Did Jesus have Brothers?

DID JESUS HAVE ANY BROTHERS?

By Ezekiel Kimosop

Does Scripture reveal that Jesus had half brothers and sisters? 

Bible scholars say that the author of the Letter of James was Jesus' half brother. This writer had borrowed heavily from the teachings of Jesus recorded in the Gospels, especially the beatitudes and the "Sermon on the Mount". This has led some scholars to conclude that he may have been closely following Jesus or had borrowed from the Synoptic Gospels. 

James was not initially listed among the disciples of Jesus perhaps because he was either young at the time or had not believed the gospel until after Jesus' death and resurrection. 

The author of the Letter of James is different from apostle James who was martyred by Herod (see Acts 12:1-2). 

Bible scholars say that Judas, another half brother of Jesus, is the author of the Letter of Jude. He is believed to have changed his name following the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, in order to remove any possible association of his works with the wicked man. 

The names of the four half brothers of Jesus are listed in Matthew 13:55-56 and Mark 6:3.

Matthew 13:55-56 says "Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” 57 So they were offended at Him." (NKJV). 

Mark 6:3 says "Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him" (NKJV). 

Both Scriptures reveal that Jesus also had an unknown number of sisters whose names were not revealed by Scripture. The two texts of Scripture present compelling evidence that Jesus had half brothers and sisters. There is no other text in Scripture that obscures this truth. 

Interestingly, Roman Catholics claim that Jesus did not that have any half brothers or sisters by Joseph, his legal father. This claim is not backed by any explicit teaching of Scripture. 

Roman Catholic dogma teaches that Mary's womb was holy and that she could never have been intimate with Joseph after giving birth to Jesus, a claim that again cannot be substantiated or affirmed in any section of the Scripture!

They argue that the names mentioned in the two Scriptures above are for Jesus' cousins or close kinsmen. 

Some Catholic scholars say that Joseph possibly had children by another wife from a previous marriage who had died and that Mary could have taken over the maternal responsibilities for these children. 

Again these claims are not supported by any text of Scripture. 

Another hypothesis holds that Mary may have been a second wife to Joseph and the reference to the half brothers of Jesus was legitimate in that specific context. 

Still others say that Mary could have moved in with her sister upon the death of Joseph and the brothers mentioned are the children of her sister. According to Epiphanius, cited in Gill's Exposition, the sisters mentioned in the two texts above were Mary and Salome, the two daughters of Joseph from a previous marriage. 

The Bible is however silent on all those claims. 

Matthew Heynen, a Catholic Priest of the Dominican Friars order makes three assertions in support of the Catholic dogma on Mary's perpetual virginity. He argues that the two Scriptures above, read together with Matthew 27:56 could imply that the brothers mentioned were sons of another [unknown] Mary! Secondly, Heynen attempts to broaden the applications of the Greek word ἀδελφοί, for "brothers" to refer to cousins or close kinsmen. While this reference is culturally admissible in Hebrew society, the hermeneutical context of the passages in which the names of the brothers are listed appears to rule out the possibility that another Mary was contemplated by the rulers of the synagogue in Nazareth. 

Besides, the mention of only two brothers, James and Joses in Matthew 27:56 conveys two exegetical possibilities. First, that a different Mary may have been contemplated, in which case the two brothers have no connection with the half brothers of Jesus mentioned in Matthew 13:55-56; Mark 6:3 and implied in Mark 3:31-32 other than for similarity of names.

Secondly, if Mary mother of Jesus was contemplated by the author in this context, then the mention of only two brothers could have been circumstantial rather than conclusive. They may have been the only sons present during the crucifixion of Jesus. 

Notice also that Luke 24:10 mentions Mary as mother of James. Could this be the same Mary twice mentioned in Matthew 27:61, 28:1 as "the other Mary"?

The third supposition advanced by Matthew Heynen is premised on a first century narrative that claims that Mary may have made a vow of chastity before she was betrothed to Joseph and that she never intended to engage in a sexual intimacy. This is perhaps the weirdest of the three postulations advanced by Roman Catholics. If this supposition holds a grain of truth, two questions naturally arise. 

First, why was Mary betrothed to Joseph if she never intended to be intimate with him? Secondly, how does the reader reconcile the reaction and intentions of Joseph on learning of Mary's pregnancy before he received the angel's assurance in Matthew 1:18-25?

My view is that none of the three arguments by Matthew Heynen are supported by the Bible. Nothing in Scripture suggests that Joseph did not intend to sire children by Mary after Jesus was born or that both Mary and Joseph had taken a vow of chastity. Equally, nothing culturally forbade Joseph from raising children with Mary since she was his legal wife according to Jewish custom. 

Mark 3:31-32 speaks of Jesus' mother and brothers looking for Jesus, a plain reference to a family initiative. 

A number of Scriptures outside the Gospels affirm that James and Judas were Jesus' half brothers. Galatians 1:19 mentions James, one of the Jerusalem leaders, as "the Lord's brother", leaving little doubt on his identity as Jesus' half brother. 

The writer of the Letter of Jude introduces himself in Jude 1:1 as "a bondservant of Jesus Christ and brother of James". Bible scholars have identified this author as Judas, one of the half brothers of Jesus who chose to conceal his name in order to avoid any possible association with Judas Iscariot, the man who betrayed Jesus, his half brother. The only two half brothers whose roles are fairly obscure are Joses and Simon.

My view is that the arguments advanced by Roman Catholics in support of their doctrine on Mary's perpetual virginity are not consistent with the teaching of Scripture. I am persuaded by my reading of Scripture that Jesus' half brothers are as listed in Scripture in Matthew 13:55-56 and Mark 6:3 above. These brothers together with the unnamed sisters were the children of Joseph by Mary that were conceived after Jesus was born. Two of the brothers, James and Judas wrote the Letters of James and Jude, respectively.  

In Evangelical Christian tradition, Scripture is the only source for the extrapolation and articulation of legitimate Christian doctrine and instruction and any attempt at engaging extra biblical sources for the advancement of any doctrine is an exercise in futility.

© Ezekiel Kimosop 2021

Sources: 

Matthew Heynen, "Did Jesus Have Siblings?" in Dominican Friars, Province of the Most Holy Name of Jesus, 16 October 2019, https://opwest.org/did-jesus-have-siblings/ accessed 17 August 2021. 

Brothers of Jesus, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_of_Jesus

Pulpit Commentary, Bible Hubb, https://biblehub.com/matthew/13-55.htm

Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/mark/6-3.htm

Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible, https://biblehub.com/commentaries/matthew/13-56.htm