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NASB | Matthew 12:47 Someone said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You." |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 12:47 Someone said to Him, "Look! Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside asking to speak to You." |
Subject: Did Mary remain a virgin? |
Bible Note: Hi, James! Have you noticed how many times James and Joseph and Simon are used in Scriture? There is this James (the brother of John) who is the son of Zebedee... yet in some Biblical passage it speaks of James the son of Zebedee and John his brother (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:17)... would that mean that John is not the son of Zebedee, but that he is only a half brother of this particular James... or more approprietly, could it not be that James is the eldest son of Zebedee? Rather than grabbing on to something and running with it, when there are various factors that remain unknown or when the preponderance of the factors that are available yield no conclusive evidence, I rather err on the side of caution. "I was just taking what I read in the Bible at face value." On face value, who is responsible for the care of the Jewish elderly parents, a surviving son/daughter or an associate? If it is the surviving children, why did Jesus offer His only earthly possession, to John, a non-blood relation? Would Jesus be demonstrating His disapointment at his sibblings disbelief so on His death He relieved them of their relationship with His Mother? So either Jesus acted in retaliation or there were no next of kin to care for Mary--it is as face value as it can get! Again, on face value, where were Jesus' younger sibblings during his escapade, at age 12, did the good parents of Jesus decided that they were too much of a hasle to take them with them on the family trip or were they careless only with Jesus, since they misplaced only Him? Clearly, not until His adulthood is there any mention of someone related to Him other than Joseph and Mary! There are some that hold the view that Ishmael is the true descendant of Abraham, since he was first born to Abraham--it is impirical face value: Ishmael was born prior to Isaac! In light of this face value truth, would you then say that an error has been committed by Yahweh and Israel, and Jesus and the Apostles...? Clearly, there are additional factors that must be considered--one fact in particular is that it is God's Will to make things happen according to His Divine Plan... Abraham and his wife were looking to have an offspring, they made a decision and committed themselves to what they thought was the only possible means to their goal... God allowed it only to demonstrate His Supremacy: from an infertile womb He can create a nation! Jesus' birth was awaited by a remnant for many hundreds of years... it happened as God saw fit and when He determined it to be... We want to limit Mary and Joseph to our understanding of human-God relationship while boasting of our power to know God and His Plan due to our advanced spirituality! We go to a house of worship and we are pleased with ourselves because we "sacrificed" the things of the world to be with God (for a few hours)... all the time denying Mary and Joseph the ability to be above the world, in a life dedicated to serving the Prince of Peace! "At the same time, it's interesting that you base your conclusion in part on the Catholic Church's teaching." Unless, the Holy Spirit had lost His way and could not Minister Jesus' Church for about fifteen-hundred years, the Church existed as Christ testefied in Matthew 16:18... so, yes, I rather listen to the Church and base my belief on what Scripture and the Church teach, instead of running with someone's "revelation" of Scripture--much of which is "personal revelation" which is not Bible-inclusive but individual-view inclusive! God Bless! Angel |