Did Jesus have brothers and sisters? | GotQuestions.org

In today's video I'll answer your question, Did Jesus Have Brothers and Sisters?

Then afterward, as always, I'll share some helpful resources, so stick around until the end.

Jesus' brothers are mentioned in several Bible verses.

Matthew 12, verse 46, Luke 8, verse 19, and Mark 3,

verse 31 say that Jesus' mother and brothers came to see Him.

The Bible tells us that Jesus had four brothers, James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas in

Matthew 13, verse 55.

The Bible also tells us that Jesus had sisters in Matthew 13, verse 56, but they

are not named or numbered.

In John 7, verses 1 -10, His brothers go on to the festival while Jesus stays behind.

In Acts 1, verse 14, His brothers and mother are described as praying with the disciples.

Galatians 1, verse 19 mentions that James was Jesus' brother.

The most natural conclusion of these passages is to interpret that Jesus had actual blood half

-siblings.

Some Roman Catholics claim that these brothers were actually Jesus' cousins.

However, in each instance, the specific Greek word for brother is used.

While the word can refer to other relatives, its normal and literal meaning is a physical brother.

There was a Greek word for cousin, and it was not used.

Further, if they were Jesus' cousins, why would they so often be described as being with Mary, Jesus'

mother?

There is nothing in the context of His mother and brothers coming to see Him that even hints that they

were anyone other than His literal, blood -related half -brothers.

A second Roman Catholic argument is that Jesus' brothers and sisters were the children of Joseph from a previous

marriage.

An entire theory of Joseph being significantly older than Mary, having been previously married, having multiple

children, and then being widowed before marrying Mary is invented without any biblical basis.

The problem with this is that the Bible does not even hint that Joseph was married or had children before

he married Mary.

If Joseph had at least six children before he married Mary, why are they not mentioned in Joseph and Mary's trip to

Bethlehem, or their trip to Egypt, or their trip back to Nazareth?

There is no biblical reason to believe that these siblings are anything other than the actual

children of Joseph and Mary.

Those who oppose the idea that Jesus had half -brothers and half -sisters do so not from a reading of

Scripture but from a preconceived concept of the perpetual virginity of Mary, which is itself clearly

unbiblical.

But he, Joseph, had no union with her, Mary, until she gave birth to a son, and he

gave him the name Jesus.

Matthew 1, verse 25.

Jesus had half -siblings, half -brothers, and half -sisters, who were the children of Joseph and Mary.

That is the clear, unambiguous teaching of God's Word.

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