Why do you not understand My speech? Because you are not able to listen to My word. You are of your father the devil, and the desires of your father you want to do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it (father of lies - NIV). But because I tell the truth, you do not believe Me. - John 8:43-45.

There is currently an assault on truth being engaged in by the devil and his children. Prime examples are Dan Brown’s "Da Vinci Code" and Michael Baigent’s "Jesus Papers." 

The "Da Vinci Code" purports to be fiction but is historically accurate. Among the book's claims is that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and that there were descendants from that marriage. The "Jesus Papers" claim that the crucifixion never happened and it was just a hoax perpetrated by Jesus and Pilate. The purpose of both books appears to be an assault on the reliability of the Christian canon of Scripture and therefore, an attack on the Christian faith.

Here are two statements from the "Da Vinci Code" which are stated as being fact:

"The marriage of Jesus and Mary Magdalene is part of the historical record (p. 245)."

"The royal bloodline of Jesus Christ has been chronicled in exhaustive detail by scores of historians (p. 253)."

In the February 2004 issue of Bible Review (Jots and Tittles, p. 10) it is stated that, "None of the Gospels, canonical or non-canonical, ever refer to Mary Magdalene as Jesus’ wife, or say that Jesus was married."

(Thanks to Scott Weber of the Christian Church of Estes Park, Colorado for the Da Vinci Code and Bible Review information above and for his very informative sermon series on the Da Vinci Code posted at SermonCentral.com. You should be able to access Pastor Weber‘s sermons by clicking on this link or by pasting it in your browser: http://www.sermoncentral.com/contributor_profile.asp?ContributorID=5881)

What historical evidence is there for the marriage of Jesus or for His having descendants? There is none. The canon of Scripture that we have is a vast treasure trove of historical evidence for the life of Jesus, the Son of God, Who walked upon this earth being fully God and fully man. He was tempted at all points without sin and is today at the right hand of the Father in Heaven. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus is also resident in every true believer. In addition, Josephus who was a Jewish historian and contemporary of Jesus did not ever write of the marriage of Jesus or of any descendants of Jesus. There was no grand conspiracy between Pilate and Jesus, or between Pilate and the followers of Jesus.

What we as believers must understand is that the devil and his children are liars. We as Christians have a conscience and the presence of the Holy Spirit within us restraining us, inhibiting us from knowingly communicating falsehoods. We may lie but we know better and we know it was wrong to do so. The devil and his children have no such inhibitions or restraints. They feel free to make up things out of thin air that happen to suit their objectives at the time.

We have guidance from the Scriptures and examples from Scripture as to how to proceed when confronted with the possibility of deception and falsehood. 

The apostle Paul gives us the example of the Bereans in Acts 17:10-11, "Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews. These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so."

We must search the Scriptures daily and always check to see if what the devil and his children are trying to sell is in conformance with the Word of God. Because as we are told in 2 Timothy 3:16, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness."