Mark 6:3 Did Jesus have brothers and sisters?

[chiwawa]

I came across this passage recently:

Mark 6:3 (New International Version, ©2010)

3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

So obviously these arent Jesus' actual brothers and sisters, but did Mary and Joseph have children together after Jesus?

 

[wayseer]

I came across this passage recently:

Mark 6:3 (New International Version, ©2010)

3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

So obviously these arent Jesus' actual brothers and sisters, but did Mary and Joseph have children together after Jesus?

We really don't know. We really don't know all that much. What happened to Joseph? He seems to have just disappeared after the birth narratives.

Jesus, whoever he was, belonged to one of the lowest status groups in 1st century Palestine. He was not even a peasant who had access to land. He was so far down the rung that he had no patron - only just above the status of a slave or bandit.

It is therefore open to speculation just how his family was constructed. We like to think in nice middle class ways but such was not the case in the time of Jesus.

I find it interesting that Jesus very much consciously used the word 'father' to describe God. Could it be that this usage was a cognitive and psychological reaction to overcoming the lack of a 'real' father that he settled on a 'heavenly' father? Was Mary therefore a 'single mum' doing it tough? Did Mary accumulate the other 'lost' children of the village as a sort of 1st century version of a foster parent?

I don't think we can make any definitive statement on the issue.

 

[HisHomeMaker]

Wayseeer, the scenarios you suppose are quite beautiful. Thank you for your ideas.

 

[wayseer]

Wayseeer, the scenarios you suppose are quite beautiful. Thank you for your ideas.

Thank you - but very unorthodox ideas.

 

[ebia]

Thank you - but very unorthodox ideas.

I wouldn't say unorthodox. But Joseph is still around in the one story we have from Jesus' growing up years - Luke's lost in the Temple story.

 

[ebia]

So obviously these arent Jesus' actual brothers and sistersquote]
eh?

 

[JCFantasy23]

I came across this passage recently:

Mark 6:3 (New International Version, ©2010)

3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

So obviously these arent Jesus' actual brothers and sisters, but did Mary and Joseph have children together after Jesus?

It's always seemed to me from many bible verses that he may have had siblings, yes. This isn't the only scripture that is showing that Mary did not stay a virgin. Still, there may have been different ways of referring to family back then so I cannot be absolutely sure on whether he had siblings or not.

 

[ebia]

Calvin observed, very wisely I think, that scripture is ambiguous on the question of whether Mary had other children.

 

[Woldeyesus]

I came across this passage recently:

Mark 6:3 (New International Version, ©2010)

3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

So obviously these arent Jesus' actual brothers and sisters, but did Mary and Joseph have children together after Jesus?

Jesus answered, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?" The he pointed to his disciples and said, "Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does what my Father in heaven wants him to do is my brother, my sister, and my mother." AMEN. (Matt. 12: 48-50)

 

[levis143]

The false doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church about the perpetual virginity of Mary is the main reason Catholics deny and twist the Scripture regarding the sons of Mary. Mary had sons. She was not a perpetual virgin. Jesus had brothers as human being. I had a college classmate who was a Catholic who explained that what the Bible was teaching there was that they were cousins and not brothers... What??? The Gospels are very clear, Mary had sons and Jesus had brothers. But the Catholics fools the people with false doctrines of perpetual virginity of Mary..

 

[ebia]

The false doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church about the perpetual virginity of Mary is the main reason Catholics deny and twist the Scripture regarding the sons of Mary. Mary had sons. She was not a perpetual virgin. Jesus had brothers as human being. I had a college classmate who was a Catholic who explained that what the Bible was teaching there was that they were cousins and not brothers... What??? The Gospels are very clear, Mary had sons and Jesus had brothers. But the Catholics fools the people with false doctrines of perpetual virginity of Mary..

You realise John Calvin thought Mary remained ever-virgin?

 

[Saint Andrew]

it is very clear that jesus had brothers for one of his brothers wrote the book of james which was james his half brother.

 

[Saint Andrew]

it is very clear that jesus had brothers for one of his brothers wrote the book of james which was james his half brother.

mark 6:3 names all of his half brothers.
also matthew 1:24,25 states that mary did have sex with joseph but only after Jesus was born.

 

[levis143]

And Roman Catholic Church call themselves Christians yet twisted the very Scripture, the Bible, which is main foundation of Christianity. This so called 'Church' perpetrated many false doctrines which is basically anti-Bible... first with such "perpetual virginity of Mary", the "ascension of Mary", calling their priests "Father" which is forbidden by Christ Himself in the Gospel. Calling Mary the 'Mother of God", and teaching people that Mary is an Intercessor in heaven... All these doctrines are not found in the New Testament but man-made doctrines (made by their Popes or ArchBishops in the Vatican). God said in the Scripture that anyone who will add anything in His Scripture will be eternally condemned. And this so called "Christian Church" is very much guilty of this.

 

[addo]

If we are to completely ignore tradition and draw our conclusions solely from the text, yes, Mary and Joseph seem to have had other children with Jesus being the firstborn.

 

[AgapeBible]

You know, Mary was Joseph's wife, they were married, of course they had sex and children together. WHat would be the point of Mary's marriage to Joseph if she never ever had sex with him? Jesus was born of the miracle of the virgin's irth of course, but after they settled down in a safe home after Jesus was born, I'm sure Mary had relations with Joseph and had other children with him, they would be Jesus' half brothers and half sisters. Jesus' half brothers were his followers, James, Jesus' half brother, was a disciple and wrote the book of James. I imagine Jesus' half sisters also believed in him as the Christ and worshiped him, it would be cool if they had children, maybe Jesus had nephews and neices. I wonder if Joseph died while Jesus was young, maybe when he was a teenager. Clearly Joseph was alive during the story of Jesus teaching at the temple in Jerusalem when he was 12. Jesus worked the carpenter's trade his earthly/stepfather Joseph taught him since he was a child. Atually, carpenters were skilled craftsmen back then and they made good money. It was hard work, a common job, but a skilled trade that was in high demand and like I said I imagine it paid well, made good money.

 

[MrPolo]

So obviously these arent Jesus' actual brothers and sisters, but did Mary and Joseph have children together after Jesus?

No they did not. Read Father Mateo's Was Jesus an Only Child Part 1 and Part 2 articles.

 

[cobweb]

The belief that the Theotokos had other children is a very modern belief. For the majority of Church history Christians believed that she remained a virgin.

Still today the vast majority of Christians in the world believe as the early Church did.

 

[bach90]

I think that the Roman Church (which I used to be a member of) should not make this a belief required under pain of anathema.

Looking at Matt 13:55 which is commonly cited as proof that Jesus had brothers and sisters, it is important to look at the Greek. The word for brothers (adelphoi) is used throughout the New Testament to refer to non-literal Brothers and Sisters. There is also the possibility that the word for brother in Aramaic refers to cousin or close family.

I believe Mary was a virgin throughout her life, but I believe that without Biblical evidence, it can't be imposed.

 

[laconicstudent]

The belief that the Theotokos had other children is a very modern belief. For the majority of Church history Christians believed that she remained a virgin.

Still today the vast majority of Christians in the world believe as the early Church did.

Yep, St. Jerome wrote a wonderful defense of the ever-virginity of the Theotokos, Against Helvidius.