Did Jesus Have Brothers and
Sisters?
Did Mary and Joseph Have
Other Children After Jesus?
By Jack Zavada
Did Jesus
Christ have younger brothers and sisters?
In
reading the Bible, a person would conclude he did.
However, Roman Catholics believe
those "brothers" and "sisters" mentioned in Scripture were
not half-brothers at all, but step-brothers or cousins.
Catholic doctrine teaches the perpetual
virginity of Mary; that is,
Catholics believe she was a virgin when she gave
birth to Jesus and remained a virgin her entire life, not bearing any
more children.
This stems from an
early church view that Mary's virginity was a holy sacrifice to God.
Many Protestants disagree disagree,
arguing that marriage was instituted by God and that intercourse and
childbearing within marriage are not sins.
They see no damage
to Mary's character if she bore other children after Jesus.
Does 'Brothers' Mean Brothers?
Several
Bible passages refer to Jesus' brothers:
46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said,“ Here are my mother and my brothers! Matthew 12:46-49 English Standard Version (ESV)
55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary?
And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” Matthew 13:55-56 (ESV)
31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called
him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your
brothers are outside, seeking
you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Mark 3:31-34 (ESV)
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and
Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Mark 6:3 (ESV)
19 Then his mother and his
brothers came to him, but they
could not reach him because of the crowd. 20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing
outside, desiring to see you.” 21 But he answered them, “My mother and my
brothers are those who hear the word of
God and do it.” Luke 8:19-21 (ESV)
12 After this he went
down to Capernaum, with his mother
and his brothers and his disciples,
and they stayed there for a few days. John
2:12
(ESV)
3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your
disciples also may see the works you are doing. John 7:3 (ESV)
5 For not even his brothers believed in him. John 7:5 (ESV)
In Matthew 13:55
they are named as James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas.
Catholics
interpret the term "brothers" (“adelphos” in Greek) and "sisters" in
these passages to include nephews, nieces, cousins, half-brothers and
half-sisters.
However,
Protestants argue that the Greek term for cousin is “anepsios,” as used in Colossians 4:10.
10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas (concerning whom you have received instructions—if he comes to you, welcome him), (ESV)
Two schools
of thought exist in Catholicism: that these passages refer to cousins of Jesus,
or to step-brothers and step-sisters, the children of Joseph from a first marriage.
Nowhere
does the Bible say Joseph had been married before he took Mary as his wife.
After the incident
in which the 12 year-old Jesus was lost in the temple, Joseph is not mentioned
again, leading many to believe Joseph died sometime during that 18-year span
before Jesus started his public ministry.
Scripture Suggests Jesus Did Have Siblings
One passage
seems to state that Joseph and Mary did have marital relations after the birth
of Jesus:
When Joseph woke up, he did
what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.
But he had no union with her until she gave birth to a son. And he gave him the
name Jesus. (Matthew 1:24-25, NIV)
The word "until"
as used above seems to imply a normal marital sexual relationship.
Luke 2:6-7 calls
Jesus Mary's "firstborn," indicating that other children
followed.
As shown in
the Old Testament cases of Sarah, Rebekah, Rachel, Manoah’s wife, and Hannah, barrenness was considered a
sign of disfavor from God.
In fact, in
ancient Israel, a large family was seen as a blessing.
Scripture and Tradition vs. Scripture Alone
In the
Roman Catholic Church, Mary plays a larger role in God’s plan of salvation than she
does in Protestant churches.
In Catholic
beliefs, her sinless, ever-virgin status elevates
her to more than the mere physical mother of Jesus.
In his 1968 Credo of the People of God, Solemn Profession of Faith,
Pope Paul IV said,
"We
believe that the Holy Mother of God, the new Eve, mother of the Church,
continues in heaven to exercise her maternal role on behalf of the members of
Christ."
Besides the
Bible, the Catholic Church relies on tradition, the oral teachings the apostles passed on to their
successors.
Catholics also believe,
based on tradition, that Mary was assumed, body and soul, into heaven by God after her death so
her body would not suffer corruption. That event is not recorded in the Bible
either.
While Bible
scholars and theologians continue to debate whether or not Jesus had
half-brothers, ultimately the question seems to have little bearing on Christ’s sacrifice on the cross for
the sins of humanity.
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RELATED POSTS:
MARY: A Woman – With No Man Involved,
Brought Forth the Saviour
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Does the Holy Bible teach about the perpetual virginity of
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Does the Holy Bible teach about the perpetual virginity of
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The worship of Mary
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(Sources: Catechism of the Catholic Church, Second Edition; International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, James Orr,
general editor; The New Unger's Bible
Dictionary, Merrill F. Unger; The Bible Knowledge Commentary,
by Roy B. Zuck and John Walvoord; perseus.mpiwg-berlin.mpg.de,www-users.cs.york.ac.uk , christiancourier.com)
Jack Zavada . A career writer, Jack Zavada is well acquainted with rejection
and disappointment. But he credits his positive
attitude and faith in God to his parents, who instilled in him a
determination to succeed despite setbacks. His father was a disabled veteran,
wounded in World War II by stepping on a land mine. His perseverance set an
example for Jack that he follows to this day. His mother, a homemaker, also
sets a positive example through service to her church and care toward family
and friends.
His latest novel, a legal
thriller titled Mr. Lincoln for the Defense, was recently published for
the Kindle ereader.
His hobbies include bluegrass
music and taking care of his dog, a mixed breed Terrier named Louie.
Jack is single, lives in
Streator, Illinois, and is currently serving as vice president of the church council
and on the board of elders at Holy Trinity Lutheran Church.
Career. After graduating from college in 1973, Jack became a reporter for his hometown newspaper, covering everything from crime and government to sports and farm news.
His next job was technical editor for the U.S.
Army Corps of Engineers, where he edited research reports that were distributed
to military commanders throughout the world.
For a year after that, he served as publications
director for an Illinois utility company, writing and editing a magazine for
the firm's 2,000 employees and retirees.
Being laid off from that job because of a
reduction in force strengthened Jack's faith and trust in God. Five months
later, he took a position as communications director for a national nonprofit
organization. During his 16 years there, he wrote news releases, trade journal
articles, direct mail packages, instructional materials and videos, and the
organization's newsletter. He resigned from that position in 2002 and now
writes articles and books for Christian publishers.
Jack had four western novels published in the
late 1970s and calculates that over the past 30 years, he has had over 2
million words in print. His devotional published in The Upper Room magazine in
2005 was translated into 43 languages.
Degrees. Associate of Liberal Arts, Winston Churchill College;
Bachelor of Science in English Literature, Illinois State University, and
Master of Science in English Composition, Illinois State University.Currently
Jack is a cancer survivor and has collected
hundreds of rejection slips over the years while trying to place novels and
articles. He has never married, and feels that the hard-won lessons he has
learned may help other single people make sense of their lives. He wants to
bring hope and encouragement to singles through his website and ebooks.
While single life can often be difficult, Jack believes that Jesus,
who never married, has a special understanding and compassion for singles'
feelings of loneliness and frustration. Jack's goal is to show singles how to
receive God's love and grace to build a happy life.
Contact Information. To contact Jack Zavada or for more information, visit Inspiration-for-singles.com, send him an email, or follow him on Google+.
http://christianity.about.com/od/whatdoesthebiblesay/fl/Did-Jesus-Have-Siblings.htm
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