How Many Brothers Did Jesus Have?

In the Bible, there are four men mentioned as being the brothers of Jesus. His sisters are also mentioned although their names are not given. Let’s take a look at some of the verses that mention them.

Matthew 13:54-57 He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? "Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? "And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household."

Jesus' brothers are mentioned as accompanying Jesus and his mother to Capernaum after the marriage at Cana.
John 2:12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.

Later Mary and these brothers are recorded as seeking an audience with Jesus (Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21).

Toward the end of Jesus' ministry, His brethren are mentioned as urging Jesus to prove His Messiahship, which they themselves doubted
John 7:1-5 After these things Jesus was walking in Galilee, for He was unwilling to walk in Judea because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Now the feast of the Jews, the Feast of Booths, was near. Therefore His brothers said to Him, "Leave here and go into Judea, so that Your disciples also may see Your works which You are doing. "For no one does anything in secret when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." For not even His brothers were believing in Him.

These brothers of Jesus were later convinced of Christ’s deity, and are described in Acts as uniting with the disciples and others in "prayer and supplication" prior to Pentecost (Acts 1:13-14).
Paul implies that all of the Lord’s brothers were married in 1 Corinthians 9:5.

Many believe (myself included), that the author of the epistle of Jude, who identifies himself as the "brother of James," was one of these brothers (Jude 1).

It is also generally believed that the leader of the church at Jerusalem was James, the Lord's brother (see Acts 12:17; 15:13). This seems to be confirmed by Paul's reference to his visit to Jerusalem, in which he states that he saw only Peter, and "James, the Lord's brother" (Galatians 1:18-19).

So who exactly are these supposed brothers (and sisters) of Jesus?

Throughout the years, much discussion has been made as to the exact relationship of these men to Jesus, and three principal views have been advanced:

(1) They were His stepbrothers, children of Joseph by a previous marriage, and thus all older than Jesus and not His blood relatives.
(2) They were Jesus' actual half-brothers, the sons of Joseph and Mary. This would make them Jesus’ younger siblings.
(3) They were the cousins of Jesus. This argument is pure speculation and in my opinion is by far the weakest of the three possibilities, so I won’t spend any time discussing it here.

Let’s take a look at option 1.
- They were His stepbrothers, children of Joseph by a previous marriage, and thus all older than Jesus and not His blood relatives.

The biggest reason for this theory is due to the teaching of “the Perpetual Virginity of Mary”. This doctrine says that even after Jesus was born, Mary remained a virgin for the rest of her life. This doctrine is unsupported by scripture, and in my opinion would be an unfair and unnecessary way of life for both Joseph and Mary. Human sexuality was created by God, and in the confines of marriage is a normal and holy thing. For Mary to remain a virgin after the birth of Jesus would not only be unnecessary, but unnatural and bizarre.

Matthew Chapter 1:24-25 infers that Joseph and Mary did have a sexual relationship after the birth of Jesus.
And Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord commanded him, and took Mary as his wife, but kept her a virgin until she gave birth to a Son; and he called His name Jesus.
The point being made here, is that Mary remained a virgin until Jesus was born, and nowhere do the scriptures ever give us the idea that Mary perpetually remained a virgin.

Another reason that I don’t believe this theory to be the correct one is the fact that Joseph was not the father of Jesus. He was not even the adoptive father of Jesus. He was a parent and a caretaker to Jesus, but was not His father. He never claimed Jesus in public to be his son, because Jesus wasn’t his son, He was God’s son. It was God who publicly claimed Jesus to be His son.
Mat 3:16,17 After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him, and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased."

Since Joseph was not the father of Jesus, I believe that the sons of Joseph (and not Mary) would not be referred to by inspired writers of scripture as the “brothers of Jesus”.

Belief in the doctrine of the “Perpetual Virginity of Mary” is the only real reason to be dogmatic about the “step-brother” theory. Is it possible that these “brothers” of Jesus are really just his step-brothers even if the doctrine of perpetual virginity is false? Sure, it’s possible, but I believe that the best and most likely option is the one that we will discuss next.

Let’s take a look at option 2.
- They were Jesus' actual half-brothers, the sons of Joseph and Mary. This would make them Jesus’ younger siblings.

Here are some reasons why I believe this explanation to be the best one.

This is by far the simplest and most comprehensive theory in regards to the brothers of Jesus. It is the idea that anyone would get from simply reading through the scriptures without being influenced by the false doctrines of uninspired men.

Some people have found the following scriptures to be a problem in accepting this theory.
John 19:26,27 When Jesus then saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing nearby, He *said to His mother, "Woman, behold, your son!" Then He *said to the disciple, "Behold, your mother!" From that hour the disciple took her into his own household.

I understand why this makes people doubt that the “brothers of Jesus” were actually Mary’s sons. Why didn’t they take her and care for her themselves if they were her sons? We don’t know all the circumstances behind the events going on here, but keep in mind that John (the disciple whom Jesus loved) was the only one loyal and courageous enough to follow Jesus to the cross, and that at this time the brothers of Jesus were in doubt as to His claims. They may have shunned their mother for encouraging and following her “crazy” son Jesus.

The inspired writers of the New Testament refer to the aforementioned men as the “brothers of Jesus”. If the crowds in Christ’s hometown alone had done this, they could have been misinformed or mistaken, however, Matthew, John, and Paul also used the same terms. The inspired writers of the New Testament would not have done this had these men not been the actual brothers of Jesus.

If these men were not the actual, blood related half-brothers of Jesus, then to call them His brothers would serve to increase their significance in scripture. We see however that their significance as His brothers is actually downplayed (Matthew 13:46-50), even from their own perspectives (Jude 1:1).
I believe this is done to deflect the temptation by misguided souls to worship the earthly family members of Jesus and any descendants they might have. ( Just look at the way that Mary is worshiped).

Conclusion:
So how many brothers did Jesus have?
I believe that the scriptures teach that Jesus had at least four half-brothers who were the offspring of Mary and Joseph after the birth of Jesus.
I also believe that this is one of those things which is great to discuss, but that we shouldn’t be dogmatic about. As interesting as it is to discuss how many (if any) brothers Jesus had, we actually have a response from Jesus Himself on this very topic.

Matthew 13:46-50
While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. Someone said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You." But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers! "For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother."

In light of the verse above, we see that Jesus teaches that spiritual ties are much greater and more important than those of blood. Jesus’ true brothers and sisters are those of us who do the will of God, the true Father of Jesus.
Are you one of His brothers or sisters?
share on: facebook