Bible Questions and Answers

Thanks for your question.

No it is not true.  For one thing the idea of "Virgin Mary" is one that comes to us from paganism not the Bible. 

While it is true that Jesus was born when Mary was a virgin, after Jesus was born, she did have a normal married life with Joseph until he died.  Yes, Jesus did have brothers and sisters but they were only his half-brothers and half-sisters. Joseph would have been their father and Mary their mother.

His half-brothers' names were James, Joses, Simon, Judas (not Judas Iscariot!  This one wrote the epistle of Jude which occurs just before the book of Revelation.)  He had sisters too but they are not mentioned by name.  See Matthew 13:55; Mark 6:3. It is possible that the person named as Mary the mother of James and Salome in Mark 16:1 is the same as Mary the mother of Jesus.  In that case, one of the Lord's sisters would have been named Salome.

Galatians 1:19 (cp Acts 12:17; Acts 15:13) James, the Lord's brother, became very influential among the Christians of the first century not just because he was the half-brother of Jesus but because of his wisdom and leadership qualities. Some scholars feel he is responsible for writing the epistle of James.

If you want to come to grips with what the Bible really teaches, why not take the free online Bible study course available on our website, www.thisisyourbible.com? This course will give you a background in the major themes of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

As with everything we offer, there is no cost to you other than your time and effort. You will also have a personal tutor to whom you may pose questions either from the course itself or those questions which come to you as you read the Bible.