Did Joseph have children before Jesus?

Answer 1

A:The Bible does mention Jesus as having three brothers and an unknown number of sisters. Although probably adults, their relationship to Mary seems close (Mark 3:31-35), suggesting that they were her own children. However, the Catholic Church had problems with Mary having sex with Joseph, preferring to consider he a virgin for the remainder of her life.

The New Testament provides clues to say that Jesus' brothers and sisters were younger than he:

1. Matthew's Gospel does not mention any siblings on the flight to Egypt or the return after the death of Herod. In fact, Matthew 2:14 says, "When he arose, he took the young child and his mother by night and departed into Egypt."
2. When Luke 2:5 mentions Joseph taking the pregnant Mary to Bethlehem, we could expect any accompanying children to be mentioned, but it does not. Luke chapter 2 makes several references to Jesus in contexts where the presence of other children could be noted, but they never are.
3. Acts of the Apostles and Paul's epistles both mention James, the brother of Jesus, as a strong and decisive leader of the Jerusalem Church. If this event occurred in the 50s and Jesus was born during the reign of King Herod, who died in April 4 BCE, then James ought to have been at least 70 if he was the first-born. Paul's James could have been over 70, but this seems unlikely.