from the writings of R. Nisbet, G. Butindaro and other authors
1. Is it true that Jesus' mother had other children?
Yes. This is clear from Sacred Scripture. Regarding the birth of Jesus it is written:
"Mary, his mother, had been betrothed to Joseph and, before they came to be together, she found herself pregnant by the Holy Spirit.
Joseph, her husband, who was a just man and did not want to expose her to infamy, proposed to secretly leave her.
But while he had these things in his soul, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying: "Joseph, son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary your wife with you; for what is begotten in her is by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you will call his name Jesus, because it is he who will save his people from their sins. "
All this happened so that what the Lord had said through the prophet would be fulfilled: "The virgin will be pregnant and will give birth to a son, who will be given the name Emmanuel", which translated means: "God with us".
Joseph awoke from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took his wife with him; and he had no marital relations with her until she had given birth to a son; and called his name Jesus. "
(Matthew 1: 18-25)
1) The virginity of Mary before the birth of Jesus is taught by the Bible. It is also said that Joseph had no affairs with his wife "until she gave birth to a son" (Matthew 1:25). Regarding Jesus, we recall that Mary conceived by the intervention of the Holy Spirit when she was still a virgin, not yet married to Joseph (Matthew 1: 19,20), according to the prophecy made by the prophet Isaiah about seven centuries earlier.
2) The Bible adds that Mary gave birth to her firstborn son (Luke 2: 7). If he had meant that Jesus was an only child, he would have evidently said: "Mary gave birth to her only-begotten son", as in the "Creed" Jesus is precisely called the only-begotten son of God.
" While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, behold his mother and his brothers who, standing outside, were trying to speak to him . And one said to him: Behold, your mother and your brothers are out there trying to speak to you. But he, answering, said to he who spoke to him: Who is my mother and who are my brothers? And, stretching out his hand over his disciples, he said, Behold my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he he is brother and sister and mother "(Matthew 12: 46-50).
" Going to his homeland, Jesus taught them in their synagogue, so that all were amazed and said: Whence does this man have this wisdom and these powerful works? Is this not the carpenter's son?And isn't her mother called Mary, and her brothers, James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? and are not his sisters all among us? "(Matthew 13: 54-56).
" After this he went down to Capernaum, he with his mother, with his brothers and his disciples "(John 2:12).
" Therefore his brothers said to him: Get out of here and go away in Judea, so that your disciples may also see the works you do ... for not even his brothers believed in him ... When his brothers went up to the feast, then he went up too "(John 7: 3, 5, 10).
"All these persevered with equal consent in prayer, with women, and with Mary, mother of Jesus, and with his brothers "(Acts 1:14).
Furthermore, that James was the brother of Jesus is also confirmed by the very first Christian writers, in addition to the historians Hegesippus (Upomnémata, 1st century AD), Flavius Joseph (Jewish Antiquities, 1st AD) and Eusebius (Ecclesiastical History, 4th AD).
2. However, the Catholic Catechism objects that in the Bible the word " brother " is sometimes used in the sense of " cousin ".
According to the Catholic Church, brothers and sisters should be understood as "close relatives" or "cousins", because in Hebrew and Aramaic (the two languages in which the Old Testament was written and which were spoken in the places and times of Jesus) there is only one term for "brothers" and "cousins" or "relatives".
But this explanation doesn't hold up. Meanwhile, the Old Testament still knows how to specify kinship, for example by saying "brother's son", "son's son" or "uncle's son" (Gen 14:12, 45:10; Lev 10: 4, 25:49 ).
Above all, however, the original text of the New Testament is not Hebrew or Aramaic, but common Greek (koiné); and the Greek term used is adelfos, which means "brother", and not "cousin". The New Testament authors know how to use a specific term for "relative" ( sunghenès : Lk 1: 36.58.61, 2:44; Mk 6: 4), one for "cousin" ( anepsiòs : Col 4:10) and one for "brother "( adelfos : Mt 14: 2; Mk 1: 16.19, 3:17, 13:12, etc.).
The apostle Paul, a Jew who mastered Greek very well, used sunghenès to mean relative (Rom 16:11), anepsiòs for cousin (Col 4:10) and adelfos for brother (Gal 1:19 - and in this case he speaks of James "brother of the Lord").
When it comes to the brothers of Jesus, in short, adelfos is used: is it possible that the sacred writers were so careless, especially considering that - according to the Catholic Church - the doctrine of Mary's perpetual virginity would be fundamental? It should be noted, among other things, that many Christian believers and writers of the first centuries after Christ had no problem believing in the family of Jesus as described in the New Testament.
Therefore, as regards Jesus, we observe:
1) The Gospels always speak of "brothers and sisters" of Jesus , while in Greek (the language in which the Gospels were written) there is a term to indicate brother ( adelfòs ) and another to indicate cousin ( anepsiòs ).
2) What importance could the list of names of Jesus' cousins have, together with the mother?
3) There is also the episode of Matthew (12), which certainly excludes the possibility of cousins. In fact, Jesus is informed that his mother and brothers have come to look for him. Note that Mark (3:21) specifies: "When his relatives heard this, they came to take him, because they said: He is beside himself."Then Jesus, grieved, points out to the crowd that there are spiritual bonds that have greater value than those of blood, and replies: "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? Whoever has done God's will, is me brother, sister and mother ". Then, according to the doctrine of the Catholic Church, Jesus would have meant: "Who is my mother, and who are my cousins? Whoever has done God's will, is my cousin, cousin and mother", and thus the reasoning would lose everything. its strength.
4) The Gospel of John adds that "not even his brothers believed in him" (7: 5). The evangelist would not have pointed this out as a cause for scandal if he had meant that his cousins did not believe in him!
5) Finally, there is the clear testimony of the apostle Paul, who speaks of the brother ( adelfòs ) of Jesus and of the cousin ( anepsiòs ) of Barnabas, demonstrating that he knew very well to distinguish between cousins and brothers:
" I did not see any other apostles except James, the brother ( adelfon ) of the Lord "(Galatians 1:10). " They greet you ... Mark, the cousin ( anepsiàs ) of Barnabas " (Colossians 4:10).
6) In Matthew 4: 18-21 we find said that Simon called Peter and Andrew were brothers, and we use the term adelfos. Why do Catholics rightly take for granted that they were fleshly brothers, and not just relatives or cousins? The answer is very simple: because in this case there is no interest in sustaining the perpetual virginity of Peter and Andrew's mother!
The writers of the New Testament (Peter, Matthew, Paul, Mark, etc.) write in Greek and know well the difference between "brother" ( adelfòs ) and "cousin" ( anepsiòs). Those who love reading can verify that in various passages the term "brothers" is used when speaking of people who were precisely "brothers" of Jesus (see Matthew 13:55; Mark 6: 1-6; Mark 3: 31-35; Acts 1:19). James, the "brother of the Lord", is mentioned in the Epistle to the Galatians. When the Gospel means "cousin", it normally uses the corresponding Greek term ( anepsiòs ). Thus, for example, we read: "Aristarchus ... and Mark, the cousin of Barnabas, greet you" (Colossians 4:10).
The New Testament, inspired by God, speaks without scandal of brothers and sisters of Christ Jesus. Instead of trying to adapt the biblical text to the dogmas that have been decreed by men centuries after the Gospel was written, human decisions should be corrected in the light of the pure and simple biblical data. We say this not out of a polemical spirit, but only by noting facts that are plain and simple for the Gospel.
3. What is the reason that explains the rise and development of the belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary?
The belief in the perpetual virginity of Mary arises together with the manifestation of asceticism. Giovanni Miegge writes: "Suddenly the spread of ascetic ideals" (which are philosophies of pagan origin), "and the attempts to implement them, both in solitude and in monastic communities, is associated, as it is easy to assume, an unusual fervent celebration of the perpetual virginity of Mary. To ascetics of both sexes, the Virgin Mother of Jesus offered the ideal model - the inspiring image, at the same time a stimulus and comfort in the hallucinating vigils and in the tormenting efforts of self-discipline of continence " (from : Miegge, The Virgin Mary, Torre Pellice, Ed. Claudiana, 1959, p. 51).
In summary, it is false that Mary remained a virgin after giving birth because Scripture states that Joseph "took his wife with him; and he did not know her until she gave birth to her firstborn son, and called him Jesus" (Matt. 1 : 24.25). This means that Joseph, after Mary gave birth to Jesus, met his wife. Not only did Joseph know her but he also had children with her, because Jesus had brothers and sisters. These scriptures confirm that Mary conceived and gave birth to other children after Jesus: Luke 2: 7, Mark 6: 1-3, 3:31, John 7: 5, Acts 1:14, 1 Corinthians 9: 5, Galatians 1:18, 19.
Furthermore, in the Psalms it is said prophetically about Christ: " I have become ... a stranger to my mother's children."(Ps. 69: 8). The Bible, in addition to foretelling the precise modalities of the birth of Christ, also foretold that the virgin who would conceive and give birth to Christ would not remain a virgin forever because she would have other children.
God's Word is therefore clear in this regard. When Mary was a virgin and not yet married to Joseph, she was chosen by God to give birth to Jesus as a man. He had brothers and sisters born from the union of Mary with her husband Joseph.
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