Would it really be a problem if Jesus had been married and fathered children? Why do people find this claim so shocking? Theologically it may pose the problem of what status these children have (gods, demigods?). That's a mute point unless at least one of them did something noteworthy and controversial (would a demigod lead a normal life?). What about any descendants of these children (either living or controversial historical figures)? Of course the claim related to the Priory of Sion (apparently a Gnostic organization) is that this bloodline continues.

I don't think anybody would be concerned if it was found that Mary Magdalene was a wife and/or mother, unless her husband was Jesus. She's widely thought to have been a prostitute but the evidence is far from clear.

What evidence is there?

The Bible doesn't say anything about Jesus' sex life but there are two places where his marital status is implied. In Matt 6:1-5 Jesus preaches in the synagogue in Nazareth and is rejected. Those who reject him refer to his mother, brothers and sisters but make no mention of his father, wife or children. It's possible that they were insinuating that he was illegitimate. It's also very likely that being single was part of the problem. In John, while on the cross, Jesus sees his mother standing with "disciple whom he loved" (this is how the gospel's author is identified) and says, "Dear woman, here is your son," and "Here is your mother" which is taken to mean that the disciple should take over the duties of a son in caring for Mary. Again there is no mention of a wife or children, although Mary Magdalene is present.

The Bible is also very vague about Mary Magdalene. There's a reference to her having seven demons driven out (which implies a dubious early life) but she's never identified as a prostitute, wife or mother.

As for the Priory of Sion, in "The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail" by Michal Baigent, Richard Leigh and Henry Lincoln, the idea that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene and fathered children is presented as deduction of the authors. Personally I'm not convinced that the Prior of Sion really believe this. I think it's more likely that the Sangreal is really a bloodline descended from at least one of Jesus' siblings (and possibly Mary Magdalene) who would be descended from, and possibly heir to the House of David.

The other main bit of evidence is the so called Jesus tomb. I suspect that this might be something genuinely strange and associated with Jesus but I'm not convinced Jesus was buried in it. The inscription which supposedly says, "Jesus son of Joseph" is virtually illegible. It starts (right end - Hebrew reads right to left) with what looks like a large X and there's a large Y over the word "son". The X is ignored and the Y interpreted as the eyan (Hebrew letter) at the end of Jesus (Yeshua in Hebrew). It looks to me as if somebody, back in the first century, had trouble reading the inscription and scribbled two crosses around what they thought was the important bit. I really think that both these letters, or neither, should be included as part of the name. Either way the name can not be Yeshua!

Therefore the weight of the evidence seems to be that Jesus was single and childless. The status of Mary Magdalene is less clear but also far less important.

Another claim associated with the Priory of Sion and the Jesus tomb is that Jesus died a normal death instead of ascending into heaven. This IMHO is a far more serious issue than his marital status.

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