Amazing Facts
Daily Devotionals.

Are there any Bible verses that say Joseph was previously married or had children before he married Mary?
August 20, 2026
Read Time: 2 min

No Scripture says that Joseph had children before Mary, but we can come to that conclusion through some simple detective work. For instance, the Bible tells us in several places that Jesus had brothers and sisters. When Jesus was dying on the cross, He committed the care of His mother to the apostle John (John 19:25–27). That would have been a very unusual act if the other children had been her offspring. She would have automatically been under their care if that were the case.

Furthermore, during the time of Jesus, it was the duty of the oldest son in a family to stay home and work with the father to eventually take over his business. If Jesus had been the eldest, it would have been an insult to leave Joseph in the carpenter shop and go off preaching. But because Jesus was one of the younger sons, it wasn’t a problem.

When we put these things together, it makes sense that Jesus was not Joseph’s first son. You typically hear about Mary and Joseph and Jesus’ brothers and sisters. However, it seems Joseph had died by the time Christ began His ministry, so scholars conclude that he was older than Mary and had already had a family before marrying her. His first wife had evidently passed away, and Joseph himself is never mentioned as being alive when Christ began His ministry.

A lot of this comes from simple deduction. Joseph died from old age and/or hard work by the time Jesus began His ministry. The older brothers of Christ continued working in the carpenter shop in Nazareth, and Jesus was Mary’s only biological son as far as we can tell.

What is most important is that we know and believe that Jesus was the Son of God. Our passage today suggests the people in His hometown of Nazareth rejected Him. Will you receive Him?

Key Bible Texts
Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. (Mark 6:3 KJV)

So all bore witness to Him, and marveled at the gracious words which proceeded out of His mouth. And they said, “Is this not Joseph’s son?”

Luke 4:22 ɴᴋᴊᴠ

The Son of God begins His public ministry by teaching the Word of God in the Jewish synagogues. One example is in Nazareth. When He preaches there, the people are at first amazed at His wisdom and the words of grace He speaks to them. But it only takes a few minutes before the mood changes and they start to get angry with Him. Why? Because His words are not only pleasant but also seasoned with salt. That is why they suddenly say, “‘Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?’ So they were offended at Him” (Mk. 6:3).

How does He deal with the fact that people think so disdainfully of Him and see in Him nothing more than a common carpenter? Is He upset by their behavior? Not at all. Instead, He calmly presents to them a sad but true principle: it is written that Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house” (Mk. 6:4). He does not threaten them with judgment or rebuke them harshly.

Instead, He accepts with meekness from the hand of God the rejection He experiences from these people, before whose eyes He had lived for so long. With this attitude of heart, He simply moves on through the surrounding villages and continues His ministry. Even today, it is not uncommon for a servant of the Lord to be more appreciated in another place and country than at home, where they have been known from an early age and where they may be misjudged or met with envy and jealousy.

Philip Svetlik


Mighty King, with glory crowned,
Rightful Heir and Lord of all:Once rejected, scorned, disowned,
E’en by those Thou cam’st to call.


Richard Holden


https://gbv-online.org/calendar/773/date/2026-08-19

ANGRY SNAKE

A carpenter went home after shutting down his workshop. When he was gone, a poisonous snake entered his workshop. The snake was hungry and hoped to find its supper lurking somewhere within. It slithered from one and to another. Finally it bumped into an axe and got very slightly injured. In angry and revenge, the snake bit the snake with full force. What could a snake’s bite do to the metallic axe? Instead the snake’s mouth started bleeding.

Out of fury and arrogance, the snake tried its best to strangle and kill the metallic axe - The object that was causing it the pain by wrapping itself around the axe. The next day the carpenter opened the workshop. He found the dead snake wrapped around the blades of the axe. Here the snake did not die because of someone’s fault.

But it faced these consequences merely because of its own anger and wrath. Sometimes when angry, we try to cause harm to others. But as time passes by, we realise that we caused more harm to ourselves. It is not necessary that we react to everything. Step back and ask ourselves if the matter is really worth responding to.

*SEED FOR LIFE*
There is nothing better for a man than to eat and drink and assure himself that there is good in his labour. Even this, I have seen, is from the hand of God.
• Ecclesiastes 2:24

*King James Version:*
There is nothing better for a man, than that he should eat and drink, and that he should make his soul enjoy good in his labour. This also I saw, that it was from the hand of God. For who can eat, or who else can hasten hereunto, more than I?

At creation, labour was appointed as a blessing. It meant development, power, happiness... though the curse of sin has brought a change in the conditions of labour, it is still a source of happiness and development. It is a safeguard against temptation. Its discipline places a check on self-indulgence and promotes industry, purity, and firmness. Thus, it becomes a part of God’s great plan for our recovery from the fall.
• Education, p.214

*• A Point To Ponder •*
Work is not merely a means of survival; it is a gift from God. It points us to Christ, who Himself spent most of His earthly life as a carpenter. He dignified honest labour by His own example.
_(FrontierOfHopeMinistry)_

Lifeline Today
Sunday August 9
Handling Rejection 2
Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters living here?" And so they rejected him. Mark 6:3 (GNB)

To get over rejection, we have our Master as role model to follow. He handled His rejection as if it was nothing. He was not disgusted at the way they treated Him. Know that it is not everybody that will believe you for who you are. Go round it as He did, go on and continue the pursuit of your purpose. View the rejection as a redirection toward a better fit rather than a final failure.

As painful as rejection can be, don't let fear of it stop you from putting yourself out there. It's important to learn from it, build resilience, and keep trying. Blaming yourself or others won't help. Think about it: if you’re being rejected, that means you’re trying. And if you’re trying, that means you’re more likely to succeed. So being rejected isn’t a bad thing - it’s just part of getting where you need to be. This is your day.

Wisdom Fountain: “Rejection isn’t failure. Failure is giving up. Everybody gets rejected. It’s how you handle it that determines where you’ll end up.”
Prayer: Father Lord God, I stand in authority and renounce and break the power of the spirit of rejection over my life, and I declare my total freedom from it. I refuse to be weighed down by feelings of rejection or accept any form of rejection that comes my way, because I know that I am accepted and loved by You. I choose to see beyond every form of rejection, trusting that You are working all things together for my good, in Jesus name.

Lifeline Today
Sunday August 9
Handling Rejection 2
Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters living here?" And so they rejected him. Mark 6:3 (GNB)

To get over rejection, we have our Master as role model to follow. He handled His rejection as if it was nothing. He was not disgusted at the way they treated Him. Know that it is not everybody that will believe you for who you are. Go round it as He did, go on and continue the pursuit of your purpose. View the rejection as a redirection toward a better fit rather than a final failure.

As painful as rejection can be, don't let fear of it stop you from putting yourself out there. It's important to learn from it, build resilience, and keep trying. Blaming yourself or others won't help. Think about it: if you’re being rejected, that means you’re trying. And if you’re trying, that means you’re more likely to succeed. So being rejected isn’t a bad thing - it’s just part of getting where you need to be. This is your day.

Wisdom Fountain: “Rejection isn’t failure. Failure is giving up. Everybody gets rejected. It’s how you handle it that determines where you’ll end up.”
Prayer: Father Lord God, I stand in authority and renounce and break the power of the spirit of rejection over my life, and I declare my total freedom from it. I refuse to be weighed down by feelings of rejection or accept any form of rejection that comes my way, because I know that I am accepted and loved by You. I choose to see beyond every form of rejection, trusting that You are working all things together for my good, in Jesus name.

Lifeline Today
Sunday August 9
Handling Rejection 2
Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters living here?" And so they rejected him. Mark 6:3 (GNB)

To get over rejection, we have our Master as role model to follow. He handled His rejection as if it was nothing. He was not disgusted at the way they treated Him. Know that it is not everybody that will believe you for who you are. Go round it as He did, go on and continue the pursuit of your purpose. View the rejection as a redirection toward a better fit rather than a final failure.

As painful as rejection can be, don't let fear of it stop you from putting yourself out there. It's important to learn from it, build resilience, and keep trying. Blaming yourself or others won't help. Think about it: if you’re being rejected, that means you’re trying. And if you’re trying, that means you’re more likely to succeed. So being rejected isn’t a bad thing - it’s just part of getting where you need to be. This is your day.

Wisdom Fountain: “Rejection isn’t failure. Failure is giving up. Everybody gets rejected. It’s how you handle it that determines where you’ll end up.”
Prayer: Father Lord God, I stand in authority and renounce and break the power of the spirit of rejection over my life, and I declare my total freedom from it. I refuse to be weighed down by feelings of rejection or accept any form of rejection that comes my way, because I know that I am accepted and loved by You. I choose to see beyond every form of rejection, trusting that You are working all things together for my good, in Jesus name.

Lifeline Today
Sunday August 9
Handling Rejection 2
Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters living here?" And so they rejected him. Mark 6:3 (GNB)

To get over rejection, we have our Master as role model to follow. He handled His rejection as if it was nothing. He was not disgusted at the way they treated Him. Know that it is not everybody that will believe you for who you are. Go round it as He did, go on and continue the pursuit of your purpose. View the rejection as a redirection toward a better fit rather than a final failure.

As painful as rejection can be, don't let fear of it stop you from putting yourself out there. It's important to learn from it, build resilience, and keep trying. Blaming yourself or others won't help. Think about it: if you’re being rejected, that means you’re trying. And if you’re trying, that means you’re more likely to succeed. So being rejected isn’t a bad thing - it’s just part of getting where you need to be. This is your day.

Wisdom Fountain: “Rejection isn’t failure. Failure is giving up. Everybody gets rejected. It’s how you handle it that determines where you’ll end up.”
Prayer: Father Lord God, I stand in authority and renounce and break the power of the spirit of rejection over my life, and I declare my total freedom from it. I refuse to be weighed down by feelings of rejection or accept any form of rejection that comes my way, because I know that I am accepted and loved by You. I choose to see beyond every form of rejection, trusting that You are working all things together for my good, in Jesus name.

Lifeline Today
Sunday August 9
Handling Rejection 2
Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters living here?" And so they rejected him. Mark 6:3 (GNB)

To get over rejection, we have our Master as role model to follow. He handled His rejection as if it was nothing. He was not disgusted at the way they treated Him. Know that it is not everybody that will believe you for who you are. Go round it as He did, go on and continue the pursuit of your purpose. View the rejection as a redirection toward a better fit rather than a final failure.

As painful as rejection can be, don't let fear of it stop you from putting yourself out there. It's important to learn from it, build resilience, and keep trying. Blaming yourself or others won't help. Think about it: if you’re being rejected, that means you’re trying. And if you’re trying, that means you’re more likely to succeed. So being rejected isn’t a bad thing - it’s just part of getting where you need to be. This is your day.

Wisdom Fountain: “Rejection isn’t failure. Failure is giving up. Everybody gets rejected. It’s how you handle it that determines where you’ll end up.”
Prayer: Father Lord God, I stand in authority and renounce and break the power of the spirit of rejection over my life, and I declare my total freedom from it. I refuse to be weighed down by feelings of rejection or accept any form of rejection that comes my way, because I know that I am accepted and loved by You. I choose to see beyond every form of rejection, trusting that You are working all things together for my good, in Jesus name.

Lifeline Today
Sunday August 9
Handling Rejection 2
Isn't he the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren't his sisters living here?" And so they rejected him. Mark 6:3 (GNB)

To get over rejection, we have our Master as role model to follow. He handled His rejection as if it was nothing. He was not disgusted at the way they treated Him. Know that it is not everybody that will believe you for who you are. Go round it as He did, go on and continue the pursuit of your purpose. View the rejection as a redirection toward a better fit rather than a final failure.

As painful as rejection can be, don't let fear of it stop you from putting yourself out there. It's important to learn from it, build resilience, and keep trying. Blaming yourself or others won't help. Think about it: if you’re being rejected, that means you’re trying. And if you’re trying, that means you’re more likely to succeed. So being rejected isn’t a bad thing - it’s just part of getting where you need to be. This is your day.

Wisdom Fountain: “Rejection isn’t failure. Failure is giving up. Everybody gets rejected. It’s how you handle it that determines where you’ll end up.”
Prayer: Father Lord God, I stand in authority and renounce and break the power of the spirit of rejection over my life, and I declare my total freedom from it. I refuse to be weighed down by feelings of rejection or accept any form of rejection that comes my way, because I know that I am accepted and loved by You. I choose to see beyond every form of rejection, trusting that You are working all things together for my good, in Jesus name.