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.
We have seen His star and have come to worship Him
63-1216 §46
Oh, that same God still lives tonight! You still have subconscience. And you have... You're Christians, if the thing seems unusual to you, that you see happen, if it's still right exactly with the Word, then God can reveal the unusual things in many ways. So He told Joseph, "Thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee thy ... Mary, thy wife." Remember, already his wife. "Take unto thee Mary, thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost." Now, then God sent His angel, and revealed it, His reve...
Why it had to be shepherds
64-1221 §27
Even when the wise men in the east had looked down southwestward, from where they were at in Babylon, and they saw a majestic star. Did you know there's not a speck of history, nowhere, that any observatory (where they even kept the time by stars, great men who studied these stars)... There's not no history says that any of them seen that star at all. Why? It wasn't given to them, they wasn't looking for such. But these wise men knowed that there would be a star of Jacob rise, and they were looking for it, and it p...
Power of transformation
65-1031M §31
Like in the scripture we find out where it said, "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary, thy wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost," see. Now, it was his wife when he made the promise to marry her, or to have her; but yet it wasn't his wife yet because he had never knew her as a wife. So that's the way it was here. The reason I said God's son and his bride, Adam had never knew his wife as a wife; but yet it was his wife potentially. Just like the church now and Christ.
The impersonation of Christianity
57-0127A §6
And so then we knew we was going to have a baby, so we wondered. And someone said, "Is that Joseph?" I said, "I don't know." I said, "But we're going to have a Joseph." I said, "I kind of believe it is." And when it was born, it was a girl. Oh, you talk about razzing me. Everywhere I got letters said, "Oops. Your vision lied." It never lied. I said, "Joseph is coming." And so when the doctor delivered the little girl, he said, "Oh, Mr. Branham," he said. "So thin," he said, "We should do something about this." He s...
Being led of the Holy Spirit
56-0219 §56
..... Mary says to Elisabeth, said, "How are you getting along?" Said, "Just fine." And they went to talking, you know. And after a while I can hear her say, "You know, I hear that you're going to have a baby." She said, "Yes, that's right." But she said, "You know, I'm worried about it?" She said, "The baby's six months now as it is, and I'm kind of disturbed about it." And Mary said, "The angel of the Lord who told me that, the great angel Gabriel, who met me, and he told me I was going to have a baby, too." "Are yo...