Jesus, Mary Magdalene, and The Da Vinci Code A Sermon by Dr. Erwin Lutzer, author of The Da Vinci Deception

I. Introduction – What’s the big deal about The Da Vinci Code?

A. The Da Vinci Code, the bestselling novel by Dan Brown, is written so well that it’s causing people to believe absurd fiction is fact – and rocking the faith of millions. The author implies that the fiction is based on fact and offers a very deceptive view of the life of Jesus and the claims of Christianity. 1. The book claims that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and their children intermarried with the French Royal Line. 2. It makes the case that the church has orchestrated a conspiracy to hide this secret that has been whispered about in art, music, and literature for centuries. 3. The book says the paintings of Leonardo da Vinci are an example of this hidden truth and contain some of the most dramatic evidence of the relationship between Jesus and Mary Magdalene.

B. What is the author’s agenda? 1. To attack Jesus Christ, the church, and those of us who are His followers and call Him Savior and Lord. 2. To convince the world that Christianity was invented to suppress women and turn people away from the “divine feminine.” (This notion is of particular interest to extreme feminists who see a return to goddess-worship as a central need for our times.) 3. To better understand the author’s agenda, review the beliefs of Gnosticism and the Gnostic Gospels.

II. Specific claims from The Da Vinci Code that purport that Christianity is a lie. A. Jesus and Mary Magdalene’s story 1. The book claims that Jesus and Mary married and had a daughter. After Jesus’ crucifixion, Mary and her daughter went to Gaul (France), and there they established the Merovingian line of French royalty. 2. This dynasty, we are told, continues in the mysterious organization known as the Priory of Sion, a secret organization whose military wing was the Knights Templar. Members of this organization supposedly include Leonardo da Vinci, Isaac Newton, and Victor Hugo. To this day, the relics of Mary and the records excavated by the Templars are guarded, shrouded in secrecy and mystery. B. Christianity is based on a few big lies 1. The book claims that Jesus was not God, and that his followers attributed deity to Him to consolidate male rule and to oppress the worshippers of the “divine feminine.” 2. At the Council of Nicea, Constantine invented the idea of the deity of Christ so that he could eliminate all opposition, declaring dissenters heretics. 3. The Council also apparently decided to regard the present canonical Scriptures as infallible to insure the male controls of the Church. C. The “real” truth is being preserved 1. Codes and symbols were devised to preserve the “real” story about Mary and to avert the wrath of the Catholic Church. 2. The Priory of Scion preserves its own version of the Jesus and Mary story without having to tell the whole truth. 3. Aware of all of this, Da Vinci paints The Last Supper with John sitting at the right hand of Jesus. But John’s features are feminine; it turns out that the person to the right of Jesus is not John, but Mary Magdalene. D. God intended Mary to lead the Church 1. According to Brown, Jesus intended Mary Magdalene to lead the Church, but Peter protested. As a result, Mary was declared a prostitute and cut out of the leadership. 2. The Church wanted a celibate male Savior who would perpetuate male oppression. So, after her husband was crucified, Mary went to Gaul, taking her daughter and the Holy Grail with her. 3. The New Testament is the result of a male-dominated leadership that invented Christianity to suppress opposition to the Roman Empire and oppress women. 4. Jesus was the original feminist, but His wishes were ignored to foster the male agenda. E. The Holy Grail is actually Mary Magdalene. She is the vessel that held the blood of Christ in her womb while bearing his child. F. Quest for the Grail is actually a quest for Mary Magdalene’s remains 1. Knights who sought a chalice were incorrect. 2. The book ends with the main character in a tunnel under the Louvre in Paris, praying at what could be Mary Magdalene’s tomb. “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.”

III. We must be ready to counter The Da Vinci Code with facts A. Study the Council of Nicea 1. Is it true that Constantine invented the doctrine of the deity of Christ? No. Constantine did convene the Council and did give the opening speech, but the rest of the book’s comments are fiction. 2. The deity of Christ is taught in the New Testament and it was the teaching of the church prior to the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D. B. Development of New Testament canon 1. Constantine did not disqualify 80 other books as The Da Vinci Code claims. 2. New Testament canon has an entirely different history. C. Compare the Gnostic Gospels with the New Testament Gospels 1. The Gnostic Gospels claim that Jesus kissed Mary Magdalene and that she received a special revelation from Him regarding her leadership of the church after his death. 2. We believe the Gnostic Gospels are fraudulent. Early Christian writers including Ignatius warned about the teachings of the Gnostics in the second century. D. Could Jesus have been married? 1. It is unthinkable that Jesus the God-man could be joined to a sinner in the most intimate physical human bond. 2. 2. If Jesus had been married, at least one of the Gospel writers would have mentioned it. 3. The Bible declares his future bride to be the Church. E. Contrast the supposed historical basis of The Da Vinci Code with the careful history of the New Testament writers.

For detailed information and refutation of The Da Vinci Code, see The Da Vinci Deception, by Dr. Erwin Lutzer.