Skip to content

Ask Kingston

Answers to Christianity Questions

  • Home
  • Are there descendants of Mary and Joseph?

Are there descendants of Mary and Joseph?

Posted on September 2, 2020November 2, 2021 By Kingston Tong No Comments on Are there descendants of Mary and Joseph?
Uncategorized

Thank you for the question on the descendants of Mary and Joseph, “Are there descendants of Mary and Joseph?”

The Catholic church teaches that Mary and Joseph had only one child, Jesus and no other children. The other children mentioned in the Scriptures are referred to as cousins if my understanding of Catholic teaching is correct.

As a student of the Scriptures, the Scripture refers to other children of Mary and Joseph. For one’s consideration, here are some passages:

A. Matthew 12:46–50, (Mark 3:31–35, Luke 8:19–21)says this, “While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” 48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother”(A searchable online Bible in over 150 versions and 50 languages). Citations are from the New International Version.

B. Mark 6:1–3 says this, “Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him” (NIV).

It is possible to interpret the brothers and sisters as cousins of Jesus, but it unlikely that the the cousins would be following Mary. They would be following their own father and mother. The words of Mark 6 by the towns people would at least imply more than just cousins since they were very familiar with them. If Mary and Joseph had other children, there would be six that is mentioned with four brothers and the referral of sisters would mean at least two daughters of Mary and Joseph.

It would be reasonable to assume that the brothers and sisters of Jesus married and had children of their own. Thus there would be descendants of Mary and Joseph. Can one trace the lineage of the brothers and sisters to Mary and Joseph. That may be difficult since Jesus was not fathered by Joseph but by the Holy Spirit. The New Testament traces the lineage of Joseph through the Gospel of Matthew and Mary through the Gospel of Luke. There is no indication that Jesus was married as it is likely that the siblings of Jesus had a difficult time believing or seeing him as someone who is that much greater than themselves. The reference of Jude is debated whether he was the brother of Jesus or not (Jude vs. 1).

Are there any living descendants of Mary and Joseph? With the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, the Jewish people were scattered for the most part. Could there be living descendants of Mary and Joseph? I would not rule that possibility out but I have no evidence for it. The Jews desired to keep their genealogy to trace back to Abraham, if all possible.

SUMMARY: It is likely that there may be some descendants of Mary and Joseph that are still living today since they had six other children. That is just my personal opinion, not based on evidence.

For more perspectives:

https://www.quora.com/Are-there-descendants-of-Mary-and-Joseph

Post navigation

❮ Previous Post: In John 17:24, how does being dependent on the Father for glory make the Son equal to the Father?
Next Post: Does the Bible face the danger of being distorted after having translated so many times? ❯

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Categories

  • About Ask Kingston
  • Devotional Thoughts
  • My Journey of Faith
  • Pastoral Ministry
    • Counseling
    • Member Care
    • Small Groups
      • Colossians
      • Seven Churches of Revelation
      • Stand Alone Lessons
      • Training Material
  • Questions & Answers
    • Christian Living
    • New Testament
    • Old Testament
    • The Bible
    • Theology
    • Uncategorized
  • Sermon/Sunday School

Recent Posts

  • THE PHARAOHS OF EGYPT AND THE ISRAELITES
  • Christ Our Passover
  • Academy Hour Class: The Season of Friendship
  • Seniors. The Ninth Inning.
  • Devotional Thoughts in the Gospel of John, Overview of Chapter 20

Archives

  • August 2023
  • April 2023
  • March 2023
  • February 2023
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020

Copyright © 2025 Ask Kingston.

Theme: Oceanly by ScriptsTown