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 7:E-70
...ere God did the same thing. In Genesis 35:23-26, the sons of Jacob were twelve in number and their names were as follows: Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Issachar and Zebulun; Joseph and Benjamin; Dan and Naphtali; Gad and Asher. These twelve sons' descendants become the twelve tribes of Israel with the exception that Joseph did not have a tribe named after him, for in the providence of God there were to be thirteen tribes, and Joseph's two sons were given the honor of bringing the twelve to thirteen. You know, of cou...
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 8:E-79
...old, I will make them of the synagogue of Satan, which say they are Jews, and are not, but do lie; behold, I will make them to come and worship before thy feet, and to know that I have loved thee." Now we can note immediately that this problem of the false Jew or false believers was already in existence in the second age. These who falsely called themselves Jews appeared right after the first outpouring of the first age, and now they appear again in the second age after the reformation. This is hardly an accident....
Where is He, King of the Jews?
58-1221M §53
Why did Herod kill the children, two years old, then, if He was just an infant? The Scripture said they came to a young child (not an infant), a young child, two years old. And Herod went to killing the children at two years old, to try to get Him. If it'd been infants, he wouldn't have had to take the two years old, just the infants. Never found Him in a manger; they found Him in a house. "And when they came to the house, they found the Child and Mary." But you see how they twist it around.
An Exposition Of The Seven Church Ages
CAB 1:E-42
Now there is a very favorite portion of Scripture that the trinitarians think prove their point of more than one actual Person in the Godhead. It is Revelation 5:6-8, "And I beheld, and, lo, in the midst of the throne and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a Lamb as It had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent forth into all the earth. And He came and took the book out of the right hand of Him That sat upon the throne. And when He had taken the...
Believest thou this?
50-0716 §25
You know why He was borned in a stable? Because He was a Lamb. Lambs are not born in houses; they're born in barns. And He was... Did you notice to the Calvary, they led Him away to the slaughter. That's the way they do Lambs. They lead them away. He was God's Lamb... provided Lamb, provided for us, that we sinners might have access to God through Him. Now, when He was born, His reputation... He was supposed to have been an illegitimate child. They said that Joseph was His father, and Mary was His mother. But Josep...