We have mentioned that early Christians used other gospels for understanding their faith other than Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. The evidence for this is overwhelming. However, though these other gospels did not find their way into the Bible, many of their stories and teachings are still with us to this day and have become part and parcel of what Christians believe as the Gospel.
One fine example of this would be what most Christians think are the ages of Jesus’ parents, Joseph and Mary. If you were to ask the average Christian walking down the sidewalks during the holiday season what the ages of Joseph and Mary were, their reply would likely be that Mary was merely 12 or 13 while Joseph was very old, or at least, Mary was young and Joseph was old. But how do we know this? Where in the Bible does it tell us anything about the ages of Jesus’ parents?
We are never told the ages of Mary and Joseph in the Bible although most would probably agree that Mary was a teenager, and Joseph, well, he was quite a bit older. So, where do these theories of Joseph’s and Mary’s ages come from if they’re not in the Bible?
There is a gospel that mentions the ages of Joseph and Mary dated around 150 CE by the name of the Gospel of James. It was believed by many that this Gospel was written by none other than the leader of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:13-20), James. Interestingly, this gospel also believes James to be Jesus’ “step” brother from an earlier marriage of Joseph. Mind you, not half brother, but stepbrother. Although this gospel was read widely by early Christians and even though Early Church Fathers made allusions to this gospel, the Gospel of James never found its way into the Bible.
Here is where it gets interesting: why didn’t this gospel make it into the Bible. There are several reasons, but the big one had to do with Joseph’s age. In the Gospel of James, we read these words, “But Joseph refused [to take Mary as his wife], saying, I am an old man, and have children, but she is young, and I fear lest I should appear ridiculous in Israel.” The Early Church Father agreed, they didn’t think it was appropriate that such an old man was marrying a young girl. Because of this, they did not include it in the Bible. Yet, most Christians today “still” believe Mary was a young girl and Joseph was an old man.
The Gospel of James is not the only gospel stating Mary was young and Joseph was old. There were other gospels as well. For example, the Gospel of Mary, another gospel that did not find its way into the Bible, reads, “...a man named Joseph, of the house and family of David, and a person very far advanced in years…”
Yes, many gospels and letters didn’t find their way into the Bible, and yet, 2000 years later, they still have a hold on what modern Christians believe today.
In our next article, we will consider the question: why the infancy stories? What is their purpose?
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