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NASB | Luke 1:27 to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Luke 1:27 to a virgin betrothed to a man whose name was Joseph, a descendant of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. |
Bible Question:
I am trying to witness on a teen web site and a guy wants to know if Mary and Joseph had maritial relations,I know they did but can't back it up with scripture. Also did they have other children? Could someone please let me know where in the bible can I find this?Thanks. |
Bible Answer: I know this is some time after the fact but since I have recently joined the forum and this is a subject that has really bugged me I felt I had to post something. Many quote Matthew 1:25 as clearly stating that Joseph and Mary had sexual relations after Jesus was born. In fact it states the opposite. As Emmaus pointed out, the greek word "eos" does not translate simply as "until" in English but is used in a perfect continuous form which means it is an unbound condition, not tied to the event of Jesus birth. As a stark example look at the text of 2 Samuel 6:23 "As to Michal daughter of Saul, she had no child till the day of her death."(YLT) We clearly understand that Michal's not having children is not tied to the event of her death, she did not suddenly start having children after she died. (I quoted Youngs literal translation because most do not translate "eos" as "till"). The structure of Matthew 1:25 is the same as that of 2 Samuel 6:23 and there are numerous other passages that use the same unbound expression of the greek "eos". If you read them with the same English grammar interpretation "until" in Matthew 1:25 they make no sense. Regarding other passages where Jesus brothers and sisters are referred to, remember that very few people were privvy to the knowledge that Mary had conceived by the Holy Spirit so all who were acquainted with Mary and Joseph would have considered Jesus as Joseph's son. If Joseph had other children (he may have been a widower) or if Mary and Joseph had nephews and nieces then they would have quite rightly called Jesus their brother they would not have called him anything else. Now if Joseph's other children were by Mary then Jesus would have been the eldest and as such would have had considerable influence over his younger siblings, especially after the death of Joseph. Yet what do we read about Jesus' brothers; John 7:5 "For even his own brothers did not believe in him." It is hard to believe that if they were also the children of Mary that she would not have explained to them the extraordinary circumstances of Jesus' birth, nor that they would not believe that which their oldest brother, the head of their household, told them. Also, as Emmaus pointed out with John 19:26-27, if Mary had other children then there would have been no need for Jesus to place his mother under John's care. The simple fact of the matter is that Mary had no other children Finally, I would ask you to put yourselves in the shoes of Joseph and ask yourselves as God fearing people, would any of you even consider having sexual relations with the woman who bore the Son of God? Would you even dare to presume to put your seed in the same womb which God himself had chosen to bear the Saviour of mankind? Within Mary's womb had grown the most holy Son of God become man. On Mary's breast was sustained the creator and sustainer of all life. Her body became a sacred temple. The very thought of someone having sexual relations with the one who had been so intimately connected to Christ simply fills me with horror. |