopted by a final vote of 316 to 2—not quite the close call Dan Brown asks us to believe it was. The result is remembered as the Nicene Creed, which originally looked like this: “We believe in one God, the Father, almighty, maker of all things visible and invisible; and in one Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God, begotten from the Father, only-begotten, that is, from the substance of the Father, God from God, light from light, true God from true God, begotten not made, of one substance from the Father, through Whom all things came into being, things in heaven and things on earth, who because of us men and because of our salvation came down and became incarnate, becoming man, suffered and rose again on the third day, ascended to the heavens, will come to judge the living and the dead; and in the Holy Spirit.” (Kenneth Boa and John Alan Turner, The Gospel according to the Da Vinci Code: The Truth Behind the Writings of Dan Brown, 138-140 (Logos Edition): Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers)
So, how does all of this relate to Jesus and Mary Magdalene?
According to some conspiracy theorists, the Council of Nicaea decided which Books were to be included in the New Testament. It is argued that they took those books which taught the humanity of Jesus (including His supposed marriage to Mary Magdalene) and tossed them out of the canon, while including only those Books which went along with the idea that He is God.
Some of these claims have already been dealt with in detail. Specifically:
We have seen that the New Testament Scriptures are genuine and credible, written within a few years/decades of Jesus’ resurrection by His approved Apostles and their companions:
We have observed that the New Testament Scriptures were widely recognized and regarded as being authoritative (by the early Christians, the Gnostics, and even the enemies of the Christian faith):
It has also been demonstrated that the Gnostic scriptures were written long after the New Testament by people who had no personal experience with Jesus’ life and who had a philosophical axe to grind as they attempted to combine Christianity with paganism:
Finally, ample evidence has been presented to show that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were not married.
In our final lessons regarding this subject, we will consider some of the other claims made about the Council of Nicaea.
Is the teaching that Jesus is Divine an invention of the Council of Nicaea, as the Da Vinci Code novel asserts?
Do the New Testament Scriptures deny the humanity of Jesus?
Why are so people in our day and age enamored with the Gnostic scriptures and these conspiracy theories?
Today, I want you to please take this thought with you: Jesus Christ has always evoked great controversy! The issues that we are discussing in these present studies are hardly new. Everything boils down to the conversation that Jesus and His Apostles had in Matthew 16! The world has many theories about Who Jesus is. The question is not, “Who does everyone in the world say that I am?”
The question is:
Matthew 16:15-… “But who do you say that I am?”
What will you do with Jesus?
Father, thank You for everyone who is studying these matters with us. Open each hear to see Jesus. Help us all to see our need to follow Him. Amen.
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