The Brothers of Jesus

27 January 2022

Did Jesus Have Brothers?

The Catholic Church teaches that Mary did not have any other children besides Jesus and that she remained a perpetual virgin. The perpetual virginity of Mother Mary is one of the four Marian dogmas (Mother of God, Immaculate Conception, Perpetual Virginity, and Assumption). However, many believe that Mary may have had other children because the term “brothers of Jesus” appears several times in the New Testament. Some examples include:

Matthew 1:24-25: When Joseph awoke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him; he took her as his wife, but had no marital relations with her until she had borne a son, and he named him Jesus.
Matthew 13:55 and Mark 6:3: Name the brothers of Jesus as James, Joseph (or Joses), Simon, and Judas.
John 2:12: After the wedding at Cana, Jesus went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples.
Matthew 12:46, Mark 3:31, Luke 8:19: Jesus’ mother and brothers seek an audience with him.
John 7:5: Not even his brothers believed in him.
Acts 1:14: Mary and Jesus’ brothers devoted themselves to prayer.
1 Corinthians 9:5: Jesus’ brothers were married to believing women.

Did Joseph and Mary Have Relations After Jesus’ Birth?

Matthew 1:24-25 seems to suggest Joseph and Mary had marital relations after Jesus was born. However, this needs historical context. At the time, it would have been socially unacceptable to claim that a married couple never had sexual relations. The passage simply states Joseph “did not know her until she had borne a son.” What happened after that is not specifically mentioned and left to reader discretion.

However, St. Joseph was a devoted father and teacher to Jesus, guiding and caring for him as shown when he and Mary searched for twelve-year-old Jesus in Jerusalem (Luke 2:44-46).

Who then, Are the “Brothers” of Jesus?

The term “brothers” in the Gospels does not necessarily mean blood brothers:

Matthew 27:55 and Mark 15:40 mention a Mary who is the mother of James and Joseph (Joses), but not the mother of Jesus.
Jesus spoke Aramaic, which does not have a word for cousin. Cousins could be called brothers or sisters.
The Greek word adelphos can refer to full brothers, half-brothers, step-brothers, or other relatives. Similar usage occurs in the Old Testament (e.g., Abraham and Lot, Laban and Jacob).
Some Bible translations use “relative” instead of “brother” for clarity.

Contradictions Suggesting No Blood Brothers

In the story of Jesus in the temple at age twelve (Luke 2:41-52), no siblings are mentioned traveling with him.
At the crucifixion (John 19:26-27), Jesus entrusts Mary to St. John. If Jesus had blood brothers, this would have been unusual and potentially hurtful to them.

Was James or Jude a Blood Brother of Jesus?

Examining the lists of apostles:

Matthew 10:2-4, Mark 3:16-19, and Luke 6:14-16 mention two James (James son of Zebedee and James son of Alphaeus) and Judas (not Iscariot). None are listed as sons of Joseph.
Jude (Thaddaeus) is mentioned as the son of James (Luke 6:16), not Joseph.
Therefore, they may have been relatives, but they were not Jesus’ biological brothers.

Catholic Teaching

According to Catholic tradition, St. Joseph had a brother named Cleophas (or Clopas), married to a woman named Mary (John 19:25). Their children—James, Joseph (Joses), Simon, and Jude—were cousins of Jesus. In Aramaic, cousins were often referred to as brothers and sisters, which explains the biblical references.

References

Mary of Cleophas – EWTN
Photo Credit – William Holman Hunt, The Finding of the Saviour in the Temple

Welcome

Pages

Thursday, January 27, 2022