The Lord's Brethren
The Lord's Brethren
Before beginning a study of the Word of God regarding
the Lord’s brethren, let us first look at the historical
background which made an issue of who was the Lord’s
family.
This question is far from new; in fact, it had become
a flaming issue by 300 A.D. when Christianity west
of the Euphrates River divided into two camps over the
issue. The one camp was in Antioch in the country now
called Turkey where Aramaic was the language spoken.
The other school had its home base in Alexandria, Egypt,
where Greek was the scholar’s language.
The leader in the Greek school was Cyril, Bishop of
Alexandria. Born into a non-Christian family, he became
a Christian later in his life. In his early non-Christian
days, he believed in Isis, Osiris, Horus and other such
Egyptian gods. Undoubtedly this early learning influenced
his thinking when he became a Christian. As Bishop
of Alexandria, he proposed a new doctrine, namely, that
Mary was the mother of God. This idea appealed to the
newly-converted Christians because their former gods had
mothers, fathers, sisters and some of them had wives and
even concubines. Thus the doctrine of Mary’s being the
mother of God fit in comfortably with their previously held
beliefs.
Heading the Antioch camp was Nestorius, a graduate
of the school at Antioch and chaplain to the emperor in
Constantinople. Nestorius, along with Christendom east
of the River Euphrates, believed that Mary was the mother
of Jesus our Lord but definitely not the mother of God.
Nestorius considered Cyril’s doctrine of Mary’s being the
mother of God a dangerous heresy.
Thus the divergent doctrines on Mary not only stirred
religious controversy in the Roman Empire, but also
caused a struggle over power to determine which city—
Constantinople or Alexandria—was the most prominent
and influential in matters of church doctrine. The Alexandrian
Bishop pointed out that none of the original
twelve apostles had ever gone to Constantinople or to
Alexandria. But since Philip had come to Alexandria,
Alexandria should be considered the more enlightened
in matters dealing with doctrinal interpretation.
Because of this controversy a general council of all
bishops was called to meet in Ephesus in 431 A.D. The
Western bishops came by ships from Greece, Rome,
Spain and Alexandria. The Eastern bishops, however, had
to come by time-consuming land routes and so they
arrived late for the meeting. Thus, before the Nestorian
group of bishops arrived, the other bishops of the West
had met and condemned the position of Nestorius.
Important to note in studying the history of Christianity
is that this controversy affected only Western Christianity
—the Roman Empire. Eastern Christianity—the Persian
Empire—was unaffected by this doctrinal schism. The
Christians in Persia and in Asia Minor, including Antioch
and Jerusalem, continued to believe with Nestorius that
Mary was the mother of the Lord Jesus but not the mother
of God. The eastern part of the Roman Empire held to
the same belief as Nestorius. Then Justinian the emperor
issued an ultimatum stating that any Christian who did
not accept Mary as the mother of God should be killed.
The result of this decree was that thousands of Christians
were killed. Other thousands escaped to Iran where the
Persian government gave them sanctuary.
Even to this day, this Nestorian-Cyrian controversy has
not been settled. The position of Cyril, the Alexandrian
bishop, has been carried into the Western world by the
Roman Catholic Church. Among the pagan gods and the
non-Christian experience that infused Rome, the doctrinal
teaching of Mary’s being the mother of God found fertile
ground.
Who were the Lord’s brethren would never have been
questioned in the Occident had it not been for the corruption
which crept into Christian churches when Mary
was elevated from the Biblical position of “handmaid of
the Lord” as spoken of in Luke 1:38, to the exalted, non-biblical
station of theotokos, “mother of God.”
Many of the traditions of the Roman Church have their
roots in Egyptian and Babylonian mythology. The Egyptian
pagan deity Isis had a divine son known as Horus.
The carry-over in the Roman Church from this story is
that since Isis was still a virgin after Horus was born, so
Mary was also a virgin after Jesus was born. Furthermore,
the Roman Catholic Church teaches that Mary
had no children other than Jesus our Lord and that His
brothers and sisters were the children of Joseph by a
former wife or that they were the Lord’s cousins—children
of Mary the wife of Cleophas.
The idea that Joseph was an old man or married previously
before he was married to Mary has not one iota
of substantiation in the Scriptures. Had Joseph had older
sons by a former marriage, then the Lord Jesus’ legal
rights to the throne of David would have been invalidated.
A study of the word “brother” as found in the Bible
shows it is used in the following ways only;
1. As children of the same parent or parents.
2. As descendants of the same common stock. (Abraham
as forefather: Acts 7:23, 25.)
3. As fellow men. (Matthew 7:3-5; 18:15.)
4. As spiritual children. (Acts 9:17; Romans 8:29;
Hebrews 2:11.)
In the Biblical passages where “the Lord’s brethren”
is found, only the usage as children of the same parent
or parents can be applied.
Matthew 12:46:
While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother
and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with
him.
Verse 47:
Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy
brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.
Matthew 13:55:
Is not this the carpenter’s son? is not his mother
called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and
Simon, and Judas?
Mark 3:31:
There came then his brethren and his mother, and,
standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
Luke 8:19:
Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and
could not come at him for the press.
John 7:3:
His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence,
and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see
the works that thou doest.
Verse 5:
For neither did his brethren believe in him.
Verse 10:
But when his brethren were gone up, then went he
also up unto the feast, not openly, but as it were in
secret.
Acts 1:14:
These all continued with one accord in prayer and
supplication, with the women, and Mary the mother
of Jesus, and with his brethren.
I Corinthians 9:5:
Have we not power to lead about a sister, a wife,
as well as other apostles, and as the brethren of the
Lord, and Cephas?
Galatians 1:19:
But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the
Lord’s brother.
Had the brothers and sisters in these verses been cousins
only, as the Roman Catholic Prelate Jerome theorized,
the Greek word used would have been sungenēs, which
is translated “kinsman” or “kinsfolk” or “kin” with the
exception of Luke 1:36 and 58. In these two verses sungenēs
is translated “cousin,” which cases, relate not to
Jesus but to Elisabeth.
Mark 6:4:
But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without
honour, but in his own country, and among his own
kin, and in his own house.
Luke 1:36:
And, behold, thy cousin Elisabeth, she hath also conceived
a son in her old age: and this is the sixth
month with her, who was called barren.
Luke 1:58:
And her neighbours and her cousins heard how the
Lord had shewed great mercy upon her; and they rejoiced
with her.
Luke 2:44:
But they, supposing him to have been in the company,
went a day’s journey; and they sought him
among their kinsfolk and acquaintance.
Luke 14:12:
Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou
makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor
thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours;
lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence
be made thee.
Luke 21:16:
And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren,
and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall
they cause to be put to death.
John 18:26:
One of the servants of the high priest, being his kinsman
whose ear Peter cut off, saith, Did not I see thee
in the garden with him?
Acts 10:24:
And the morrow after they entered into Caesarea.
And Cornelius waited for them, and had called together
his kinsmen and near friends.
Romans 9:3:
For I could wish that myself were accursed from
Christ for my brethren, my kinsmen according to the
flesh.
Romans 16:7:
Salute Andronicus and Junia, my kinsmen, and my
fellowprisoners, who are of note among the apostles,
who also were in Christ before me.
Verse 11:
Salute Herodion my kinsman. Greet them that be of
the household of Narcissus, which are in the Lord.
Verse 21:
Timotheus my workfellow, and Lucius, and Jason,
and Sosipater, my kinsmen, salute you.
According to Matthew 13:55 our Lord Jesus Christ had
four brothers or half-brothers as we would call them.
James, Joses, Simon and Judas had the same mother but
a different father. (Jesus Christ was the Son of God, by
way of Mary, but conceived by the Holy Spirit.) Furthermore,
Jesus had at least three sisters, according to
Matthew 13:56: “His sisters, are they not all with us?”
Had there been just two sisters the word both would have
been used instead of all.
The Lord Jesus was Mary’s firstborn* not her only
born.† The word “firstborn” automatically implies “second
born” or “later born” children. Jesus was, as the
Scriptures clearly state, the “firstborn” of Mary but the
“only begotten of the Father.”
When all the Biblical data is in hand, we are left with
a plain answer regarding the Lord’s brethren. We know
that he had four brothers—James, Joses, Simon and Judas
—and that he had at least three sisters, whose names are
not given. Beyond this, nothing is known except for idle
speculation or theorizing—which is not good enough when
dealing with Biblical matters.