OKay maybe i didn't have enough verses so Catholics I'll try again...please answer.?

Question

Why do you admire Mary as a Virgin when the scripture states Jesus had other siblings?

I'll lay out the verses.


"And he knew her not till she had brought forth her FIRSTBORN son: and he called his name JESUS." Matthew 1:25

"But other of the apostles saw I none, save James THE LORD'S BROTHER." Galatians 1:19

And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and WITH HIS BRETHREN." Acts 1:13-14 (this verse names all of the Apostles and then adds his Brethren)

"Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his BRETHREN, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his SISTERS, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?" Matthew 13:55-56

"While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his BRETHREN stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy BRETHREN stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my BRETHREN? and he stretched forth his hand TOWARD HIS DISCIPLES, and said behold my mother and my BRETHREN!" Matthew 12:46-49

God says "After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For [there is] no man [that] doeth any thing in secret, and he himself seeketh to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him.
John 7:1-5

those are all verses speaking of Jesus' siblings, it cannot be denied that he had siblings. Could a priest answer this question for me maybe?

gosh, i forgot to ask for only serious answers this time :-/

Answer 1

You will never get a straight answer...but the question should not relate to Jesus having siblings but why worship ANY but Jesus

Answer 2

There have been basically two answers to this question:
1) Saint Jerome (4th and 5th century) noted that the Semitic usage of the word "brethren" was wider than the Greek usage of his time. He hypothesized that the writers of the Gospels wrote about Christ's "brethren" in Greek following the Hebrew usage which would include other family members such as cousins.
2) The Bible nowhere says that the "brethren" of Christ were Mary's children. If they were his brothers in the strict sense, they may have been Joseph's children from a previous marriage. Note that calling Jesus Mary's "firstborn" does not indicate that she actually had other children. When my wife gives birth to our first child, it will be our firstborn whether or not we have more children.

None of this, of course, goes to show that the Bible teaches the perpetual virginity. It just goes to show that it doesn't teach that the perpetual virginity of Mary is false.

Answer 3

How was James, “the brother of the Lord,” (Matt. 13:55, Acts 15:13-21, 1 Cor. 15:7, Gal. 1:19) related to Jesus. All believers agree he was related, but no one knows exactly how.

The possibilities are that James was:

1. A full brother of Jesus, another Son of God born of the Blessed Virgin Mary. No one to my knowledge accepts that God had another child by the Blessed Virgin Mary.

2. A half-brother of Jesus, a younger son of Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary. Some Christians believe this possibility but most Christians including those who are Catholic and Eastern Orthodox believe that Mary remained a virgin for her entire life.

3. A stepbrother of Jesus, a son of Joseph and a previous wife. Many Christians believe that Joseph had a least one previous marriage that resulted in children.

4. A stepbrother of Jesus, an adopted son of Joseph and the Blessed Virgin Mary. When parents died, relatives frequently took their children in and raised them as thier own. An adopted orphaned boy would be considered the brother of Jesus.

5. A cousin of Jesus. The Aramaic language has no word for cousin. Aramaic frequently uses the word “aha,” which we translate into Greek as “adelphos” or English as brother, for cousin.

6. A comrade of Jesus. This is a remote possibility. Greek uses adelphos the same as English does in “a band of brothers.”

Possibilities 1 and 2 obviously go against Catholic beliefs.

The Catholic Church prefers possibility 5 but 3, 4 and 6 would not go against doctrine.

With love in Christ.

Answer 4

Catholics are not alone in this belief. Protestant Reformers Martin Luther, John Calvin, and Ulrich Zwingli also defended the perperual viginity of Mary. In Matt 1:25 Jesus is called the firstborn. This is not because there was a second or a third, but because the gospel writer is paying regard to the fact there were none before Him. As far as those verses that speak of Jesus brothers or brethren, the Hebrew and Aramaic languages spoken by Christ and His disciples do not have separate words for "brother", "cousin," or "near-relative." For example, in the original Hebrew, Lot is called Abraham's brother, but we know that Lot is Abraham's nephew. Two of the so-called "brothers" of Jesus (Mt 13:55), James and Joseph, are sons of another Mary, the wife of Clopas.

If Jesus had sibling why, when He was on the cross, did He give His mother to John to care for? If Jesus had siblings then wouldn't He have placed Mary in the care of one of them?

God bless,
Stanbo

Answer 5

The problem emerges in understanding the meaning of the word brother. In the original text of the gospel, we find the Greek word adelphos, meaning brother, used. However, adelphos does not just mean blood brothers born of the same parents. Rather, adelphos was used to describe brothers not born of the same parents, like a half-brother or step-brother. The word also described other relationships like cousins, nephews, etc. For example in Genesis 13:8 and 14:14-16, the word adelphos was used to describe the relationship between Abraham and Lot; however, these two men did not share a brother relationship, but one of uncle and nephew. Another instance is that of Laban, who was an adelphos to Jacob, not as a brother, but as an uncle. (In the New American translation, “kinsman” or “relative” will be used in these Old Testament cases; I do not know why this is not true in the English translation of the Gospel.)

Nevertheless, other gospel passages clarify these relationships. James the Less (and Joses) were the sons of Mary the wife of Clophas (Mk 15:40, Jn 19:25), and James the Less was also identified as “the son of Alphaeus” (Lk 6:15); here “Clophas” and “Alphaeus” are names traditionally said to identify the same man, just as “Jude” and “Thaddeus” refer to the same apostle, St. Jude Thaddeus. Judas and by extension Simon were the sons of James (not either of the apostles) (Lk 6:16). James the Greater and John were the sons of Zebedee with a mother other than our Blessed Mother Mary (Mt 20:20ff).

Answer 6

"Brother" or "sister" in a Semitic context can mean cousin or half-brothersor even close friend( the 2 latter are also used in English). Mary is never named as the birth- mother of the "brethren."
If Mary had other children (if even stepchildren) Jesus simply could not have entrusted Mary to John( who also could posibly been a relative or 'brother of Jesus somewhere along the line) as goel or protector. The maternal protection and care for John is shown in Mary's being given John. Catholics and Orthodox see this as Jesus giving Mary to all of us who are adopted by grace into the Family of Jesus as our mother in the faith and jesus giving all of us to each other as brethren in the Faith of Jesus.
A "firstborn son" was literally that even if no other children were born to the marriage.

Answer 7

I am not a priest, neither do I practice the Catholic faith. however, I was disappointed with the other responses to this question. It seems no one knows the answer. Actually, the answer can be found in the Bible. If a person studies it long enough and ernestly enough, they can find an answer to any question. And you never get too old to learn new truths that you had overlooked before when you read the Bible earlier.
By the way, if you are asking if Mary was a virgin when Jesus was born, He was. Mary and Joseph did not consumate their marriage until after Jesus was born. Which made her a virgin. She had another child 9 months later. ( more months later maybe, who knows. Only God knows the full story)

Answer 8

There is quite a bit of evidence stating that Mary was a virgin at the time of the Immaculate conception, and that is what truly matters. Also the early Church fathers, were much closer to the time period of the actual events then any of the early Protestant leaders. They knew the traditions of greetings in the time period much better then we do today, or Luther and his crew did in the 1500's. Also every single tradition of the Catholic Church can be explained biblicaly, it is all about interpreting those Bible verses.

In the end we are all followers of Christ so much of the bickering is totally unnecessary.

The poster ahead of me, must have never attended a Catholic Mass because we get 3 Bible verses every weekend at Mass.

Answer 9

>>"Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his BRETHREN, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his SISTERS, are they not all with us? Whence then hath this man all these things?" Matthew 13:55-56<<

So Jesus is the son of the carpenter, and not God?

Answer 10

Mary gave a very curious reply when the angel told her that she was going to have a son. She replied, "How can this be, since I have no relations with a man?"

At this point, Mary was already engaged to be married to Joseph. If this was to be a regular marriage in which the marriage is consumated, her replied would have been "Wonderful!" Mary's reply shows that her marriage was to be one that did not involve sex.

Mary referred to herself as a "handmaid of the Lord". This means that her life had been dedicated to the Lord. The reason the marriage was arranged between her and Joseph was for her safety and protection since her parents were advances in age.

Answer 11

Virgin in those days was the hebrew word "bethulah". Meaning a young woman who had never had sex with a man.
Mary was not referred to as "bethulah" but was called "almah" which means maiden, or young woman.
The problem lies in later translations, and misunderstandings of the meanings of the original hebrew words.
Mary was a young woman (possibly also a virgin) who found favor with the Lord, and became pregnant by the decree of God. Once she gave birth, married Joseph, and had other children she was no longer a virgin, but still continues to be called "the blessed virgin".