Did Mary have other children? How many children did Mary have?

No doubt Mary subsequently understood the depth of these sayings when she came to learn what His death accomplished. She stood near the cross and saw her Son and her Lord nailed thereto: now the sword must have pierced her soul. She was commended by the Lord to the care of John, who took her to his own home. She was with the eleven at Jerusalem waiting for the gift of the Holy Spirit, and that is the last record we have of her. Christians gladly call her Blessed, for indeed it was a high honour to be the mother of Jesus; but it is not revealed that she held any place of authority or privilege beyond other saints; indeed, the way the Lord spoke to her, and of her, contradicts any such theory. Jesus was called her 'first-born son,' clearly implying that she had other children. The crowds said, "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?" Mark 6:3, etc.

Joseph, obedient to the heavenly vision, took Mary as his wife, yet they refrained from all sexual intercourse until after the birth of her divine child, her firstborn, for she later had at least seven others (Ps.69:8; Mt.13:55,56).

Now leaving the shores of Galilee, He goes to the area of Nazareth, His Own country, where it is emphasized that His kingdom is in reproach and rejection. In this return we learn in the blessed Lord Himself, how to accept this. The wisdom of His teaching is undisputed: people are astonished at this and at hearing of His mighty works. But instead of seeing by faith the reality of God's power in this, they dispute His right to possess such power! Where did He get this? they ask. Was He not only a carpenters son? Did they not know His mother, His four brothers and all of His sisters? Formal religion has claimed that Mary had no other children then the Lord Himself, therefore assuming that these were nephews or nieces; but Psalm 69:8 is conclusive, "I am become a stranger unto my brethren, and an alien unto my mother's children." Mary had at least seven children after the Lord was born, for "all" His sisters implies at least three.

As the oldest of a family in which He had four brothers and, at least, two sisters, the Lord Jesus would have the responsibility of caring for the needs of the household after Joseph had gone, and He had succeeded him as “the carpenter.” It was perhaps natural that His brethren did not believe in Him (John 7:5), for the natural man does not receive the things of God. They were the constant witnesses of a life of perfection that glorified God, and must have brought rich benefits to all in contact with Him, but there was not faith to perceive the glory of the Person who was so near to them day after day. Yet how very blessed it is to see the working of God’s grace in Christ’s brethren after the flesh, for, in the upper room, where the apostles continued in prayer after the Lord’s ascension to heaven, there were with them, “Mary the mother of Jesus, and…His brethren” (Acts 1:13-14).

In that carpenter's home at Nazareth our Lord was 'brought up'. It is almost exactly the same word which the Spirit uses of us, with our children, in Ephesians 6:4 (Trepho and Ek-trepho). "Bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord." However, of this we may speak later. But let us who are parents gaze for a moment on that 'bringing-up.' Never had there been such a child: never was He disobedient; never cross; never sulky; never rude; never self-willed; never untruthful. How very different to us, when we were children! How very different to the children we seek by His grace to bring up now! He had four brothers: James and Joses, and Juda and Simon, besides "His sisters." (Mark 6:3). In this verse He is called "the carpenter", and doubtless as a boy and a young man, He worked at Joseph's trade in the carpenter shop. Perhaps at this time Joseph was dead, as here our Lord is spoken of as "the son of Mary," and no mention is made of Joseph.

We know that for some time after He entered His public ministry His brethren did not believe on Him; and it is more than probable that the envy of Joseph's brothers (in that lovely story in Genesis), so different to their brother Joseph, was but a picture of the envy of these unbelieving brothers in Nazareth. This would make life hard for the Child; but how sweet to see that the one next in age, and perhaps nearest to Him, "James, the Lord's brother" (Gal. 1:19), was quickly won to be His loyal and faithful follower. Nor was James the only one of those four who were won by Him; for in 1 Cor. 9:5, we see "the brethren of the Lord" linked with Cephas. And we may well believe, (as we might expect), that each one of that family at Nazareth became earnest, true and devoted followers of their, and our, Lord Jesus Christ.

Verse 25 Her firstborn son. There are evidences in the New Testament that Mary had other children. These were the Lord's brethren according to the flesh. Terribly unbelieving during His life, the cross brought them out. James the Lord's brother had a distinguished place, but was content to speak of himself as a "servant."

But James was not a "disciple"; he was one of the Lord's brethren who did not believe all the time the Lord was living here below; "neither did His brethren believe on Him" (John 7:5). "His brethren" were sons of Mary after His own birth. Of course we can understand that Romanists have been anxious to make out that they were sons of Joseph and not of Mary. But they were sons of Mary and of Joseph. They would like to make them out sons of a former marriage of Joseph. We do not know anything of a former marriage, nor do they. We do know that scripture is quite plain.

Take Mark 6:3 for instance, and there you will find that what I have just stated is fully acknowledged: speaking of our Lord, it says, "Is not this the carpenter the son of Mary, and brother" (not the cousin, you see) "of James and Joses, and of Juda and Simon?" We do not know what particular place God gave to Joses and Simon, but we do know that James and Judas, or Jude (it is the same name), were both called to an eminent service.

Mark 15:40. “There were also women looking on afar off; among whom was Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome.” Here we find the Virgin Mary’s name is second to Mary Magdalene’s first. Further she is not described as the mother of our Lord, but of James and Joses. and Salome (see Mark 6:3). The Romish Church denies that the Virgin Mary had other children than our Lord, but Scripture states it plainly. The supernatural did not set aside the natural.

Matthew 27:56. “Among whom were Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, Joses, and the mother of Zebedee’s children.” Again, the Virgin Mary is named second to Mary Magdalene, and said to be the mother of James and Joses, and not of our Lord.

Some have seen a difficulty that the child was to be named Emmanuel, and instead of this name, He is named Jesus. The Jew often comes with this question. We point out to him that this apparent contradiction is really a proof of the inspiration. How easy it would have been for Matthew to have all fit in so that every word would be in harmony with the Old Testament. The Holy Spirit guided his hand in writing. The prophecy in the Old Testament says, "And call His name Immanuel." Here it says, "They shall call his name." In the first chapter of Matthew we read that Joseph called the child's name Jesus, but in Luke we read that Mary calls His name Jesus. The name Emmanuel, God with us, is only given in Matthew. He is Emmanuel, and as such Jehovah the Saviour, so that in reality both names have the same meaning. "And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (and we have contemplated His glory, a glory as of an only begotten with his Father) full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). He is the exalted One over all.

Joseph was obedient to the word of the Lord as it had come to him through the angel. That Mary had other children is clearly seen from the sixty-ninth Psalm, verses 7 and 8, where it speaks of His suffering: "Because for thy sake I have borne reproach; shame has covered my face. I am become a stranger to my brethren, even an alien to the children of my mother."

The statement of Origen, cited by this learned writer, is certainly wrong that Scripture nowhere speaks of them as Mary's children: see Ps. 69:8, the Messianic character of which, presumably, neither of these truly great scholars would have denied (cf. note 137).