A reader sends us this question:
Friends of apologeticacatólica.org, receive my cordial greetings.
While browsing the Web I came across an article by Pastor Darwing Ureña in which he claims that the Virgin Mary had more children, and that there is a messianic psalm (Psalm 69) that proves this incontrovertibly, because it speaks not only of Jesus’ brothers, but of “the sons of his mother.” What can I answer to this argument?
Answer:
Receive also our cordial greetings, and here is our answer.
The passage from the Psalm that the pastor cites is this:
“Save me, O God, for the waters have come up to my neck! I sink in the deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood overwhelms me. I am weary with my crying; my throat burns; my eyes fail while I wait for my God. More numerous than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; stronger than my bones are those who attack me without reason. (What I did not steal, must I now restore?) O God, you know my folly; my offenses are not hidden from you. Let not those who hope in you be ashamed because of me, O Yahweh of hosts! Let not those who seek you suffer confusion because of me, O God of Israel! For it is for your sake that I bear insult, and shame covers my face; I have become a stranger to my brothers, an alien to the sons of my mother”
After reproducing this passage from the Psalm, the pastor deduces that Jesus cites it in reference to himself and therefore was declaring that he was the one to whom the Psalm referred. He further adds that not only did Jesus believe this, but so did all those who heard him quote it and who also understood that He was the Messiah. (He cites here John 2:16-17; 7:5; 15:25.)
The first error in this argument is to assume that when something in a psalm applies personally to Jesus, it applies exclusively to Him. We have an example in Matthew 4:6, when Satan quotes Psalm 91:12 to him: «If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down; for it is written: He will command his angels concerning you, and on their hands they will bear you up, lest you strike your foot against a stone.». What is said applies not only to Jesus, the just one par excellence, but to everyone who takes refuge under the protection God grants to those who entrust themselves to his providence.
In this way, although there are numerous messianic psalms in Scripture, it is necessary to understand that even when a Psalm is quoted by the Lord and applied to him, the voice that speaks is not always his. Perhaps it is the voice of the psalmist who found himself in a similar situation; at other times perhaps that of the future remnant of oppressed Jews. On other occasions the voice of the Messiah is joined with that of his persecuted and suffering people, and here we must use spiritual discernment.
In the particular case of Psalm 69, we see that this very thing occurs, so it would be absurd to apply every verse of the psalm literally to Jesus. We have an example in verse 5, when it exclaims:
” O God, you know my folly; my offenses are not hidden from you.” Psalm 69:5
This verse cannot apply to Jesus, who, being true God and true Man, committed no sin (1 Peter 2:22), nor can any sinful folly be attributed to him. Notice that there the psalmist uses the word ashmá (אַשְׁמָה), which refers to the guilt of one who has committed sin. It is not very sensible to try to apply verse 8 literally to Jesus merely because it speaks of the sons of the psalmist’s mother, while not applying verse 5, which speaks of his sinful condition. Therefore, if we were to take the pastor’s argument seriously, we would have to conclude not only that the Virgin Mary had more children, but also that Jesus was foolish and sinful.
Further on we see another difference between the way the psalmist prays, asking punishment for his enemies, and the way Jesus prays, asking forgiveness for those who were crucifying him because they did not know what they were doing:
“Pour out your indignation upon them, and let the burning of your anger overtake them; may their camp become desolate, and may there be no one to dwell in their tents: for they persecute the one whom you have struck, and they add to the pain of your wounded one. Add guilt to their guilt; let them have no access to your righteousness; let them be blotted out of the book of life, and not be enrolled among the righteous.” Psalm 69:24-28
“Jesus said: «Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.»” Luke 23:34
Not every interpretation is good simply because someone thinks he can make it serve his own purpose.
The rest of the arguments found in that article have already been analyzed in another article on this same site:
To study the dogma of Mary’s Perpetual Virginity in depth
Author: José Miguel Arráiz
