For this discussion, I invoke a paper written by the poster known as "Spirit of '22" concerning Jesus's life:
Originally written by Spirit of '22:
One of the most legitimate revisionist perspectives of Christ, gaining the most ground among biblical scholars and contemporary believers, is that Jesus had a family. He was attended in the Gospel by men called his brothers, and it is possible he was a twin. More radical an idea, but just as plausible is the idea that Jesus had a family of his own, with a wife and children. Religious Jews of every epoch, but especially in theocratic Israel of ancient times, understood the command "be fruitful and multiply" as their religious obligation to God. This was especially true among the priests. Jesus is referred to in historical accounts and biblical texts as Rabbi. It would have been a cornerstone of his religion to marry and sire children.
...Though this idea contradicts 1500 years of officially sanctioned Church dogma, it does not really challenge the nature of Christianity or of Christ himself; Jesus never preached to remain celibate and unwed. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus says, "Have ye not read, that He that made them at the beginning made male and female... for this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife, and they twain shall be one flesh?"
....The candidate for the wife of Jesus, if such a woman existed, has traditionally been Mary Magdalene. In Luke, chapter 10, it says Mary sits at the foot of Jesus to "hear his word" while he preaches. Jewish law says only a man's wife can sit at his feet. In another Chapter of John, Jesus approaches his house wherein sit some followers and Mary Magdalene. Everyone except for Mary rushes outside at Jesus' approach, that they may greet him, but Mary inexplicably remains inside, to greet him after he has entered. This is yet another Jewish custom; the wife is duty-bound to wait for her husband and greet him in the sanctity of their own home. In her ambiguous appearances in the Gospels, Mary is definitely traveling with Jesus. An unmarried woman traveling unaccompanied (by relatives) with a religious teacher would have been unthinkable to the people in Palestine at the time of Jesus. In Bethany (Mary's homeland), while visiting a friend's house, Mary approaches Jesus with an alabastar jar of expensive oils and herbs, and subsequently anoints his head. This anointing is a Jewish custom to be performed on a king, exclusively by his wife.
...Among more objective circles, it is generally accepted that Mary Magdalene, when she fled Israel at the time of Jesus's crucifixion, did so with children, and while pregnant with another. In historical records and religious texts dealing with "The Magdalene", she appears in southern France, after a stay in Egypt, with her children and Joseph of Arimithea.
The paper also brings up an interesting point that I myself have also noticed concerning Leonardo Da Vinci's depiction of the Last Supper: at Jesus' right side, there is a woman.
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