There Is History That Joseph Was a Widower with Four Children. Can You Prove That the Children Attributed to Mary Were Not Indeed Inherited?
1) Direct Answer
Yes. The “widower with four children” story is not Scripture. The Bible presents Jesus’ brothers and sisters as Mary’s own children born after the virgin birth.
2) Scriptural Explanation
- Psalm 69:8 says of the Messiah, “I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother’s children.” John 2:17 and Romans 15:3 apply Psalm 69 directly to Jesus. Now notice, it says “my mother’s children,” not “my father’s children.” That fits the virgin birth and shows Mary had other children.
- Matthew 1:25 says Joseph “knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son.” “Till” shows normal marital union followed the birth of Jesus, and “firstborn” points to more children afterward.
- Matthew 13:55-56 and Mark 6:3 name His brothers—James, Joses, Simon, Judas—and mention His sisters as present among them. The people said, “Is not this the son of Mary… and his brethren… and his sisters…?” That is natural, household language.
- John 2:12; Matthew 12:46; John 7:5 show “his mother and his brethren” moving and standing together as one family.
- Galatians 1:19 and 1 Corinthians 9:5 speak plainly of “the Lord’s brother.”
3) Simple Clarifying Logic
- The Bible never says Joseph had previous children. That’s a later story, not the Word.
- The Messianic Psalm settles whose children they are—“my mother’s children.”
- “Till” and “firstborn” align with Mary and Joseph entering normal married life after Jesus’ birth.
- Jesus giving Mary to John at the cross doesn’t deny other sons; at that time His brothers did not believe (John 7:5). He entrusted her to a believing disciple present.
4) Reinforcing Statement
We don’t build doctrine on tradition. We stay with the Scripture: Jesus had brothers and sisters, Mary’s own children, born after His virgin birth.
Existing Follow-Up Answers
- Every "thing" God Ever "borrowed" Was Paid Back with Interest. Would It Not Be Inconsistent of God's Character to Borrow Mary's Womb and Not Repay?
1) Direct Answer No inconsistency at all. God did not "borrow" Mary's womb; God created a body by His Word and overshadowed a virgin. Then He hon
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What did the Laodicean Church Age (our age) Angel (- messenger) Say about this?
Ranked passages from the local William Branham sermon and Church Age Book database. Relevance is relative, not a statement of doctrinal certainty.
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 5:E-23
Did you get that last thought? I repeat, every church age ends with the same admonition. "He that hath an ear, let him (an individual) hear what the Spirit saith to the churches." The Spirit gives the Word. He has the truth for each age. Each age has had its own elect, and that elect group always 'heard the word,' and received it, proving they had the Seed in them. John 8:47, "And he that is of God heareth God's Words. Ye therefore hear them not, because ye are not of God." They refused the Word (Jesus) and His Wor...
Believest thou this?
51-0506A §46
...if those people here last night walked from a wheelchair; if this man from a crippled bed, and so forth for all those years, it's so in your case. Amen. All right. Notice, there he was. He went home. And after the days his wife conceived. And at the point she was about six months, along something like that, then God sent Gabriel back again. Amen. Here he come. I see a little old girl living down there in Nazareth, just the--out of a poor humble family (And her name was Mary.), about eighteen years old, engaged to...
A Testimony
53-0607E §13
Let's look along the line. Way down there, I see a little girl standing, about eighteen, nineteen years old, with a veil over her face, holding two turtledoves---a peasant's offering---poor man. And she's got a baby in her arms. And some of them said, "Say, that's that Mary. That's that illegitimate child there, see. She says she's not even married to that Joseph there, and she's got this baby before He was born. Don't stand near. Get back." Which reminds me of His church today. "Stand back. Get away from Him," see...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 10:E-24
...His sovereign grace sent a messenger by the name of Martin Luther to start a reformation. He worked in a climate where the Roman Catholic Church had been given so much rope that she was about to hang herself. So when Luther preached justification by faith the true vine for the first time in many centuries began to grow in a bountiful manner. As the nominal church had used state power to back it up, now state power began to flow against it. And this is where Luther made his mistake, and the true believers made their...
The Seed is not heir with the shuck
65-0218 §34
Sarah, the true wife of a promise, being the tassel, brought forth a gentle man. In the returns brought forth a promised nation that served God. But Mary, by no sex at all, but believed the promised Word when she was a virgin, knowing no man, and the angel of the Lord met her, said, "Hail, Mary, blessed art thou amongst the women, for God is with thee." And she said, "How will these things be?" She said... The angel said, "The Holy Ghost shall overshadow thee." It had never been done in all of the ages, but Mary be...