church of Christ - Articles tlb

church of Christ at 26th and Connecticut
Joplin, Missouri

Phone
417-781-2326
Fax
417-781-2326

   Worship Schedule

Sunday
    Bible Class              9 am
    Morning Worship    10 am
    Evening Worship      6 pm

Wednesday
     Devotional & Class   7 pm

Upcoming Activities

All Events

The Lord's Brothers

People said of Jesus, “Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" (Matthew 13:55-56 ESV). Notice that Jesus had at least two sisters. Their names are not given. They are mentioned only here and in the parallel passage in Mark 6:3. According to a tradition, their names were Esther and Tamar. But the Lord’s brothers are mentioned in numerous passages in the Bible. And Matthew 13:55 plainly says that their names were James, Joseph, Simon and Judas.

The Names of the Lord’s Brothers

The names of Jesus’ brothers, interestingly, are all found in Genesis:

1. James—the Greek form of Jacob, which means “He takes by the heel” or “He cheats.” You recall in Genesis how Esau’s brother “came out with his hand holding Esau's heel, so his name was called Jacob” (Genesis 25:26 ESV). Years later, then, Esau said, "Is he not rightly named Jacob? For he has cheated me these two times. He took away my birthright, and behold, now he has taken away my blessing” (Genesis 27:36 ESV).

2. Joseph—means “add to me.” Again, from Genesis, Rachel named her son Joseph, saying, "May the Lord add to me another son!" (Genesis 30:24 ESV).

3. Simon—which is a short form of Simeon, which means “Heard.” Leah named her second son Simeon saying, "Because the Lord has heard that I am hated, he has given me this son also” (Genesis 29:33 ESV).

4. Judas—the Greek form of the Hebrew name Judah, which means “Praise.” When Leah had her fourth son, Judah, she said, "This time I will praise the Lord” (Genesis 29:35 ESV).

The Parents of the Lord’s Brothers

There are three views concerning the identification of the parents of the Lord’s brothers:

1. Some believe that they were the sons of Joseph and Mary. This is known as the Helvidian view and is held by Protestants.

2. Some believe that they were the sons of Joseph and a previous wife. This is known as the Ephiphanian view, first suggested by Ephiphanius (about A.D. 380) and is held today by Orthodox churches. The motivation behind this view was that Mary was a virgin her whole life.

3. Some believe that Clopas and May, the sister of Mary (cf. John 19:25 with Mark 15:40 and Matthew 27:56). This is known as the Hieronymian view and is held by Catholics. The motivation behind this view was also that Mary was a virgin her whole life. This view demands that the passages that speak of the Lord’s “brothers” actually means the Lord’s “cousins.”

I hold the first view for a number of reasons:

· The Bible says that Joseph “knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus” (Matthew 1:25 ESV). This implies that after Mary gave birth to Jesus, Joseph then “knew” her. In other words, she was not kept a virgin her whole life.

· The idea that Mary would remain a virgin all her life is in conflict with passages that speak of conjugal rights (Proverbs 5:18-19; 1 Corinthians 7:3-5).

· Luke 2:7 calls Jesus Mary’s “firstborn son,” which suggests at least a second born son.

· As our brother Jack Lewis pointed out, the Greek word for “’brothers’ (aldelphoi) never means ‘cousins’ in New Testament Greek; anepsioi has that meaning (cf. Col. 4:10).”

· Paul spoke of “the Lord’s brothers” (aldelphoi) in 1 Corinthians 9:5. He knew and used the word for cousin (anepsioi) in Colossians 4:10. If the Lord’s brothers were actually the Lord’s cousins, then why didn’t Paul use anepsioi in 1 Corinthians 9:5 like he did in Colossians 4:10?

· If Jesus brothers are really just His cousins, why do we see them spending so much time with Jesus’ mother (cf. Matthew 12:46; John 2:12; Acts 1:14)?

The Growth of the Lord’s Brothers

Before Jesus’ resurrection, His brothers did not believe in Him (John 7:5). At one point, His family “went out to seize him, for they were saying, ‘He is out of his mind’” (Mark 3:21 ESV). But after His resurrection, they were praying with the apostles (Acts 1:13-14). They not only became believers, but they were married to believers (1 Corinthians 9:5), and became gospel preachers (as the context of 1 Corinthians 9:5 suggests). James was reputed to be a pillar in the church (Galatians 1:19; 2:9; Acts 15:13-21). And two of them wrote New Testament books: James wrote James and Judas wrote Jude.