Matthew 12:46-50; Help me paint a picture

  • Thread starter Thread starter TheWhodackKid
  • Start date Start date
Status
Not open for further replies.
T

TheWhodackKid

Guest
I’m having a little trouble picturing the scene of Matthew 12:46-50 in my head. I fully believe that the early Church Fathers and the Catholic Church proclaim a Truth of our Lord by believing that Mary was an ever-virgin, however, I have yet to come to terms with this passage.

I have read most of the tracts on www.catholic.com regarding the Greek roots of the word “brothers” and “cousins” and all that jazz. But what I really need is someone to tell me who the “brothers” of the Lord were in this passage, before Christ turns to His disciples and says “Here are my mother and my brothers.” Were these first “brothers” talked about the step-brothers/cousins of our Lord? Or, other disciples?

Anyone?
 
They could have been either cousins or step-brothers. There is a tradition (little ‘t’) that holds that Joseph was a widower with children of his own before he was betrothed to the young Virgin Mary to be her protector. Here the passage could relate to step-brothers or simply kinsmen.
 
40.png
TheWhodackKid:
I’m having a little trouble picturing the scene of Matthew 12:46-50 in my head. I fully believe that the early Church Fathers and the Catholic Church proclaim a Truth of our Lord by believing that Mary was an ever-virgin, however, I have yet to come to terms with this passage.

I have read most of the tracts on www.catholic.com regarding the Greek roots of the word “brothers” and “cousins” and all that jazz. But what I really need is someone to tell me who the “brothers” of the Lord were in this passage, before Christ turns to His disciples and says “Here are my mother and my brothers.” Were these first “brothers” talked about the step-brothers/cousins of our Lord? Or, other disciples?

Anyone?
Click to expand...
If you look down to the Jesus brother of James thread you will see every answer imaginable…I think the reason your not getting tons of responses is because of that thread, and the fact that it was so thouroughly discussed.

Hope that helps!
 
40.png
TheWhodackKid:
I’m having a little trouble picturing the scene of Matthew 12:46-50 in my head. I fully believe that the early Church Fathers and the Catholic Church proclaim a Truth of our Lord by believing that Mary was an ever-virgin, however, I have yet to come to terms with this passage.

I have read most of the tracts on www.catholic.com regarding the Greek roots of the word “brothers” and “cousins” and all that jazz. But what I really need is someone to tell me who the “brothers” of the Lord were in this passage, before Christ turns to His disciples and says “Here are my mother and my brothers.” Were these first “brothers” talked about the step-brothers/cousins of our Lord? Or, other disciples?

Anyone?
Click to expand...
If I may, I’d like to offer my (name removed by moderator)ut to your question. Generally speaking, anything you can confirm in the Holy Bible can be considered fact (at least IMHO). 🙂

To believe that Mary was a virgin when she bore Jesus is certainly scriptural* (Isaiah 7:14, Matthew 1:23, Luke 1:27-35) *so there are no doubts there. As for Jesus’ “mother and brothers,” there really isn’t any scripture to state exactly how Jesus came to have brothers and sisters (other than just knowing that He had them), but the most logical conclusion would be that Mary and Joseph simply exercised their marriage right to bear children AFTER Jesus was born.

I have to almost laugh when I see the heated debate that transpires at the very thought of Mary engaging in normal and healthy marital activity with her husband. Many feel this insanely strong need to believe that Mary remained a virgin throughout her lifetime, even though I’ve yet to see anything in the Bible to back that up. What’s funny is that it’s really irrelevant whether Mary remained a virgin or not after Jesus. What was important was that she was a virgin when she bore Jesus, which she absolutely was.

We know that Jesus had a brother (Matthew 10:2, 17:1, Mark 1:19, etc). Plus, we know from Mark 6:3 that Jesus not only had brothers, but even SISTERS! Though I’m sure it’s possible that Joseph could have had these children before meeting Mary, it just seems less plausible to me that a woman such as Mary who found favor with the Lord (Luke 1:30) would marry a man who had children with another woman and/or was married to another woman beforehand. So, it’s far more likely that Mary bore children after Jesus. I’m, of course, happy to listen to anybody who has scriptural proof to the contrary, but so far, I haven’t seen any such evidence.

Regardless, I wouldn’t worry too much about Matthew 12:46-50. Mary needed to be a virgin at the time that Jesus was conceived… and she was. She is certainly a strong example of the good that comes from obedience to the Lord our God. With regards to family, Jesus preached that we should always respect our fellow brethren, blood-tied or otherwise, but that obedience to the Lord must take precedence* (see Matthew 10:35-37 as an example). *

I hope this helps. May God bless you as you read the Holy Scriptures for understanding. Always ask God to guide you in your understanding.

:blessyou:
 
…you have a sparkeling example in the ethnic youth of yesterday and today… they call each other brother due to their shared environment and circumstances. If you recorded their conversations and read them 100 years from now, you would think the whole street were brothers… “not by blood”, but you from the writing, you would assume or should i say, you could interpret it to say that they were “real” blood brothers…

context my friend, context…👍
(Please Note: This uploaded content is no longer available.)

…they are all brothers given their commitment to each other… almost like a pack or tribe per’se… they would defend one another just like a family, you and i are brothers in Christ…
 
:bowdown: :rotfl:

I hope it’s appropriate to bow down AND laugh…Awesome example that made me chuckle
 
40.png
ChristianWAB:
I have to almost laugh when I see the heated debate that transpires at the very thought of Mary engaging in normal and healthy marital activity with her husband. Many feel this insanely strong need to believe that Mary remained a virgin throughout her lifetime, even though I’ve yet to see anything in the Bible to back that up. What’s funny is that it’s really irrelevant whether Mary remained a virgin or not after Jesus. What was important was that she was a virgin when she bore Jesus, which she absolutely was.
/QUOTE]
ChristianWAB,

I’d like to point out that one of Mary’s titles is “Spouse of the Holy Spirit.” It would not be appropriate for the spouse of the Holy Spirit to be engaging in marital activity with a man, no matter how normal and healthy it may be in other marriages. So I wouldn’t discount the importance of Mary’s continued virginity after she bore Jesus.

And no, I’m not getting into a heated debate, I’m just setting out how things are.
  • Liberian
Click to expand...
 
This is very sad that some Protestant faiths denigrate the mother of our Lord with statements like “I have to almost laugh when I see the heated debate that transpires at the very thought of Mary engaging in normal and healthy marital activity with her husband.” That is quite presumptious to imagine yourself on the same level as the Virgin Mary!

Here is a terrific article about this topic: bringyou.to/apologetics/a27.htm

By the way, Jesus made it quite clear that He was an only child while he was hanging on the cross. If he had a brother, why did he not entrust his mother to the care of his “brother” James? James was not Jesus’ biological brother. Mary had no other sons and because of that Jesus gave her to John. He said to the disciple John, “Behold your mother” and to Mary “Woman, behold your son.”
 
WHodackKid,

Here is an earlier post in the scripture forum:

The scripture passages : Matt 12:46-50, Mk 3:32-35, Lk 11:27-28 all say “who are my brothers and mother” or “Whoever does the will of The Father is my brother and mother.” These passages are often quickly used by protestants to attempt to shake the Catholic’s faith and lead him away from the truth. Therefore many Catholics feel a bit uncomfortable with these verses when Protestants bring them up.

There is no reason to feel uncomfortable. These verses should be welcomed into discussion anytime. They more than most highlight the Blessed Mother’s holiness and the full force of the New Covenant! I will attempt a brief illustration.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but by me. If you had known me, you would know my Father also; henceforth you know him and have seen him.”
Jn 14:6-7

If a man loves me he will keep my word and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.
Jn 14-23-24

I do as the Father has commanded me, so the world may know that I love the Father.
Jn 14:31

The last three verses give a great picture of the identity of the speaker in question in these verses.

“Who is my mother and who are my brethren?”
Mt 12:48

This statement is bringing the reality of his eternal family into question.

“Here are my mother and my brethren! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Mt 12:49-50

Those who do the will of God will be his brethren. Theywill in a sense be unified with the Blessed Mother in doing the will of the Father, and with him in doing that same will.

“Blessed is the womb that bore you!”
Lk 11:12

This is a statement giving honor to Mary just because she is his mother. This is very similar to most protestant positions on the matter today.

“Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it.”
Lk 11:28

In other words Mary is blessed because she did the will of God by hearing, accepting, submitting. It was a choice she made to obey the will of God. Others are blessed when they do the will of God likewise. All these things come from the grace of God.

And Mary said, “Behold I am the handmaid of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.”
Lk 1:38

And Mary said, " My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God my savior for he has regarded the low estate of his handmaiden. For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed; For he who is mighty has done great things for me, and holy is his name.
Lk 1:46-49

From the depths of her sould she reflects the Lord. She rejoices in God her Savior who from the time of her conception had redeemed her by his own special will so that she may be full of His grace. Therefore she would not be stained by original sin. It would be an abomination for the Lord to be housed in sin. We know she was full of Grace because of the words of the Arch-Angel Gabriel.

“Hail full of grace, the Lord is with you.”
Lk 1:28

And the words of the mother of John the Baptist:

“Blessed are you amoung women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!”
Lk 1:42

For to you is born this day in the city of David a savior, who is Christ the Lord.
Lk 2:11

We got a clear picture from the first three verses quoted who we were dealing with so the purity of the path in which he came into the world must not be questioned. Mary is a perpetual virgin.

This gate shall remain shut; it shall not be opened, and no one shall enter by it; For the Lord, The God of Israel, has entered by it; Therefore it shall remain shut.
Ezek 44:2

She is full of grace as stated by the angel. So it is logical that God would give her the grace of protection.

For with God nothing will be impossible.
Lk 1:37

“Who are my mother and my brethren?”
Mk 3:33

“Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother sister and mother.”
Mt 12:49-50

For he who sanctifies and those who are sanctified have all one origin. That is why he is not ashamed to call them brethren; saying, I will proclaim thy name to my brethren in the midst of the congregation I will praise thee.
Heb 2:11-12

When the time had fully come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might recieve adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the spirit of his son into our hearts Crying Abba! Father! So through God you are no longer a slave but a son and if a son than an heir!
Gal 4:4-7

Glory to God in the highest!
Lk 2:14

Jesus is Lord of all. King of Kings. He points to the holiness of his mother, a gift he gave her that magnifies him. He illustrates in these verses in so few words that he is going to share his sonship with his Church, who does the will of his Father.

Blessed be God

Blessed be his Holy Name
 
Should the womb of Mary, the virginally pure sanctuary where the word of God became flesh, also be the birthplace of sinners?

It is not the honor of Mary that requires perpetual virginity, it is the perpetual dignity of Christ that demands it.

Thal59
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top