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NASB | Matthew 1:25 but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 1:25 but he kept her a virgin until she had given birth to a Son [her firstborn child]; and he named Him Jesus (The LORD is salvation). |
Bible Question:
srbaegon: You are trying to use english grammatical rules with greek text, but english and greek grammar are very different creatures. Also regarding John 7:5, if they were Mary's children they would have had the responsibility of looking after their mother whether they believed in Jesus or not. Quite clearly however, they did believe after Jesus' resurrection, look at Acts 1:14. So if they were Mary's children there is absolutely no reason for Jesus entrust his mother to John. They are not Mary's children which is why Jesus does so. Lionstrong: It make make perfect sense to you in English, but in Greek the opposite meaning is clear. Hank: I gave a subjective opinion of mine as a follow on from the points I had made, perhaps that was a mistake. The points, however, stand on their own and are not the result of my opinion. I would ask you to consider why Mary and Joseph got married at all, since Joseph was not the father of Jesus. However, if Mary was to have a child with no apparent father, all would have assumed that she had commited adultery and as a consequence she would have been stoned to death. Thus Joseph was necessary to give the semblance of fatherhood to Mary's child in order to protect her reputation and life. It does not automatically follow that they had sexual relations as a normal husband and wife. I think it is an understatement to say that they were far from a normal husband and wife. You again quote Matt 1:25 and state that my "translation" goes against every reliable translation that exists in English. I'm not giving you a translation though, I am telling you what is says in Greek. Unfortunately, all literal translations of the text in English miss this point because we read with English grammar and not with Greek. I will quote other passages below to illustrate this point. Also, there is no mention of other children early on in Jesus life. In Luke 2:41 it tells how Mary and Joseph went every year to Jerusalem for the Feast of the Passover. When Jesus was twelve years old and they were returning home, Jesus had stayed at the temple without them being aware of it. They assumed he was with friends or "relatives" in their company and travelled a day before going back to search for him. Note that this is twelve years after their marriage and there is only Joseph, Mary and Jesus, plus their relatives. There is no mention of other children. Psalm 72:7 "In his days the righteous will flourish;prosperity will abound till the moon is no more." Does this mean that when the moon is no more the righteous will no longer flourish? 1 Corinthians 15:25 "For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet." Does this mean that Christ will no longer reign after all his enemies are put under his feet? Psalm 123:2 "As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a maid look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the Lord our God, till he shows us his mercy." So when God shows us his mercy, we no longer look to the Lord our God? Matthew 28:18-20 Then Jesus came to them and said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to (eos/until) the very end of the age." Again, does this mean that at the end of the age Jesus will leave us? The answer to all the above is no, the conditions are not bound by the events but rather are ongoing, eternal. The whole point of Matthew 1:25 is to state clearly that Joseph and Mary did not have sexual relations. In Greek it is clearly understood to mean this, there is no ambiguity. That is the "plain reading of the text" in Greek and all mention of Jesus' brothers and sisters in the scriptures must be understood in the light of this fact. |
Bible Answer: Jawz, you ask me to consider why Mary and Joseph got married at all. Indeed! While I ponder this, why don't you consider why ANY man and woman get married. Your attempt to 'prove' that Mary and Joseph had no other children at the time Jesus was 12 years old falls flat. You would have us believe that this is fact simply because no other children are mentioned at this point in Luke's narrative. First of all, the focus of the gospels is on Jesus Christ and not on every detail in the life of Mary and Joseph. And secondly, there is overwhelming contextual evidence in the New Testament that Mary and Joseph bore children in a natural manner and thus that Jesus had siblings. In spite of any and all evidence to the contrary, you stick to your skewered rendition of Matthew 1:25, saying that the whole point of this verse is to state clearly that Mary and Joseph did not have sexual relations, when the plain truth of the matter is that it says the very opposite. Morever, you ask us to understand all mention of Jesus' brothers and sisters in Scripture in light of this 'fact' that you have presented to us. You are, in effect, saying that your interpretation of Matthew 1:25 is correct; that the English readings of all legitimate translations are in error; and the Scriptures that mention Jesus' siblings are flat wrong. You, my friend, have produced a bill of goods that will not sell. --Hank |