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The Perpetual Virginity of Mary Answering some objections to Mary’s virginity.
UNTIL Matthew 1:24-25 “When Joseph awoke … and took his wife into his home. He had no relations with her until she bore a son, and he named him Jesus.” Protestants will often cite this verse in their attempt to prove that Mary did not remain a virgin after Jesus' birth. However, “until” does not imply that Joseph had relations with her after she bore a son. Below are a list of verses where the word "until" is used to denote a completion of a conditional phrase. However, it does not imply any meaning to the time period after that completion. The word "until" is only a time marker. And it does not necessarily imply that the situation changes or reverses after that time period. Matthew 28:20 “And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.” 1 Timothy 4:13 “Until I arrive, attend to the reading, exhortation, and teaching.” 1 Cor. 15: 25 -- “...must reign until he puts his enemies under his feet.” And clearly, Jesus still reigns after. John 5: 9-18 “Jesus answered them, ‘My Father is at work until now, so I am at work.’ ” Some people have argued that there is a special combination of this Greek word with another, “heos hou,” which they claim does imply a change. However, the verses below show that this is not so. Matthew 13:33 “He spoke to them another parable. ‘The kingdom of heaven is like yeast that a woman took and mixed with three measures of wheat flour until [Greek: heos hou] the whole batch was leavened.’ ” NAB [Do you think she was to take the yeast out after the flour was leavened ? ] Matthew 14:22 “Then he made the disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, while [Greek: heos hou] he dismissed the crowds.” RSV [The Greek word for until is here translated as “while.” ] ( Darby’s version)
Matthew 26:36 “Then Jesus went with them to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, ‘Sit here, while [Greek: heos hou] I go yonder and pray.’ ” RSV [The Greek word for until, “heos hou,” is here translated as “while.” ] ( Darby’s
version) Did Jesus intend that they wait for him to pray and then wonder about ?
Acts 25:21 “But when Paul demanded to be kept in custody until [eis] the Emperor’s verdict, I gave orders that he should be kept in custody until [Greek: heos hou] I could send him on to Caesar” (Anchor Bible translation, slightly amended by with the bracketing.)
Now, when Saint Paul was sent on to Caesar surely Paul would have surely remained in custody; for his original request was to remain in custody “until the Emperor’s verdict.” Therefore the use of the word “until,” “heos hou” in the Greek, does not imply that Paul was to be set free after he was sent on to Caesar. If anything, the implication was the very opposite. 2 Peter 1:19 “And we have the prophetic word made more sure. You will do well to pay attention to this as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until [Greek: heos hou] the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” RSV Clearly Saint Peter was not suggesting that we stop being attentive to these truths after “the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” [Most of the verses and notes above are from some Catholic apologist's email whose name I have forgotten. Sorry.]
FIRSTBORN
Jesus is called the firstborn of Mary and some Fundamentalists claim that Jesus could not be Mary’s “first-born” unless there were other children that followed him. However, this term does not imply that. God demanded that the Israelites consecrate to Him all the firstborns in Exodus 13:2. And Exodus 34:20 also states that the parents were required to redeem all firstborn. It is obvious that they were not supposed to wait until they had for a second child to redeem the firstborn son because it was required to take place one month after birth as stipulated in Numbers 18:15-16. Therefore, Firstborn does not imply a second born. Actually, Firstborn denotes a special status and privilege and not necessarily a numerical sequence. The Firstborn gets a double blessing. Cf. Deut. 21:17 Exodus 34:19-20. It had special religious and covenant significance. And so, Christ is the “First-born of all creation” Col 1:15. In fact, the firstborn status was sometimes specifically given to the second-born or even latter born. It is not always consistent with their numerical sequence. See Bible references below. Exodus 13:2 Exodus 34:20
Numbers 18:15-16
Therefore, the fact that Jesus is called "firstborn" does not mean that there is a second born. It is a term that had a deeper theological significance that just a numerical sequence. Since the firstborn was redeemed, by law, at one month old, this implies that we could not know if there was ever to be a "second-born" when the first-born is labeled as such. The term “firstborn” does not mean that there is a second born. It refers more to the special role and blessing that a person received than it does to a numerical sequence. Esau's Firstborn status is given to Jacob, the second born of Isaac, in Gen 27. Sirach 44:22-23 " … The covenant with all his forebears was confirmed, and the blessing rested upon the head of JACOB. God acknowledged him as the first-born, and gave him his inheritance." NAB Although Reuben is the “firstborn” of Jacob/Israel he looses that special birthright because of his infidelity. It is given to the sons of his brother Joseph. 1 Chronicles 5:1-2 “The sons of Reuben, the first-born of Israel. (He was indeed the first-born, but because he disgraced the couch of his father his birthright was given to the sons of Joseph, son of Israel, so that he is not listed in the family records according to birthright. Judah, in fact, became powerful among his brothers, so that the ruler came from him, though the birthright had been Joseph’s.)” NAB Ephraim is the second born of Joseph (Cf. Gen 41:52), but he receives the special blessing, Cf. Gen 48: 14, 18, 20. And, Ephraim receives the special “firstborn” status. Jeremiah 31:9 “ ... For I am a father to Israel, Ephraim is my first-born.” Consider, even though King David is the youngest son ( Cf. 1 Sam 16:10-13), he is called the firstborn. Psalm 89: 21, 28 “I have chosen David, my servant; with my holy oil I have anointed him. ... 28 I myself make him firstborn, Most High over the kings of the earth.” There is an ancient Greek tomb inscription at Tel - el Yaoudieh in Egypt (cf. BIBLICA 11, 1930 369-390 ) for a mother who died at childbirth. It confirms this usage of the term firstborn. It reads:
Surely, she did not have more children after her death. For another epitaph of the same sort, from Leontopolis, see BIBLICAL ARCHEOLOGY REVIEW sept/oct 1992 page 56. Therefore, the fact that Jesus is called "firstborn" does not mean that there is a second born. It is a term that had a deeper theological significance than just a numerical sequence. |
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