Jesus' Earthly Family

[MarvelousMarvin]

In this Christmas season, we need to remember that the greatest gift ever given is recorded in the Bible - Yeshua Ha'Mashiach, God's Gift to sinful man. Please remember to take time to thank our Heavenly Father for His Gift to us – not just during the Christmas season, but every day of the year.

John 3:16-17 KJV For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.

What kind of family was Jesus born into? There is evidence that Joseph was a polygynist. If true, it is likely that Mary was his first wife, and that he took one or more additional wives after the birth of Jesus – probably soon after the family returned from Egypt. Let's examine the evidence found in Scripture.

Jesus had four brothers:

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?

At the crucifixion, Jesus gave His mother into the care of His disciple, John:

John 19:27 Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home.

If James, Joses, Simon, and Judas were half-brothers, which would be the case if Mary were their mother, then it makes no sense at all that He gave the care of His mother to John rather than to James, the oldest of His four brothers. It also makes no sense that Mary's other sons would allow her to go through the heart-wrenching experience of seeing her oldest son suffer crucifixion without at least one of them being there to comfort her. Yet not one of Jesus' brothers was there.

Maybe James, Joses, Simon, and Judas weren't Mary's sons. Maybe they were step-brothers to Jesus, which would be the case if Jesus' step-father, Joseph, had one or more other wives who were the mothers of the four brothers. If true, it makes perfect sense for Him to give His mother into the care of His beloved disciple.

This does NOT imply that Mary was a "perpetual virgin" as is falsely taught by the Roman Catholic Church. One or more of Jesus' sisters may have been daughters of Mary. Also, the Bible clearly says that Joseph and Mary had marital relations after Jesus was born:

Matthew 1:25 And knew her not till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

It appears that God sent His Only Begotten Son into the world by way of a family that He knew would be polygynous. The evidence may be weak, but it is present in Scripture, and we need to consider it.

Merry Christmas!

 

[sweetlissa]

While it may be a weak scriptural argument, it does make a lot of sense. I cannot see the mother/son relationship being so shallow that the brothers of Jesus (sons of Mary) would allow their mother to go through such an experience alone.

Thanks for giving me something to think about.

SweetLissa

 

[Anonymous]

Anything is possible and it is an interesting thought!

I always assumed that Yeshua valued his brothers and sisters in faith more than his biological family. If I were Yeshua, I would ask the person whom I knew would love and care for my grieving mother. That person was his disciple. Sometimes our church family is more loving than our biological family...

 

[porkchop]

Oh, I don't know. I would always go with family.

 

[Anonymous]

I have an exceedingly wonderful family and so I agree with you Donna! However, there are a few families out there who are more than a little dysfunctional. I bet there are many here who have been cut off from family because of their beliefs. Yeshua was very radical. His brothers may have been a wee bit been antagonistic towards him and his fame. He was after all, only their brother and a carpenter... who happened to be changing the world!

I also think that it is so important to love those who are your brothers and sisters in faith as family. We miss that idea in churches these days. Sure we might have potluck together every other Sunday, and we may sit in a pew and stare straight ahead and nod our heads in agreement next to each other, (if we can keep our minds from wandering) but I don't see many people gathering in homes to discuss the word. We don't love each other and the word so much that we break bread together and pray together. We don't gather together and have men falling out of windows because of lack of sleep, too much discussion, and good wine! Our institutional churches do not encourage interaction with each other. Do you know what I mean?

If we had relationships like Yeshua had with his followers, then it is possible that I would trust my sister in faith to love my family as much as I would... even upon my death bed.

 

[CecilW]

We don't gather together and have men falling out of windows because of lack of sleep, too much discussion, and good wine!

You really MUST attend a retreat, CC. Preferably an east coast one! A-HEM!

I will say, I've wondered many a time why Jesus gave His mother into a disciple's care. This is the first explanation that makes sense to me.

However, I do have to agree with you, too, CC. I feel very disenfranchised from most of my bio-family, and much closer to both my church- and bf- families. When the former say, "We're praying for you," it has a flavor of "that you'll repent and revert to being like US!", while when the latter groups do, it feels like "that He'll strengthen and provide for you upon the course on which He has set you." That seems soooo much more helpful!

 

[porkchop]

I guess I've found the opposite to be my experience; my family always invites me to dinner (at least on holidays!) and every church we've ever attended (and there have been plenty), has had the attitude of 'sure we'll pray for you as long as you are conforming to our ideal of being a good christian'. If not, please take your sinful self somewhere else. NOT that I think for one minute even my natural family would go for a PM sorta lifestyle. That's not gonna happen in this life.

 

[sweetlissa]

The church we are trying to build in Texas is an attempt to get back to Christ's way of building the church. We started out meeting in a home (1.5 hours away from me). Each meeting we would all share a meal and then spend most of the day talking about God and what he is doing in our lives. Sometimes we would turn on some "Christian" entertainment and generally spend time growing together in the Lord. It can be a very rewarding time with everyone leaving refreshed and spiritually re-awakened. No, no one has ever fallen out of a window, because we had plenty of chairs, but we have definitely prayed together and seen some real miracles in action.

SweetLissa

 

[Dr. K.R. Allen]

I would agree that the NT emphasis is on building the spiritual family and the new family that is not based upon bloodline but upon Christ himself as the head is the key. I said this in one of the teaching articles:

In Matthew 12:46-50 we discover a principle of extension being introduced into God's family structure. The people here, who were certainly familiar with the ideas of family by the implication of the question, thought that the physical family of Christ was to be the priority. But Christ introduced the idea that the spiritual family, those who were following the truth, were in reality his family. The text says this:

"While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. But he replied to the man who told him, 'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?' And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.'"

The Evangelical scholar Dr. D.A. Carson, the longtime professor and chair of NT studies at Trinity Evangelical Dvinity School, stated that these "verses are full of Christological implications, but they also establish the basic importance of the community now beginning to form around him" (Matthew, The NIV Bible Commentary, Vol. 2: New Testament, eds. Kenneth Barker, John R. Kohlenberger III, p. 64).

 

[Anonymous]

I want to just toss out a thought here for discussion. I agree wirh PolyDoc, with the possibility that Joseph was polygynous, although in my scenario Mary was his last wife. No evidence on my part. In regard to John caring for Mary and who is the most sufficient family in relationship to Christ, let me ask this question about Jesus DNA or who are His parents? Joseph and Mary or Father God and Mary? I think this might affect our discussion as to His family was and is. What think ye?