Post by Niemmy on May 23, 2005 2:28:40 GMT -5
IN MANY parts of the world, during December you often see scenes of the infant Jesus in the tender care of his mother, Mary, and his adoptive father, Joseph. Such family scenes may attract even those who do not profess to be Christians. Since the focus is on Jesus, what do the Scriptures tell us about Jesus' human family?
Jesus had a most interesting family background. He was born to a virgin named Mary, thus becoming a member of the human family. According to the Bible, his life was transferred from heaven to Mary's womb through holy spirit. (Luke 1:30-35) Before the miraculous conception of Jesus was announced, Mary had become engaged to a man named Joseph, who was thus to become Jesus' adoptive father.
After Jesus' birth, Joseph and Mary had other children, Jesus' half brothers and sisters. That is evident from the question inhabitants of Nazareth later asked about Jesus: "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?" (Matthew 1:25; 13:55, 56; Mark 6:3) We can conclude from this that Jesus' immediate family consisted of his parents, four brothers, and at least two sisters.
However, some today do not believe that Jesus' brothers and sisters were children of Joseph and Mary. Why? "The Church," says the New Catholic Encyclopedia, "from its earliest days taught that Mary was always a virgin. In view of this, then, there can be no doubt that Mary did not have any other children." The same reference work claims that the words "brother" and "sister" can refer to "some one or ones united in a religious or other common bond" or to relatives, perhaps cousins.
Is that really the case? Even some Catholic theologians, disagreeing with the traditional doctrine, support the view that Jesus had fleshly brothers and sisters. John P. Meier, former president of the Catholic Bible Association of America, wrote: "In the N[ew] T[estament] adelphos [brother], when used not merely figuratively or metaphorically but rather to designate some sort of physical or legal relationship, means only full or half-brother, and nothing else."* Yes, the Scriptures indicate that Jesus had brothers and sisters who were born to Joseph and Mary.
The Gospels mention other relatives of Jesus, but let us now focus on Jesus' immediate family and see what we can learn from them.
WHAT do you know about Jesus' immediate family, those with whom he lived until his baptism, for the first 30 years of his life on earth? What do the Gospel accounts tell us? What can we learn from examining his family? You can benefit from the answers.
Was Jesus born, as it were, with a silver spoon in his mouth? Joseph, his adoptive father, was a carpenter by trade. That called for strenuous physical work, which often involved cutting down trees for timber. When Jesus' human parents went to Jerusalem some 40 days after his birth, they presented a sacrificial offering prescribed by the Law. Did they offer a ram along with a turtledove or a pigeon, as stipulated by the Law? No. It appears that they could not afford such offerings. Yet, the Law had a provision for the poor. In line with that, Joseph and Mary offered "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." The choice of the less expensive animals showed that they were a family of limited means.—Luke 2:22-24; Leviticus 12:6, 8.
You can see that Jesus Christ, the future Ruler of all mankind, was born among the humble, among those who had to work hard to make ends meet. He grew up to be a carpenter, just like his adoptive father. (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3) "Though [Jesus] was rich" as a powerful spirit creature in heaven, the Bible says that he "became poor" for our sakes. He took a lower position as a human and grew up in a family of common people. (2 Corinthians 8:9; Philippians 2:5-9; Hebrews 2:9) Jesus was not born into a well-to-do family, and this may have helped some people to identify with him. They were not distracted by his status or position. They could appreciate him for his teachings, for his appealing qualities, and for his wonderful works. (Matthew 7:28, 29; 9:19-33; 11:28, 29) We can see Jehovah God's wisdom in letting Jesus be born into an ordinary family.
Now let us consider members of Jesus' family and see what we can learn from them.
Joseph—A Righteous Man
When Joseph found out that his fiancée was pregnant "before they were united," he must have been torn between his love for Mary and his aversion to even the appearance of immorality. The whole situation seemed to be an infringement upon his right as her future husband. In his day, an engaged woman was considered as good as the man's wife. After considerable thought, Joseph decided to divorce Mary secretly so that she would be spared being stoned as an adulteress.—Matthew 1:18; Deuteronomy 22:23, 24.
Then an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said: "Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife home, for that which has been begotten in her is by holy spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you must call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." Upon receiving that divine direction, Joseph acted accordingly and took Mary home.—Matthew 1:20-24.
Joseph and Mary
Joseph took Mary as his wife and became involved in the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies
With this decision, that righteous and faithful man became involved in the fulfillment of what Jehovah had spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "Look! The maiden herself will actually become pregnant, and she is giving birth to a son, and she will certainly call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14) Joseph was surely a spiritual man who appreciated the privilege of becoming the adoptive father of the Messiah, despite the fact that Mary's firstborn son would not be his own.
Joseph refrained from having intercourse with Mary until after she had given birth to her son. (Matthew 1:25) For the now newlywed couple, abstinence might have been a challenge, but they apparently did not want any misunderstanding as to who the Father of the baby was. What a wonderful example of self-control! Joseph put spiritual values ahead of his natural desires.
Jesus had a most interesting family background. He was born to a virgin named Mary, thus becoming a member of the human family. According to the Bible, his life was transferred from heaven to Mary's womb through holy spirit. (Luke 1:30-35) Before the miraculous conception of Jesus was announced, Mary had become engaged to a man named Joseph, who was thus to become Jesus' adoptive father.
After Jesus' birth, Joseph and Mary had other children, Jesus' half brothers and sisters. That is evident from the question inhabitants of Nazareth later asked about Jesus: "Is this not the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary, and his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?" (Matthew 1:25; 13:55, 56; Mark 6:3) We can conclude from this that Jesus' immediate family consisted of his parents, four brothers, and at least two sisters.
However, some today do not believe that Jesus' brothers and sisters were children of Joseph and Mary. Why? "The Church," says the New Catholic Encyclopedia, "from its earliest days taught that Mary was always a virgin. In view of this, then, there can be no doubt that Mary did not have any other children." The same reference work claims that the words "brother" and "sister" can refer to "some one or ones united in a religious or other common bond" or to relatives, perhaps cousins.
Is that really the case? Even some Catholic theologians, disagreeing with the traditional doctrine, support the view that Jesus had fleshly brothers and sisters. John P. Meier, former president of the Catholic Bible Association of America, wrote: "In the N[ew] T[estament] adelphos [brother], when used not merely figuratively or metaphorically but rather to designate some sort of physical or legal relationship, means only full or half-brother, and nothing else."* Yes, the Scriptures indicate that Jesus had brothers and sisters who were born to Joseph and Mary.
The Gospels mention other relatives of Jesus, but let us now focus on Jesus' immediate family and see what we can learn from them.
WHAT do you know about Jesus' immediate family, those with whom he lived until his baptism, for the first 30 years of his life on earth? What do the Gospel accounts tell us? What can we learn from examining his family? You can benefit from the answers.
Was Jesus born, as it were, with a silver spoon in his mouth? Joseph, his adoptive father, was a carpenter by trade. That called for strenuous physical work, which often involved cutting down trees for timber. When Jesus' human parents went to Jerusalem some 40 days after his birth, they presented a sacrificial offering prescribed by the Law. Did they offer a ram along with a turtledove or a pigeon, as stipulated by the Law? No. It appears that they could not afford such offerings. Yet, the Law had a provision for the poor. In line with that, Joseph and Mary offered "a pair of turtledoves or two young pigeons." The choice of the less expensive animals showed that they were a family of limited means.—Luke 2:22-24; Leviticus 12:6, 8.
You can see that Jesus Christ, the future Ruler of all mankind, was born among the humble, among those who had to work hard to make ends meet. He grew up to be a carpenter, just like his adoptive father. (Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3) "Though [Jesus] was rich" as a powerful spirit creature in heaven, the Bible says that he "became poor" for our sakes. He took a lower position as a human and grew up in a family of common people. (2 Corinthians 8:9; Philippians 2:5-9; Hebrews 2:9) Jesus was not born into a well-to-do family, and this may have helped some people to identify with him. They were not distracted by his status or position. They could appreciate him for his teachings, for his appealing qualities, and for his wonderful works. (Matthew 7:28, 29; 9:19-33; 11:28, 29) We can see Jehovah God's wisdom in letting Jesus be born into an ordinary family.
Now let us consider members of Jesus' family and see what we can learn from them.
Joseph—A Righteous Man
When Joseph found out that his fiancée was pregnant "before they were united," he must have been torn between his love for Mary and his aversion to even the appearance of immorality. The whole situation seemed to be an infringement upon his right as her future husband. In his day, an engaged woman was considered as good as the man's wife. After considerable thought, Joseph decided to divorce Mary secretly so that she would be spared being stoned as an adulteress.—Matthew 1:18; Deuteronomy 22:23, 24.
Then an angel appeared to Joseph in a dream and said: "Do not be afraid to take Mary your wife home, for that which has been begotten in her is by holy spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you must call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." Upon receiving that divine direction, Joseph acted accordingly and took Mary home.—Matthew 1:20-24.
Joseph and Mary
Joseph took Mary as his wife and became involved in the fulfillment of the Messianic prophecies
With this decision, that righteous and faithful man became involved in the fulfillment of what Jehovah had spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "Look! The maiden herself will actually become pregnant, and she is giving birth to a son, and she will certainly call his name Immanuel." (Isaiah 7:14) Joseph was surely a spiritual man who appreciated the privilege of becoming the adoptive father of the Messiah, despite the fact that Mary's firstborn son would not be his own.
Joseph refrained from having intercourse with Mary until after she had given birth to her son. (Matthew 1:25) For the now newlywed couple, abstinence might have been a challenge, but they apparently did not want any misunderstanding as to who the Father of the baby was. What a wonderful example of self-control! Joseph put spiritual values ahead of his natural desires.
