Matthew 13:54-56
54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”
John 7:2-5 2Now the Jews’ Feast of Booths was at hand. 3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. 4For no one works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” 5 For not even his brothers believed in him.
metmom, regarding the quote from Matthew, you may note that while Our Lord is referred to as “the carpenter’s son,” James, Joseph, Simon and Jude are not, nor are they, in Scripture, referred to as Mary’s.
A quote for you, from heresiarch Martin Luther’s Sermons On John, chapters 1-4, 1537-39: “Christ...was the onlySon of Mary, and the Virgin Mary bore no children besides Him...’brothers’ really means ‘cousins’ here, for Holy Writ and the Jews always call cousins brothers.”
Nuff said. I truly wish you a good evening, either way.