Mary Seemed Without Family

[rockytopva]

Mary - Why did not the Lord's brother's take her? She seemed without family... I would imagine Joseph long ago passed away and the Lord's half brothers may not have been blood kin at all.

25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. - John 19

 

[TLHKAJ]

Acts 1:13-14
13 And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James.
14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brethren.

 

[TLHKAJ]

In the passages I posted above, Mary is mentioned separately with those who she was with .... Jesus' brethren (brothers).

 

[PS95]

Mary - Why did not the Lord's brother's take her? She seemed without family... I would imagine Joseph long ago passed away and the Lord's half brothers may not have been blood kin at all.

25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. - John 19

I had the question myself also. Especially, knowing that Paul taught that you are worse then an unbeliever if you don't take care of your own family.. 1 Timothy 5:8
So why did Jesus ask John?
A reply I received once was -" the family did not yet believe in Him."
That might be why.. !
but what about once they did come to believe in Him? It says that Mary remained with John.

So I don't know why she did other than it was the Lord's command-- ?
I was told once that word used in Greek means both cousin and brother.
BUT Paul used the word for cousin in Colossians 4:10--- anepsios
NASB 1995
Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you his greetings; and also Barnabas’s cousin Mark (about whom you received instructions; if he comes to you, welcome him);

IN Acts 1:14 the word is adelphois for brother.
It is also the same word used for non-biological "brothers" in Christ..

In the end---
If Mary had other children or not what difference would it make anyway? If they were Joseph's children would it matter? If they were cousins would it matter? Half siblings? I don't see how it makes a difference overall to anything I believe. Do you?

 

[rockytopva]

Wondering, though, if Mary remained an actual virgin.

 

[PS95]

Wondering, though, if Mary remained an actual virgin.

Yeah, I get it.
I don't think so, personally. I think the reason John took Mary in was due to Jesus' command and that her other children did not believe He was God's Son yet. It is the only thing that makes any sense.

If there was no word for cousin that was different from brother-- there could be a cause to wonder but-- Paul used it.
That leaves only that they did not believe in Him yet- and we know that to be true.

 

[PS95]

Wondering, though, if Mary remained an actual virgin.

and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name JESUS --Matt 1:25

Seems clear, no?

 

[Lambano]

Wondering, though, if Mary remained an actual virgin.

That might explain why Joseph was no longer around, and why Jesus came down hard on divorce.

 

[TLHKAJ]

Wondering, though, if Mary remained an actual virgin.

Nope ...if that was the case, the scripture below wouldn't have used the word "till."

Matthew 1:25
“And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.”

This verse gives a clear timespan of her virginity. Joseph waited until Jesus' birth to "know" his wife, Mary.

Furthermore, Jesus is called her firstborn son. Again, this indicates Jesus was the first of her children. It doesn't say He was her "only son" or any such thing.

 

[TLHKAJ]

That might explain why Joseph was no longer around, and why Jesus came down hard on divorce.

It's dangerous to go on assumptions rather than looking at exactly what the Word of God says.

 

[TLHKAJ]

Yeah, I get it.
I don't think so, personally. I think the reason John took Mary in was due to Jesus' command and that her other children did not believe He was God's Son yet. It is the only thing that makes any sense.

If there was no word for cousin that was different from brother-- there could be a cause to wonder but-- Paul used it.
That leaves only that they did not believe in Him yet- and we know that to be true.

Agreed ....

Mark 6:4
“But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.”

 

[Taken]

Mary - Why did not the Lord's brother's take her? She seemed without family... I would imagine Joseph long ago passed away and the Lord's half brothers may not have been blood kin at all.

I would say, it was clearly noted the close love and respect John and Jesus shared for each other. I see it being an honor for John to be selected to Care for Mary and a high honor and comfort for Mary.

A similitude of a Son giving the best he can …
Wealth, property, possessions, Jesus had none…but a close faithful reliable servant and trusted brethren he had in John.

Glory to God,
Taken

 

[PinSeeker]

That might explain why Joseph was no longer around, and why Jesus came down hard on divorce.

You're floating the possibility that Joseph left Mary? Divorced her? Even after the Lord appeared to him in a dream (Matthew 1:20, 2:13, and possibly 2:19) and Joseph obeyed? Obviously Joseph knew the Lord and was faithful, and that's all we know about Joseph, really. Joseph probably died not long after Jesus was born, probably shortly after He turned 12 and was teaching in the synagogue, Joseph would probably have been around 40 then, and that's about how long folks lived in those days. But... we don't know.

Grace and peace to you.

 

[Rockerduck]

Possibility 1- John was the oldest
Possibility 2 - John was most trusted
Possibility 3 - Jesus's half brothers were not trustworthy and lack of belief.
Possibility 4 - John was wealthy and was able to provide best.

 

[Jesussaves150]

John is generally considered the youngest of the twelve apostles, often believed to be a teenager or in his early twenties when he began following Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, brother to James, and is known in the New Testament as the "Beloved Disciple"I believe Peter was considered the oldest of the Apostles.

 

[Rockerduck]

John is generally considered the youngest of the twelve apostles, often believed to be a teenager or in his early twenties when he began following Jesus. He was the son of Zebedee and Salome, brother to James, and is known in the New Testament as the "Beloved Disciple"I believe Peter was considered the oldest of the Apostles.

Not in the bible.

 

[Jesussaves150]

According to tradition, Saint John the Apostle lived to be approximately
90 to100years old. He is believed to have died around 100 AD in Ephesus (modern-day Turkey), making him the only one of the twelve apostles to die of natural causes rather than martyrdom. Some traditions or interpretations suggest he was over 100 or even in his mid-90s when he died, often identifying him as a very old man during his final years.Its not in the bible that he was the oldest either.

• Age and Timeline: Born around 6 AD, he was likely in his teens or early 20s when he began following Jesus.
• Final Years: He outlived the other apostles, surviving into the final decade of the first century.
• Ministry: He was exiled to the island of Patmos by Roman authorities before later returning to Ephesus, where he passed away

 

[lforrest]

Mary - Why did not the Lord's brother's take her? She seemed without family... I would imagine Joseph long ago passed away and the Lord's half brothers may not have been blood kin at all.

25 Now there stood by the cross of Jesus his mother, and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Cleophas, and Mary Magdalene.
26 When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son!
27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home. - John 19

We know that John outlasted the other apostles. It may well have been a mercy for her to ensure she was cared for through her life.

 

[PinSeeker]

If we are thinking along kinsman redeemer lines... we have no idea if Joseph had any brothers. Not sure why anybody is even discussing this.