For those of us who have siblings, we know how much they can wear on our patience. I remember thinking, as a child, that I would’ve sinned far less if I had not been given siblings. Of course, knowing myself, I would’ve sinned nonetheless, but I thoroughly believed in this sentiment for years. Most often, when we think of Jesus, we don’t think of Jesus’ brothers or siblings. Since we often picture him, in his earlier years, in a stable and a manger, as an only child, we can forget that Mary and Joseph have many kids after Jesus comes along.
After all, Ancient Israel didn’t have great contraception methods, and Mary had Jesus at a very young age. This would mean before Joseph died that they could’ve had a handful of children, if not enough to pack a whole homeschool passenger van.
But who are Jesus’ brothers and sisters? Do we get a chance to meet with any of them in Scripture? And what unexpected lessons can we learn from siblings of Jesus?
In short, no. The Bible makes it clear that Joseph and Mary did not have sex until after the birth of Jesus (Matthew 1:25). And yet this misconception that Jesus has a twin still permeates churches today. The idea that Jesus had a twin named “Didymus Judas Thomas” is absolutely preposterous, considering Joseph and Mary refrained from sexual relations until after Jesus’ birth.
Nevertheless, Jesus did not grow up without brothers and sisters. Scripture mentions the half-brothers and sisters of Jesus multiple times, and, in fact, we have a few books in the New Testament from some of them. Let’s explore some of the names of Jesus’ brothers and sisters found in Scripture.
We don’t have any sister names given in Scripture. Most of the time, the Bible doesn’t mention the names of females, unless they played prominent roles such as the judge Deborah or Mary, the mother of Jesus. Let’s explore some verses that mention Jesus’ siblings.
Matthew 12:46: “While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.”
We know Jesus had sisters because of this verse below.
Matthew 13:56: “Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?"
As far as names go for brothers, we have four listed in the Gospels: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas (also known as Jude). We’ll touch on what happened to some of these brothers at the moment.
Considering the Gospels say sisters (plural) and we have four brothers mentioned, we can assume Jesus had at least six siblings. The Gospels don’t indicate how many he has. But we do know that Jesus is the firstborn, and the firstborn had responsibilities when it came to caring for the rest of the family, hence why Mary arrived with all of Jesus’ siblings during one of his sermons. Joseph had likely died, and she needed Jesus to be the man of the household.
Now, this question, of Jesus’ half-siblings, has become controversial amongst Christians due to the idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary, that Mary didn’t engage in sexual relations her entire life. Objections aside, Scripture refers to these people as siblings of Jesus, and for the sake of this article, we’ll treat them as half-siblings.
In the Matthew 12 verse, although Mary supports Jesus’ ministry at first, when tough times hit, she asks him to knock it off and come back home to take care of his family. We don’t really get to hear much about what happened to Jesus’ family until later in the New Testament.
But we do know that two of Jesus’ brothers, James and Jude, play a bigger part in the New Testament narrative. We know that James and Jude had to have doubted Jesus at first because they come with Mary to dissuade Jesus from continuing his teaching. But these two later become Christians.
James ends up leading a church in Jerusalem after he converts, and he goes on to write the Book of James. He remains a leader of that church for 10+ years until his martyrdom in AD 62. He dies by either stoning or being thrown from the Temple tower.
Debates from Jude’s actual belonging within Jesus’ family aside, Jude, the half-brother of Jesus, also goes on to write a book in the New Testament. You guessed it, The Book of Jude. Jude identifies himself as the brother of James (Jude 1:1). We don’t know a whole lot else about the life of Jude other than the fact he converted after Jesus ascended back into heaven. In other words, during Jesus’ lifetime here on earth, he didn’t believe.
As far as the rest of Jesus’ siblings, we know that many convert and go on to complete missionary journeys (1 Corinthians 9:5). We have no way of knowing if all of them chose to have a saving relationship with him, but many did.
Even though we don’t get to learn a whole lot about Jesus’ brothers and sisters in Scripture, we can glean a number of lessons from them.
Firstly, Jesus’ relationship with siblings shows that he truly does understand every aspect of our lives. He knows what it’s like to grow up with people who don’t necessarily agree with you. Even though Ancient Israel didn’t have as much of an individualist mindset that we see today, sibling rivalry and competition still existed. Jesus remained sinless in his dealings with his siblings, and that certainly says something.
Secondly, even Jesus’ siblings doubted. Even though his mother may have supported his ministry at first, after Joseph perished, they wanted Jesus to get back to carpentry and taking care of the family. James and Jude don’t believe in Jesus until after he ascends back into heaven. In the same way, maybe we have family members who push back against our Christian faith. We can look to Jesus’ example for comfort, knowing that even his family didn’t support him.
Finally, we know that many of Jesus’ family members later convert. This can give us hope for those of us who have family members who have not yet dedicated their lives to Christ. Not only do James and Jude convert, but one of them goes on to lead a church in Jerusalem. Both of them write books of the New Testament. At least one of them ends up being martyred. That’s true commitment.
Love ‘em or tolerate them, siblings can be one of the hardest groups of people to convince them to follow Christ. After all, many of us are set in our ways, and squabbles can get in the way of having a good relationship with them. Nevertheless, through Jesus’ example, we can find ways to continually pray and set an example for our siblings. Perhaps, like Jesus’ half-siblings, they can learn about the glorious lovingkindness of our Lord. Maybe through our changed lives, they will want to know more about the hope we have and will ask us to shed light on what has caused such a transformation within us.
Ask God for patience and prayer when it comes to our siblings. Have him show you what ways you can love them.
Sources
https://www.crosswalk.com/faith/bible-study/did-jesus-have-half-siblings.html
https://www.biblestudytools.com/bible-study/topical-studies/who-was-jesus-brother-james.html
Hope Bolinger is an acquisitions editor at End Game Press, book editor for hire, and the author of almost 30 books. More than 1500 of her works have been featured in various publications. Check out her books at hopebolinger.com for clean books in most genres, great for adults and kids. Check out her editing profile at Reedsy.com to find out about hiring her for your next book project.
This article is part of our People of Christianity catalog that features the stories, meaning, and significance of well-known people from the Bible and history. Here are some of the most popular articles for knowing important figures in Christianity:
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