The Mother and Brothers of Christ
Who were the parents and brothers of Christ? What do the scriptures tell us of them? Were they aware this Jesus of theirs was to be crucified? Did they understand the full implication of his role as God in the flesh?
Some Preliminary Readings for those interested
Assignment
Mark 3:20-35
Read John Chapter 7 , 19:25
Find out who wrote the books of
James an Jude
Mark 2:23-3:35, 6:3
Galatians 2:11-13
Psalm 69:8
Acts 1:14
Read Matthew chapter 12 first.
In the book of Matthew chapter 12 it starts out with those famous foes of Christ the Pharisees complaining to Christ about his disciples picking heads of grain and eating them on the Sabbath since they were hungry. In the next scene we see that the Pharisees are upset that he is healing a man’s shriveled hand on the Sabbath, so upset they are plotting to kill him already. Next they are seen accusing Christ of being related to the demon Beelzebub because he was able to drive out demons. This all leads up to the last two paragraphs in chapter 12 titled Jesus’ Mother and Brothers.
Here’s the NIV Matthew 12:46-50
46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him,“Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak with you.”
48Â He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Matthew 13:53-57 illuminates Christ’s family more.
13:53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there.54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked.55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brother’s James, Joseph, Simon and Judas?56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”
57Â And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”
      Christ’s family is not recorded by scriptures as following him around and listening to his teachings, they were not followers of the Messiah. If they had been, an event as important as this would have been recorded in one of the four gospels.Â
      The first instance of them following Christ is in the book of Acts of the apostles 1:12-14. This is when we see them praying.
      It is only fair to note that the gospels neither record them following the teachers of the law either, so, it is equally safe to assume they were being manipulated and pressured by the teachers of the law when they arrived to pressure Jesus to give up his foolishness and quit bothering the teachers of the law, ( Matthew 12:46-48).
Lets look at Mark 3:20-35 to shed more light on this. Let’s read:
            Mark 3:20-35
                                   Jesus and Beelzebub
 20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
Lets read this again and highlight it for emphasis. Here is verse 21 again:
21When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”
      Look at verse 21 above. Think how aggressive that is coming from his own family. Do you think they might have been ashamed of their half brother Jesus Christ? Do you think they knew Christ was God in the flesh? Why do you think they never recorded as having listened to any of Christ’s sermons? They thought maybe Christ was doing this wrong, Christ was reforming outside the Synagogue, outside the authority of the pharisees. They couldn’t control Christ, and they hated this. People were tithing to Christ maybe and not them. Do you think this might have been a concern? They knew they couldn’t ignore him like they did John the Baptist because that didn’t work. John the Baptist’s followers kept increasing. They probably had something to do with the death of John the Baptist. So they were more aggressive with Christ because they couldn’t ignore him. You can just see the pharisees behind Christ’s half brothers and half sisters manipulating them to put Christ under their authority. You can almost feel sorry for them. You can see their world coming tumbling down. Now let’s look at the next verse after the family said he is out of his mind. Here it is.Â
 22 And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, “He is possessed by Beelzebub[a]! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons.”
Now the Pharisees are saying a similar thing. It almost sounds as if they were all just talking together doesn’t it?
 23 So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26 And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. 27 In fact, no one can enter a strong man’s house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. 28 I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. 29 But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.”
 30 He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”
Jesus’ Mother and Brothers
 31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”
      Notice Christ completely ignores his family when they come and goes into teaching a similar topic, about family. If Christ had gone outside to see his family I believe there would have been a huge family squabble right then and there. Of course the other side of the issue is his family might not have wanted him to really come out. They could have been just going through the motions to satisfy the pharisees. It does not seem this way though when you read verse 21.
 33“Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.
 34Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
Footnotes:
- Mark 3:22 Greek Beezeboul or Beelzeboul
      The messianic Psalm 69:8 also prophesies this  conclusion when it says ” I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my mother’s sons;”.
Jesus Goes to the Feast of Tabernacles incognito
John 7:1-52 After this, Jesus went around in Galilee, purposely staying away from Judea because the Jews there were waiting to take his life.2 But when the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles was near,3 Jesus’ brothers said to him, “You ought to leave here and go to Judea, so that your disciples may see the miracles that you do.4 No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.”5 For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
Read that last verse 5 again, here it is highlighted!
.”5Â For even his own brothers did not believe in him.
6 Therefore Jesus told them, “The right time for me has not come; for you any time is right.7 The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil.8 You go to the feast. I am not yet going up to this Feast, because for me the right time has not yet come.”9 Having said this, he stayed in Galilee.
So here’s a good question for you. What time is right for Christ to go to the Feast of tabernacles? This is a prophecy for our generation. The right time to go to the feast is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. This time is coming in about 2-3 years and can be proved scripturally by understanding the [Seventy Years] prophecy. Do you know this prophecy? You cannot understand this prophecy unless you understand the fig tree prophecy first. Do you know the fig tree prophecy? Many do say they know it but do not really know it. Ask me and I will tell you.Â
10 However, after his brothers had left for the Feast, he went also, not publicly, but in secret.11 Now at the Feast the Jews were watching for him and asking, “Where is that man?”12 Among the crowds there was widespread whispering about him. Some said, “He is a good man.”
Others replied, “No, he deceives the people.”13 But no one would say anything publicly about him for fear of the Jews.
Jesus Teaches at the Feast
14Â Not until half way through the Feast did Jesus go up to the temple courts and begin to teach.15Â The Jews were amazed and asked, “How did this man get such learning without having studied?”
16 Jesus answered, “My teaching is not my own. It comes from him who sent me.17 If anyone chooses to do God’s will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.18 He who speaks on his own does so to gain honor for himself, but he who works for the honor of the one who sent him is a man of truth; There is nothing false about him.19 Has not Moses given you the law? Yet not one of you keeps the law. Why are you trying to kill me?”
20 “You are demon possessed,” the crowd answered. “Who is trying to kill you?”
21 Jesus said to them, “I did one miracle, and you are all astonished.22 Yet, because Moses gave you circumcision (though actually it did not come from Moses, but from the patriarchs), you circumcise a child on the Sabbath.23 Now if a child can be circumcised on the Sabbath so that the law of Moses may not be broken, why are you angry at me for healing the whole man on the Sabbath?24 Stop judging by mere appearance, and make a right judgement.”
So one common characteristic of the teachers of the law was they would judge people by mere appearance.Â
Here are some interesting facts related to these scriptures.
1.) Traditionally protestant theologians say the books of James and Jude are written by Christ’s half brothers which were children born of Christ’s Mother Virgin Mary and his stepfather Saint Joseph who taught him his carpentry trade, ( see Matthew 13:54-56). Protestant theologians state the reason James and Jude (Judas the brother) do not mention their half brother Jesus in their books respectively is that they were [ashamed] of not being [of the group] of the original followers.  Many theologians believe these brothers were saved after Christ rose again for scriptures mention their presence praying for the first time in Acts 1:14. Â
2.) Many theologians feel these half brothers became followers of Christ, being saved only after Christ rose again appearing to all the disciples, (Acts 1:14). It is also important to note that none of the half brothers were present at the crucifixion death of Christ, but Christs’ mother Mary, John the beloved one and brother of James the lessor, John’s genetic mother Mary, and Mary of Magdalene, ( Matthew 27:55-56, Mark 15:40, John 19:25-27). It is also interesting to note that these same three Marys are whom figured out first from an angel when visiting the tomb that Christ had been resurrected, ( Luke 24:9-10).
3.) In Matthew 13:55 -56 the “teachers of the law” appear to be mocking Jesus over and over exclaiming Christ’s teaching and how amazing “his teaching” was. These same verses name Christ’s Mother Mary, and Christ’s four brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas. It also mentions Christ had half sisters.
4.) There appears to be [conflict and stress] between Christ and his stepbrothers because when they come to expect him to come out and talk to him, he completely [ignores] them and starts teaching a sermon about who his real mother and brothers are. It is significant to note that Christ completely ignores his family going on to teach a sermon of who his real mother and brothers are. It seems this sermon was inviting his family members in to the rest of the group to sit at the feet of Christ to learn. Was Christ inviting his family to come in and sit at his feet and listen? Scripture does not record them coming in and listening to any of Christ’s sermons.  Chapter 13:1 Matthew records Christ coming out of a house seeming to indicate he went home to consult with his family after the sermon was over, but, scripture doesn’t record Christ getting to his hometown until Matthew 13:53. This means Christ was aware his family was being pressured by the teachers of the law to go pressure Christ to stop his teaching. Â
5.) Neither the book of James nor the book of Jude mentions their famous Messiah stepbrother Jesus Christ although most of the apostles started off their books with who they are. Many theologians feel this is related to their shame at not following the Christ from the very beginning even though they grew up with him.
6.) It also appears that Virgin Mother Mary failed to understand the significance of who her son was, God in the flesh. It seems she knew him as savior, not as God. It could be though she had chores in her household that didn’t allow her to follow her son around and listen to what he had to say. Nevertheless it does appear that her and her sons were trying to convince Jesus to stop his foolishness and quit stirring up the contempt of the teachers of the law that taught at the same synagogues her and her sons attended and were known.
7.)Â There is no evidence that they were aware that Christ’s was to be crucified and rise again on the third day.
8.) Mary and Jesus brothers did not have the same benefits we have today, all the worlds theologians at their fingertips in the help sections of their thick bibles. They only had old testament scriptures and limited access at most only when they attended synagogue. For this reason it appears they did not understand why Christ was stirring up so much trouble with the teachers of the law.
9.) This is one of the most interesting facts. Although Christ’s mother Virgin Mary was at the crucifixion, the death of Christ at the cross, the rest of his family was strangely absent in the gospels. Here their half brother, who claimed to be innocent of all charges, being charged in a kangaroo court in the middle of the night, was not even there for his most excruciatingly painful death. Where were they? It seems they were ashamed of him, part of the “teachers of the law” group that hated Christ so much.Â
             This raises so many more questions like as follows:
Did they not believe their mother’s teachings that she was a virgin and that Christ was the Messiah? Did Mary hide these thing from them worried they would try to kill the Christ again? They did many times when Christ was a baby. Do you think she never taught these miracles to her other children?Â
Scripture doesn’t tell us when Joseph died. What age do you think he died at? Why did God take Saint Joseph home to never see Christ’s ministry? Do you think Joseph was watching from heaven?  I believe God took him before Christ’s ministry because God knew how heartbroken he would be. God knew he might even try to help his son, maybe even with an uprising or something. God knew it was God’s perfect will for him to pass on first.
We know of two of Christ’s brothers who wrote the letters of Jude and James, but, what happened to the other brothers and sisters? Were they never saved? Scripture doesn’t record the answers to these important questions.
Was there some kind of jealousy or sibling rivalry going on there?Â
Where Christ grew up no one seems to be aware that Christ was born of Virgin Mary, why? Â
