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NASB | Mark 6:3 "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?" And they took offense at Him. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Mark 6:3 "Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are His sisters not here with us?" And they were [deeply] offended by Him [and their disapproval blinded them to the fact that He was anointed by God as the Messiah]. |
Bible Question:
Is being called the Son of Mary evidence of questioning his birth? Should Jesus be called the son of Joeseph??? |
Bible Answer: (Part 1 of 2) Dear Richbee, I think rocwalker1's answer is a very good explanation of this. This was simply a comment as to how familiar (and "normal") Jesus was to them. The people of Nazareth knew Mary and her other children, and most Christians assume that Joseph was dead by this time since he is not mentioned again after Jesus' visit to the temple at the age of 12 (Luke 2:41ff). I don't think there is any suggestion that Jesus was an illegitimate child of Mary here or elsewhere in the gospels by anyone in His life, although I'm confident that there was in the time of the early church -- once the reality of His virgin birth began to be openly taught after His resurrection. Modern myths and images surrounding Christ's birth make it hard to imagine that no one knew, but Matthew and Luke paint a different picture when read carefully. The complete lack of any such suggestion of illigitemacy by Jesus' opposition in the gospels suggests to me that no one (but Mary, Joseph, Elizabeth, Zechariah, and perhaps a very few close and trusted friends) knew the timing of Jesus' conception and birth as compared to Joseph and Mary's wedding. If they had, they could have been expected to assume illegitimacy and use it as a further excuse to denounce Jesus and His message. Even a righteous and loving man like Joseph (see Matthew 1:19), despite obvious reason to desire otherwise, could not believe any other conclusion than fornication -- at least not without divine intervention (Matthew 1:20). Jesus' miraculous virgin conception was no doubt one of those things that "Mary treasured .., pondering them in her heart," until she witnessed them to Luke and others after Christ's resurrection. God carefully, deliberately and exactly ordained the sequence surrounding Jesus' conception and birth and the marriage of His parents in such a way as to keep His miraculous conception a secret until the proper time and in order to safeguard their reputation as righteous and faithful servants of God. This is an exciting part of the Christmas story that we tend to miss. Bear with me, and I'll offer some observations (and minor interpretations that seem obvious once some modern myths are debunked). The angel Gabriel's words encouraged Mary to visit her cousin Elizabeth in rural Judeah (Luke 1:36-40), "[a]nd Mary stayed with her about three months, and then returned to her home." (Luke 1:56) Do you have kids? Then you, like me, may think, "Conception plus 3 months equals 1st trimester." Mary spent her "morning sickness" time away from Nazareth, with someone whose immediate greeting was Luke 1:42-43 -- "Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb! And how has it happened to me, that the mother of my Lord would come to me?" Mary received from Elizabeth encouragement and protection, and Zechariah kept his mouth shut too. By the time Mary returned to her home in Nazareth 3 months later (coincidence that Luke mentions 3 months?), she had stopped vomiting (assuming a "typical" pregnancy) but probably wasn't showing yet (again assuming a "typical 1st pregnancy for a young girl). Joseph then publicly married her (Matthew 1:24). The people of Nazareth had no idea that Mary was pregnant yet, but they would have soon if she had stayed there much longer. Then ("In those days") came the providential census that allowed Joseph and Mary to leave for Bethlehem abruptly with no need for explanation (Luke 2:1-5). The most logical assumption is that Joseph and Mary would have been prudent enough to leave for Bethlehem BEFORE Mary was visibly pregnant, since no one in Nazareth would have believed that the Holy Spirit had impregnated her; Joseph knew that from personal experience. The image of their arrival in Bethlehem with Mary ready to pop is a modern myth with no biblical basis; to the contrary, the wording "while they were there" (Luke 2:6) indicates that they had already been there (presumably sleeping in the stable) for some time when Jesus was born. Since we know Joseph was a righteous man, his family in Bethlehem naturally assumed that they had already been married when Mary conceived and that the child was Joseph's. However, in reality Joseph and Mary were careful to wait until after Jesus' birth before they actually had sexual union -- a point which Matthew makes sure we are aware of (Matthew 1:25). |