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I so agree with you that Joseph had to be a special man, and I believe he was, and that God gave him special graces to endure the rigors of parenting the Son of God, and special graces to be the husband of Mary.

As far as sibling rivalry goes, that's a good one! It is my understanding from Catholic tradition that where it talks about Jesus' brothers and sisters, that there was not a word in Aramaic to denote a close relative, such as a step- brother or sister or even first cousins. Herod's strange family is referred to in the same way, and his "siblings" are shown through history to be step-siblings. By contrast, when Elizabeth is described as a cousin of Mary' she is actually a distantly related cousin, such as second or third cousin to Mary.

Either way it looks like Jesus was probably subject to the idea of sibling rivalry.

As far as whether or not any human has ever had parents who did not have sexual relations, I think Jesus qualifies. The rest of us, no.

As far as sibling rivalry goes, that's a good one! It is my understanding from Catholic tradition that where it talks about Jesus' brothers and sisters, that there was not a word in Aramaic to denote a close relative, such as a step- brother or sister or even first cousins. Herod's strange family is referred to in the same way, and his "siblings" are shown through history to be step-siblings.

It's my understanding that there is a difference in the greek and it is so written. But really my main point was about is experiences and how he had to experience all that we do so that he could be an appropriate sacrifice.

As far as whether or not any human has ever had parents who did not have sexual relations, I think Jesus qualifies. The rest of us, no.

When considering this I go back to the above. All people have had parents who had sex at least once. Nearly all people have had parents who have had sex multiple times.

Heb 4:15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.

Are there temptations associated with perceiving your mother or father as sexual creatures? Are there feelings and emotions to be overcome when dealing with the sexuality of your parents? I guess my point is that someone who is raised in unique circumstances isn't going to have much of a conception of what it's really like to be human and wouldn't seem to fit the spirit of Hebrews 4:15.