JOSEPH and MARY In the Gospels............. JOSEPH Very little is told of Joseph. He went with Mary to Bethlehem and was with her when Jesus was born (Luke 2:4, 16). He was with Mary when Jesus was presented in the temple (Luke 2:33). He took them to Egypt and brought them back to Nazareth (Matthew 2:13, 19-23). He also took the 12-year old Jesus to Jerusalem (Luke 2:43, 51). The only further reference to him is that he was a carpenter and the head of a family of at least seven children (Matthew 13:55-56). He surely must have been a good and exemplary man to have been thus chosen of God to be the foster-father of God’s own Son. He may have died before Jesus began his public ministry, through the language of Matthew 13:55 and John 6:42 may imply that he was still alive. He must have died before Jesus’ crucifixion, otherwise why did Jesus commit the care of his mother to John (John 19:26-27)? MARY After the stories of the birth of Jesus and His visit to Jerusalem at the age of 12 very little is said of Mary. According to Matthew 13:55-56, she was the mother of at least six children besides Jesus. At her suggestion, Jesus turned water into wine at Cana, His first miracle (John 2:1-11). Later, she is mentioned as trying to get to Him in the crowd; Jesus’ words on that occasion plainly indicate that her family relation to Him gave her no special spiritual advantage (Matthew 12:46; Mark 3:31; Luke 8:19). She was present at the crucifixion and was committed by Jesus to the care of John (John 19:25-27). There is no record of Jesus appearing to her after His resurrection, although the fact that there is no record does not mean that it did not happen. The last mention of Mary is in Acts 1:14, where she was with the disciples in prayer. This is all the Scripture has to say about Mary. One can, however, envision Mary as a quiet, meditative, devoted, wise woman, one who has shared the cares common to motherhood. We admire her, honor her, and love her because she was the mother of our Savior. We can only imagine the impact on Mary’s life of being chosen by God to supernaturally bring forth the Savior of the world. What a blessed woman she was!!!! Who were the brothers and sisters of Jesus mentioned in Matthew 13:55-56 and Mark 6:3? The plain, simple, natural meaning of these passages is that they were Mary and Joseph’s own children. This is the opinion that is commonly held.
Posted on: Wed, 12 Nov 2014 01:10:58 +0000
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