Controversy
Over the Term 'Brother'
One
long-debated issue that has resurfaced with the recent ossuary
discovery is whether James was really the half brother of
Jesus.To maintain the doctrine of the perpetual virginity
of Mary (which holds that Mary remained a virgin even after
Jesus' birth and had no more children), Roman Catholics teach
James was only a "cousin" of Jesus.
Yet the
biblical evidence points to James being a half brother, not
a cousin, of Jesus, since Mary was his mother and Joseph his
father. The Bible does not call Jesus the only son of Mary;
it calls Him the firstbornson. "Then Joseph, being aroused
from sleep, did as the angel of the Lord commanded him and
took to him his wife, and did not know her till she had brought
forth her firstbornSon. And he called His name Jesus" (Matthew 1:24-25, emphasis added throughout).
Note also
that the word knowis the biblical euphemism for Joseph and
Mary having sexual relations as husband and wife after Jesus
was born.
The Gospels
consistently show that Joseph and Mary had children other
than Jesus. For instance, Mark 6:3 says: "Is this not the
carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas,
and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?"
Also,
Paul calls James "the Lord's brother"(Galatians 1:19). The
term used here for "brother," adelphos,means a brother, not
a cousin. Paul uses a different Greek word that means "cousin,"
anepsios,in Colossians 4:10:"Aristarchus my fellow prisoner
greets you, with Mark the cousin of Barnabas." So the idea
that James was a cousin of Jesus has no biblical basis.
Another
line of argument is presented by the Greek Orthodox Church,
which also believes in the perpetual virginity of Mary but
holds that James was Joseph's son by a supposed previous marriage,
making him merely Jesus' stepbrother,having no immediate blood
relation.Yet a close blood relation seems implicit in the
distinction "brother of Jesus."And again, the idea of children
by previous marriage is also contradicted by Matthew 1:24-25,
which calls Jesus Mary's firstbornson and states that Joseph
"knew her" after Jesus was born.
"James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus," reads this
inscription.
Corroborating
evidence is found in Psalm 69, a psalm written by Israel's
King David but widely recognized as messianic in content-prophesying
the suffering of Jesus. David prefigures Christ lamenting,"I
have become a stranger to my brothers, and an alien to my
mother's children" (jam)-showing that Jesus' brothers
were children of Joseph and Mary, not just of Joseph by a
previous marriage.
Moreover,
when Joseph fled to Egypt before the massacre of the young
boys in Bethlehem, an angel appeared to Joseph and told him,"Arise,
take the young Child and His mother; flee to Egypt . . ."
(Matthew 2:13). It's apparent that the only ones in that family
were Joseph, Mary and Jesus. No other brothers or sisters
were there from a supposed previous marriage of Joseph. Jesus
was clearly the firstborn son, and later Joseph and Mary had
several other sons and daughters. |
