Christmas time tends to get people focused on the Holy Family. That is to say; Joseph, Mary, and Jesus. The Nativity Narratives tell of their
travails moving from Nazareth, to Bethlehem, to Egypt, and back. But it doesn’t get too specific regarding what happened afterward.
One question that arises frequently today is whether Jesus had any biological brothers and sisters. The Catholic and Orthodox Churches famously say "no". They hold that Mary remained a virgin throughout
her whole life, rendering Jesus and only-child.
Many arguments can be made regarding the clues left to us in the
Bible. But today I wanted to explore
what the earliest Christians believed on the matter. Did they believe Jesus had biological half-siblings,
as is common today?
Early Christian Fan-Fiction: 150AD
The earliest surviving historical witness on the matter comes from a
pseudepigraphical work known as the “Proto-Evangelium of James”. It presents itself as having been written by
James of Jerusalem, but is universally believed to be penned by a
second-century writer, around 150AD.
In any event, the document presents a narrative about Mary and Joseph
that would have reflected ideas in circulation at the time of its
writings.
It says Mary was a young woman who took a vow of virginity and
had been serving in the Temple since the age of 3. When her menstruation started, she could no
longer serve in the Temple, so they arranged for a widower, Joseph, to be her
chaste guardian.
“Behold, an angel of the Lord stood by, saying, 'Anna, Anna, the Lord has heard your prayer, and you shall conceive, and shall bring forth; and your seed shall be spoken of in all the world.' And Anna said, 'As the Lord my God lives, if I beget either male or female, I will bring it as a gift to the Lord my God; and it shall minister to Him in holy things all the days of its life.'” - PE of James, 4
“And Mary was in the temple of the Lord as if she were a dove that dwelt there, and she received food from the hand of an angel.” – PE of James, 8
"And behold an angel of the Lord stood by him, saying unto him, 'Zacharias, go out and assemble the widowers of the people, and let them bring each his rod.'" – PE of James, 8
“And the priest said to Joseph, You have been chosen by lot to take into your keeping the virgin of the Lord.” - PE of James, 9
Origen Concurs: 250AD
Origen of Alexandria was an early third century Christian teacher and
philosopher from Egypt. His corpus of
work includes two mentions of the possibility of Jesus having younger siblings.
In the first instance, he cites the Protoevangelium of James as a
reference used to assert Mary’s perpetual virginity. While he doesn’t explicitly endorse the text,
he notes that it seems fitting for Mary to remain a virgin since Jesus did:
“But some say, basing it on a tradition in the Gospel according to Peter, as it is entitled, or ‘The Book of James,’ that the brethren of Jesus were sons of Joseph by a former wife, whom he married before Mary.
Now those who say so wish to preserve the honor of Mary in virginity to the end, so that that body of hers which was appointed to minister to the Word […] might not know intercourse with a man after that the Holy Ghost came into her and the power from on high overshadowed her.
And I think it in harmony with reason that Jesus was the first-fruit among men of the purity which consists in chastity, and Mary among women; for it were not pious to ascribe to any other than to her the first-fruit of virginity.” – Commentary on Matthew, Book 10, Part 17
In his commentary on John’s Gospel he makes another argument for Jesus
being an only-child. He notes that if Mary
had other children, we may have expected Jesus to say something different to
her during to the crucifixion:
“For if Mary, as those declare who with sound mind extol her, had no other son but Jesus, and yet Jesus says to His mother, ‘Woman, behold your son,’ and not ‘Behold you have this son also...’” – Commentary on John, Book 1, Part 6
He goes on to conclude that all Christians are sons of Mary because Christ lives in us.
Athanasius’ Title for Mary: 360AD
Saint Athanasius was the 20th Bishop of Alexandria. He is most famous for his pivotal,
history-defining role in defending the Trinity and Incarnation against its main 4th-century assailants, the Arians. He is
also regarded as influencing the canon of the New Testament.
He never wrote directly on the subject of Mary’s continued virginity, but
he does let slip his opinion on the matter when writing on the Trinity:
“Therefore let those who deny that the Son is from the Father by nature and proper to His Essence, deny also that He took true human flesh of Mary Ever-Virgin ; for in neither case had it been of profit to us men, whether the Word were not true and naturally Son of God, or the flesh not true which He assumed.” – Four Discourses Against the Arians, Discourse2, Part 70
Epiphanius of Salamis Uses the
Title Also: 374
Saint Epiphanius was a bishop on the island of Cyprus in the second half of
the 4th century AD. Alongside
Athanasius, he is most famous for defending the doctrines of the Trinity and
Incarnation.
And again, like Athanasius, he
didn’t write specifically on the content of Jesus’ nuclear family. But he too referred to Mary as the “ever-virgin”
in his own formulation of the Nicene Creed:
“We believe in one God the Father Almighty, Maker of all things, invisible and visible; And in one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the only-begotten Son of God the Father, that is, of the substance of the Father, God of God, Light of Light, very God of very God, begotten, not made, being of one substance with the Father, by whom all things were made, both those in the heavens and those on earth, things visible and invisible; who for us men, and for our salvation, came down, and was made flesh, that is, begotten perfectly of the holy ever-Virgin Mary by the Holy Ghost, who became man.” – The Well-Anchored Man, 120
Jerome Lays the Smack Down: 383AD
Saint Jerome is widely received as the greatest Scripture scholar in history. He was educated in Rome and was commissioned by Pope Damasus to translate the Bible into Latin - a version now known as the Vulgate. His studies brought him to the Holy Land to study the original languages.
Somewhere around 383AD, Jerome ran afoul of someone named Helvidius – a man who was publicly challenging the perpetual virginity of Mary. Jerome wrote an entire book against the idea – ruthlessly insulting Helvidius’ deficient knowledge of scripture, the early church witnesses, the original languages, and generally debasing the fella’s intelligence.
Jerome began by explaining that the “brother of the Lord” were not to be assumed as sons of Mary, because everyone in the Holy Land called their kin “brothers”:
"Again, if all men, as such, were His brethren, it would have been foolish to deliver a special message, 'Behold, your brethren seek you,' for all men alike were entitled to the name. The only alternative is to adopt the previous explanation and understand them to be called brethren in virtue of the bond of kindred, not of love and sympathy, nor by prerogative of race, nor yet by nature. Just as Lot was called Abraham's brother, and Jacob Laban's." - On the Perptual Virginity of Mary, 17
"Feeling himself to be a smatterer, he there produces Tertullian as a witness and quotes the words of Victorinus bishop of Petavium. Of Tertullian I say no more than that he did not belong to the Church. But as regards Victorinus, I assert what has already been proved from the Gospel— that he spoke of the brethren of the Lord not as being sons of Mary, but brethren in the sense I have explained, that is to say, brethren in point of kinship not by nature." – On the Perptual Virginity of Mary, 19
Jerome then goes on to note that every orthodox Christian in history held to the perpetual virginity of Mary… and insults Helvius’ lack of learning:
“We are, however, spending our strength on trifles, and, leaving the fountain of truth, are following the tiny streams of opinion. Might I not array against you the whole series of ancient writers? Ignatius, Polycarp, Irenæus, Justin Martyr, and many other apostolic and eloquent men, who against Ebion, Theodotus of Byzantium, and Valentinus, held these same views, and wrote volumes replete with wisdom. If you had ever read what they wrote, you would be a wiser man.”– On the Perptual Virginity of Mary, 19
And then ups the ante by claiming that Joseph was perpetually a virgin too:
“You say that Mary did not continue a virgin: I claim still more, that Joseph himself on account of Mary was a virgin, so that from a virgin wedlock a virgin son was born. For if as a holy man he does not come under the imputation of fornication, and it is nowhere written that he had another wife, but was the guardian of Mary whom he was supposed to have to wife rather than her husband, the conclusion is that he who was thought worthy to be called father of the Lord, remained a virgin.” – On the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, 21
John Chrysostem Dispels a Common
Argument: 390AD
Saint John Chrysostem was archbishop of Constantinople from 349 to
407AD. He received his name “Chrysostom”,
which means “golden mouthed” from his fame in eloquence and preaching.
He spoke directly on the subject of the perpetual virginity of Mary in
his commentary on Matthew’s Gospel.
First, he argued against anyone who would use Matthew 1:25 to suggest
that Joseph consummated his marriage with Mary after she’d given birth to
Jesus:
"'And when he had taken her, he knew her not, till she had brought forth her first-born Son.’ He has here used the word till, not that you should suspect that afterwards he did know her, but to inform you that before the birth the Virgin was wholly untouched by man.
But why then, it may be said, has he used the word, till? Because it is usual in Scripture often to do this, and to use this expression without reference to limited times. For so with respect to the ark likewise, it is said, ‘The raven returned not till the earth was dried up.’ And yet it did not return even after that time. So then here likewise, it uses the word till, to make certain what was before the birth, but as to what follows, it leaves you to make the inference. Thus, what it was necessary for you to learn of Him, this He Himself has said; that the Virgin was untouched by man until the birth…”
He
then followed up with two arguments to the contrary. First, he stated that anyone who would
suggest that Joseph would have relations with Mary after she’d been impregnated
by the Holy Spirit would be insulting Joseph's piety and righteousness. Second, he proposed that if Jesus had other
siblings, Mary would have gone into their care after Jesus’ death – rather than
John’s.
“…But that which both was seen to be a consequence of the former statement, and was acknowledged, this in its turn he leaves for you to perceive; namely, that not even after this, she having so become a mother, and having been counted worthy of a new sort of travail, and a child-bearing so strange, could that righteous man ever have endured to know her? For if he had known her, and had kept her in the place of a wife, how is it that our Lord commits her, as unprotected, and having no one, to His disciple, and commands him to take her to his own home?" - Homilies on Matthew, Homily 5, Section 5.
Ambrose of Milan Points to Mary's Devotion: 396AD
Ambrose was the bishop of Milan, Italy.
His preaching was famously influential in the conversion of Saint Augustine, of whom we’ll speak shortly. He argued that Mary remained a virgin after giving birth to Jesus out
of a single-minded devotion to her Son:
“Nor was Mary below what was becoming the mother of Christ. When the apostles fled, she stood at the Cross, and with pious eyes beheld her Son's wounds, for she did not look for the death of her Offspring, but the salvation of the world. Imitate her, holy mothers, who in her only dearly beloved Son set forth so great an example of maternal virtue; for neither have you sweeter children, nor did the Virgin seek the consolation of being able to bear another son.” - Letter 63, Section 110-111
Augustine Explains Mary's Question: 401AD
Lastly, we’ll hear from Saint Augustine. Saint Augustine is
widely received as the preeminent Christian theologian in all of history.
He was the Bishop of Hippo (modern day Annaba, Algeria) from 395
until his death in 430AD.
Concerning Mary’s continued virginity, he also held to the view that
she’d sworn herself to virginity from a young age. He based this on an argument
derived from Luke’s account of the annunciation. In that account, the angel Gabriel tells Mary
– a woman betrothed – that she will bear a son.
And while one might expect her to conclude that should bear a son
through her husband, she is confused about how such a thing is possible. Thus, Augustine says she must have had a
prior commitment to continence:
“Her virginity was on this account more pleasing and accepted. This is shown by the words which Mary spoke in answer to the Angel announcing to her conception; ‘How, shall this be, seeing I know not a man?' Which assuredly she would not say, unless she had before vowed herself unto God as a virgin. But she was espoused to a just man, who would rather guard against violent persons what she had already vowed. […] Thus Christ by being born of a virgin, who, before she knew Who was to be born of her, had determined to continue a virgin, chose rather to approve, than to command, holy virginity."” - On Holy Virginity, 4, A.D. 401
The Universal Christian Witness:
In the movie Dogma, Chris Rock’s
character responds to the possibility of Mary’s perpetual virginity with a
scoff. He regarded it as beyond miraculous
to believe that a man and woman could live together in continence.
Many today would likewise find
the assertion to be stupid on its very face.
But it was shared by every single ancient Christian
writer, every great scholar of scripture, and every defender of Christian orthodoxy
going back to the beginning.
So it is a stupidity I am happy
to share – for I find myself in good company.
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