ESV Reformation Study Bible – Mark 3:31
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Mark 3:31

3:31 mother . . . brothers. See v. 21 and note. Roman Catholic commentators, for whom the eternal virginity of Mary is a dogma, stress that “brother” can refer to wider family relations, pointing to Gen. 13:8; 14:16; Lev. 10:4; 1 Chr. 23:22. However, in Mark the term always seems to mean siblings from the same parents. Matt. 1:25 indicates that Mary and Joseph began normal marital relations after the birth of Jesus, giving added meaning to Luke’s designation of Jesus as Mary’s “firstborn” (Luke 2:7).