Did Jesus have
siblings? For some Christians throughout history the obvious answer to that
question has been “No.” This verdict has often been influenced by belief in the
perpetual virginity of Mary, the belief that Mary remained a virgin even after
the birth of Jesus, which is a view held by Catholic, Orthodox, and some
Protestant churches. Even Christians who do not generally accept this doctrine
sometimes find the thought of Jesus having brothers and sisters to be a strange
one. Perhaps some are too familiar with the experience of growing up in
the shadow of an older brother who thinks he’s the savior of the world.
However, a number of Gospel traditions indicate that Jesus was not an only
child. In this week’s text, Luke 8:19–21
refers to Jesus’ mother and his brothers. Similarly, in Mark 6:3, when Jesus
returns home to Nazareth, those who knew him when he was a boy reject his
authority, asking, “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
Paul identifies “James, the Lord’s brother” as one of the pillars of the early
church in Jerusalem (Galatians 1:19).
An early Church Father
named Jerome proposed that these “brothers and sisters” were actually cousins
of Jesus and that the Greek word adelphoi, which generally refers to
biological siblings, could also mean "cousins." One problem with this view is that
everywhere else in the New Testament adelphoi refers to biological
siblings. Moreover, there is a perfectly good Greek word that means “cousins.”
If the Gospel writers were in fact referring to cousins, why wouldn’t they use
this unambiguous term?
An alternative attempt
to reconcile the references to Jesus’ “brothers and sisters” with belief in the
perpetual virginity of Mary is represented in a second-century apocryphal
Gospel called the Infancy Gospel of James. This text portrays Joseph is
an old widower who already has several children from a previous marriage when
he is betrothed to Mary. According to this tradition, those siblings referenced
in the Gospels would be Jesus’ older step-brothers and step-sisters. One
criticism of this interpretation is that the Infancy Gospel of James is
a late and apocryphal Gospel that appears more legendary than historical in
nature.
What do you think? Do
you find one of the above interpretations more compelling than the view that
Jesus had biological siblings? Why?
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