No, Jesus did not have any children of His own. The Bible makes no mention of Jesus ever getting married or having children. Jesus’ purpose on earth was not to get married and have a family. While there is nothing wrong with believers getting married and having children, this was not why Jesus came to earth. Jesus came to die for the sins of the world, to rise again, and to grant eternal forgiveness and eternal life to all who would accept Him (John 3:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Jesus did not come to earth to have children, but by Him dying on the cross for us, we can become children of God (Hebrews 2:10).
The Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) all focus on sharing the life, teaching, and nature of Jesus. If Jesus ever got married or had children, these books would have recorded it. The Gospels DO tell us about Jesus’ earthly mother, father, brothers, sisters, and cousins, so if Jesus had any more family, the Gospel writers would have recorded them. Other wives are mentioned, such as Peter's (Matthew 8:14), so surely Jesus’ wife would have been recorded too—if He had one.
To speculate on Jesus having a wife and children is to add to the story of His life in Scripture, and that's a big no-no.
(No, this isn’t a commandment, but I wanted to make a point, so here we are.) The Bible actually tells us that anyone who adds anything to the Bible will be condemned (Revelation 22:18). Claiming Jesus was married and had children would be adding something extra. Yet, the Bible is the flawless Word of God, and it is 100% complete (2 Timothy 3:16-17). We don’t need to take the Apocrypha or Gnostic literature as truth because they are not the inspired Word of God.
Since there's no mention of Jesus being married or having children in the Bible, that means that Jesus did not marry or have children.
Jesus made it clear throughout His ministry that His purpose was to do the Father’s will, and He did do just that (John 17:4; 1 John 2:2). If Jesus had been a husband and a father, He would not have been able to give His full attention to doing His mission, because He would have been focused on being a good husband and father (1 Corinthians 7:32-34).
Not to mention that Jesus lived a life of poverty and homelessness. He would not have been able to provide for the needs of a wife and children and that would have been in direct violation of His own teachings. The apostle Paul talks about this in 1 Timothy 5:8, "But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever."
Jesus would not contradict His own teachings (Hebrews 4:15).
Just because Jesus was single, that doesn't mean everyone is required to be single—that's not the part of His life we're told to emulate. There’s also nothing wrong getting married and having children (Psalm 127:3)—though marriage isn't a requirement either.
If you want to get married and have kids, that’s great. If you get married and don't have kids, that's great. If you want to remain single and not have kids, that’s great too (1 Corinthians 7:1-40). If you want to stay single and adopt kids, more power to ya. Kids or no kids—we are free to choose for ourselves.
But when it comes to Jesus, we need to remember that He was no mere human with mere human decisions to make. Jesus was God in the flesh, and He had very specific work to accomplish on this earth (John 1:1; Colossians 2:9).
Those who claim Jesus had a wife and children are attempting to rob Him of His deity. We should never make false claims about Jesus by adding statements that are not in the Bible. The Bible is crystal clear that Jesus never had a wife nor did He have children.
The Bible talks about Jesus' earthly mother, father, brothers, sisters, and cousins, but nothing is recorded about a wife or children. Since the Bible is the complete, inerrant Word of God (2 Timothy 3:16-17), we can trust that Jesus remained single. Revelation 22:18 makes it clear that adding extra statements to God's Word leads to condemnation. Jesus’ purpose on earth was to do the Father’s will, saving mankind from the punishment of sin (John 3:16-17)—not to create an earthly family.
Vivian loves learning, studying the Word of God, and helping others in their walk with Christ. She is dedicated to helping people learn more about Jesus and is ready to help in any way she can. Her favorite things to do are spending time with her family and friends, cooking, drawing, and spending time outside. When she is not writing, you can find her soaking up the sunshine or going on an adventure.
