Did Mary (Jesus' Mom) have sexual intercourse after giving birth to Jesus?

Question

Well, not immediately after, of course.

But if it is said that Jesus had sisters and brothers....why is she called a "virgin"?

NOTE: A Woman cannot be called a virgin because she "was" a virgin once. You're either one or not.

If so, did Joseph take to scoring around or did he just wan-k around?

Answer 1

Mary did not have sex after giving birth to Jesus. She was a virgin always.

I wish to counter the Matthew 1:25 as being 'so obvious' that is the case, which in fact it shows just the very thing that indeed she was a virgin always. So, please bear with me while I delve into this to clear up the matter for you and all others.

It is first of all important to remember that Mary and Joseph were only betrothed, not married. In the Jewish tradition, betrothal lasts for a year and was legally binding. There is no mention in the original Greek that they were ever married. Thus, the Church had always taught that the fact that they were never married is further evidence that there was no physical sexual relationship.

We need to understand several things first. One is the term 'firstborn'. Many ancient texts include the word "firstborn".

"Firstborn" means having been born first, and never implies the birth of others. It is common in scripture and ancient writings to show that something is the “only” using the word “first” in order to emphasize pre-eminence, elevation or honor.

Here are some cross references:
Isaiah 44:5 - “I am God, the First, and with Me there is no other"

Psalm 88:27 - “I will set Him firstborn high among the kings of the earth”

Now, a brief study of the concept of "until" as used in Matthew 1:25 :"...but he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son."

The Greek word most often translated as "until" is eos (pronounced āōs), and is negated by ouk at the beginning of the phrase, meaning "not."

The modern-day meaning of the word "until" might lead us to think that Joseph "did not know her until..." but that he did afterwards. However, the biblical usage is quite different. In ancient and biblical usage, the word eos is used to designate a "boundary formed by a historical event."

The Greek conjunction eos (till), like the Hebrew ad-ki and the Latin donec, while expressing what has occurred up to a certain period, leaves the future entirely aside.

Here are some cross references to illustrate that ouk...eos it more accurately translated as "not until this important event, but still not after" (i.e. never.):

Luke 2:36-37 the story of Christ's Presentation at the Temple. The verse describes Anna the prophetess as having lived with her husband for 7 years after their marriage, and then, "she has lived as a widow until (eos) ." At the time of The Presentation of Christ she is still a widow, and will continue to be so after this. The "boundary" historical event is the Presentation of Christ.

Acts 8:40. The verse says "Phillip.... traveled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until (eos) he reached Caesarea" (NIV) Did Phillip the deacon preach the gospel after he reached Caesarea? Of course he did. The "boundary" historical event is Phillip the deacon's arrival in Caesarea and the word eos is used to denote the importance of this event. He preached before, until this significant event, and still after.

Rather than bore you to tears please refer to Matthew 24:21, John 5:17, Genesis 8.7, Psalm 110:1, Isaiah 22:15, Matt 12:20, 1 Tim 4:13, Psalm 90:2, Psalm 72:7 for more proofs.

Now, back to Matt. 1:25 he birth of Mary's Firstborn Son is a "boundary" historical event. In the same sense as the examples above, Joseph did not know Mary before the birth, but also after this watershed event of the birth of the Messiah.

Believe it or not, it is not difficult to argue (using only modern Biblical exegetical methods) that the position of the Catholic Church of the Ever-Virginity of Mary is true. However the most significant argument in this discussion is not the Biblical evidence, but that it has simply always been the teaching of the Church. Any contradictory views were always considered heretical.

This alternate view did not gain momentum until after the Protestant reformation, after which many of the foundational tenets of orthodox Christianity, and especially anything which appeared Roman Catholic had been thrown out entirely.

Answer 2

The Blessed Virgin Mary, the woman who was created according to God's very particular specifications, for the express purpose of being the mother of Jesus, was consecrated to him around the age of 3, and was never intended to "know" a man.

The Blessed Virgin Mary remained a virgin before, during, and after the birth of Jesus, and the only one who ever entered or emerged from her blessed womb was God himself.

Private and erroneous interpretations of the words of scripture, and a modern fixation on all things sexual, account for the groundless speculation.

The Catholic Church, and particularly St. John, teach that Joseph and Mary had a very special married relationship, living in the presence of God himself, which was based on the heavenly model of perfection, where love, rather than sex, remains the unitive factor.

There certainly was no prohibition against love in the holy family, but sexual relations were never a part of it.

Answer 3

Mary has been and always was a virgin
Brothers refered to in the bible is translated as brethen
we are all brothers and sisters in christ
Exodus 13:2,12 - Jesus is sometimes referred to as the "first-born" son of Mary. But "first-born" is a common Jewish expression meaning the first child to open the womb. It has nothing to do the mother having future children.

Exodus 34:20 - under the Mosaic law, the "first-born" son had to be sanctified. "First-born" status does not require a "second" born.

Ezek. 44:2 - Ezekiel prophesies that no man shall pass through the gate by which the Lord entered the world. This is a prophecy of Mary's perpetual virginity. Mary remained a virgin before, during and after the birth of Jesus.

Mark 6:3 - Jesus was always referred to as "the" son of Mary, not "a" son of Mary. Also "brothers" could have theoretically been Joseph's children from a former marriage that was dissolved by death. However, it is most likely, perhaps most certainly, that Joseph was a virgin, just as were Jesus and Mary. As such, they embodied the true Holy Family, fully consecrated to God.

Luke 1:31,34 - the angel tells Mary that you "will" conceive (using the future tense). Mary responds by saying, "How shall this be?" Mary's response demonstrates that she had taken a vow of lifelong virginity by having no intention to have relations with a man. If Mary did not take such a vow of lifelong virginity, her question would make no sense at all (for we can assume she knew how a child is conceived). She was a consecrated Temple virgin as was an acceptable custom of the times.

Luke 2:41-51 - in searching for Jesus and finding Him in the temple, there is never any mention of other siblings.

John 7:3-4; Mark 3:21 - we see that younger "brothers" were advising Jesus. But this would have been extremely disrespectful for devout Jews if these were Jesus' biological brothers.

John 19:26-27 - it would have been unthinkable for Jesus to commit the care of his mother to a friend if he had brothers.

John 19:25 - the following verses prove that James and Joseph are Jesus' cousins and not his brothers: Mary the wife of Clopas is the sister of the Virgin Mary.

Matt. 27:61, 28:1 - Matthew even refers to Mary the wife of Clopas as "the other Mary."

Matt. 27:56; Mark 15:47 - Mary the wife of Clopas is the mother of James and Joseph.

Mark 6:3 - James and Joseph are called the "brothers" of Jesus. So James and Joseph are Jesus' cousins.

Matt. 10:3 - James is also called the son of "Alpheus." This does not disprove that James is the son of Clopas. The name Alpheus may be Aramaic for Clopas, or James took a Greek name like Saul (Paul), or Mary remarried a man named Alpheus.

Answer 4

I am pretty sure that official Roman Catholic teaching continues to be that Mary is/was eternally virgin. So by that way of thinking, no, she never had sex.

This is one point where I disagree with the Holy See. Mary was a normal human woman who was in a (hopefully loving) marriage. Do you really think she never had sex? There have been questions about Jesus' siblings for years. It all seems plausible to me, and none of it detracts from Jesus' divinity.

Why is Mary called "virgin?" This is mostly in reference to the fact that Christians believe that Mary concieved Jesus through the power of the Holy Spirit, not human intercourse. (If Jesus had a human mother and father, what's to say that he's any more God than you or I?)

Today, the term "virgin" is a tricky one. If you are only counting the presence of a hymen, then there are many girls who would not be considered virgins but who have not had intercourse. (Yeah, a hymen can be stretched and broken by sports activities.) If you are talking about penetration, well, that's another matter.

Answer 5

One of the arguments I heard against it was basically "how could any man compare after she had been with God?" that came from a pastor.

Personally I'm with Kevin Smith on this one. Believing that Jesus was born of a virgin takes faith. Believing that a married man and woman never got it on is just plain gullibility.
I'm faithful, but my momma didn't raise no fools. After Jesus was born there would have been no need for Mary to remain a virgin. I am sure she and Joseph got busy.

Answer 6

I'm pretty sure that when she is referred that way it might just mean the virgin birth of Christ. There are many religions that refer to Mary as the Virgin Mary and unless they are talking about her in the context of her term pregnancy with the Savior then they are wrong in referring to her thus. As you said, Jesus did have several brothers and sisters after His birth.

Answer 7

Yeah. You are right.
She was once the virgin Mary. Because she was once a virgin.

And yes, Jesus did have other siblings as well.
But she did not have sexual intercouse b/4 Jesus was born, nor was she married to Joseph when she became pregnant with Jesus. They were engaged to be married at the time.

Answer 8

yes... Jesus had brothers and sisters, and his parents were married. in order for the others to be conceived, there would have been intercourse, as they did not have invitro yet at that time.

I agree that tho, Mary was a virgin when she conceived Jesus, she was not a virgin after she and Joseph consumated their marriage

Answer 9

It is the official position of the Roman Catholic Church that Jesus' mother Mary remained a virgin for her entire life. Is this concept Biblical? Before we get into looking at specific Scriptures, it is important to understand why the Roman Catholic Church believes in the perpetual virginity of Mary. The Roman Catholic Church views Mary as "the Mother of God" and "Queen of Heaven." Catholics believe Mary to have an exalted place in Heaven, with the closest access to Jesus and God the Father. Such a concept is nowhere taught in Scripture. Further, even if Mary did occupy such an exalted position, her having sexual intercourse would not have prevented her from gaining such a position. Sex in marriage is not sinful. Mary would have in no way defiled herself by having sexual relations with Joseph her husband. The entire concept of the perpetual virginity of Mary is based on an unbiblical teaching, Mary as Queen of Heaven, and on an unbiblical understanding of sex.

So, what does the Bible say about the perpetual virginity of Mary? Using the New American Bible, which is a Catholic translation of the Bible, we can see that the perpetual virginity of Mary is not taught in the Bible. Matthew 1:25 NAB tells us, "He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus." He, Joseph, did not have sexual relations with her, Mary, UNTIL after she bore a son, Jesus." The meaning of this Scripture is abundantly clear. Joseph and Mary did not have sexual relations until after Jesus was born. Matthew 13:55-56 NAB declares, "Is He not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother named Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas? Are not His sisters all with us?" Catholics claim, correctly, that the Greek terms from "brothers" and "sisters" in these verses could also refer to male and female relatives, not necessarily literal brothers and sisters. However, the intended meaning is clear, they thought Jesus to be Joseph's son, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas, and the brother of the unnamed and unnumbered sisters. Father, mother, brother, sister. It is straining the meaning of the text to interpret brothers and sisters as "cousins" or "relatives" with the mentioning of Jesus' mother and father.

Matthew 12:46 NAB tells us, "While He was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and His brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with Him." See also Mark 3:31-34; Luke 8:19-21; John 2:12; and Acts 1:14. All mention Jesus' mother with His brothers. If they were His cousins, or the sons of Joseph from a previous marriage, why were they mentioned with Mary so often? The perpetual virginity of Mary cannot be drawn from Scripture. It must be forced on Scripture, in contradiction to what the Scriptures clearly state.

Answer 10

Yes she had sex afterward with Joseph and had more children.

I'm Christian but not Roman Catholic, I don't refer Mary as the "Virgin Mary". If I need to differentiate between her and the other Mary I say Mary, the mother of Jesus.