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Jesus Family

Overview

In the Gospel of Mark, Jesus is identified as the "son of Mary" and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, Simon, and some unnamed sisters; all these people are well known in the village of Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus. The character of "Joseph, the husband of Mary" is first introduced in the Infancy narrative of the Gospel of Matthew. The Gospel of Luke also features Joseph in the Infancy narrative and introduces Elizabeth as Mary's sister, making John the Baptist a cousin of Jesus. The Gospel of John mentions the "mother" of Jesus and his father and brothers, but no other relatives.

Only later Protoevangelium of James provides some information about the parents of Mary of Nazareth; the characters of Joachim and Anne are first introduced as the grandparents of Jesus. In Christian iconography it would become popular to represent child Jesus with his mother, father and other relatives (Elizabeth, John the Baptist, Anne). Elaborated legends would develop about each of the relatives of Jesus.

Alternative descriptions of the family of Jesus are provided by Celsius and some ancient Jewish sources (where Jesus is portrayed as the illegitimate son of a Roman soldier named Panthera) and by the Islamic tradition of the Qur'an (which, like the Gospel of Mark, mentions Mary and does not not recognize the presence of a father to Jesus).

Only in modern times we find stories related to the possible marriage of Jesus (with Mary Magdalene; see Married Jesus) and the possible presence of children (see Jesus Bloodline).

Relation between Jesus and his family

The Gospels seem to indicate some tension between Jesus and his family. Jesus and his disciples were a group of Jews who had left their families, as they were convinced of the imminent coming of the Kingdom of God. In the Gospel of Mark, the family of Jesus seems to think that Jesus was "out of his mind" and want to bring him back home and no role is given to the family in the Ministry and Passion of Jesus. Even in the Luke and Matthew, the inclusion of Infancy narratives does not modify the general picture. The Gospel of John states that "not even his brothers believed in him" and says that on the cross Jesus designated the beloved disciple (or John) as his heir and adopted son of Mary.

However, after the death of Jesus, the book of the Acts of Apostles records the presence of the family of Jesus, along with his closest disciples (the Twelve Apostles), as leaders of the early Church. In particular, Christian tradition seems to indicate that the predominantly Jewish Church of Jerusalem was led by members of the family of Jesus until the end of the Bar Kochba revolt (135 CE), when Jews were banned from the city, and Jerusalem, renamed "Aelia Capitolina", had Gentile Bishops.

Christian tradition records the names of 15 "bishops of Jerusalem": James the Just, Simeon I (62–107), Justus I (107–113), Zaccheus (113-???), Tobias, Benjamin I (???–117), John I (117–???), Matthias I (???–120), Philip (120–124), Senecas, Justus II, Levis, Ephram, Joseph I, and Judas Kyriakos (???–135). The first "bishop" of Jerusalem was certainly James the brother of Jesus, whose authority and prestige is confirmed also by Paul and the Gospel of Thomas (who refers to him as the de facto "successor" of Jesus and head of the earliest Church) and by Josephus, who narrates the circumstanced of his death in 62 CE. James' successor was Simon, possibly his and Jesus' brother. We know virtually nothing about the other names in the list, except that they were circumcised Jews and that according to Epiphanius of Salamis and Eusebius of Caesarea, the last Bishop of Jerusalem, Judas Kyriakos, was the great grandson of Jude, brother of Jesus. It is therefore likely that until 135 CE the office of Bishop of Jerusalem was held by members of the family of Jesus, until Marcus was appointed as the first non-Jewish Bishop of Aelia Capitolina.

As Eusebius relates in his Historia Ecclesiae (Book III, ch. 19-20), Hegesippus, a 2nd-century Christian writer, confirmed the existence of descendants of Jude, the brother of Jesus, living in the reign of Domitian (81-96). Eusebius also relates (in Book III, ch. 32,5f.), that they suffered martyrdom under the Emperor Trajan after the Bar Kochba Revolt.

Jesus Family, in ancient sources

Gospel of Mark

Mark 3:19b-21.31-35 (NRSV) -- [19] ...Then he went home; [20] and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. [21] When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, "He has gone out of his mind"... [31] Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. [32] A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you." [33] And he replied, "Who are my mother and my brothers?" [34] And looking at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! [35] Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother."

Mark.6.3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

Mark 10 -- 28 Peter began to say to him, "Look, we have left everything and followed you." 29 Jesus said, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields, for my sake and for the sake of the good news, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this age--houses, brothers and sisters, mothers and children, and fields with persecutions--and in the age to come eternal life.

Gospel of Matthew

Matthew 8:18-22 (NRSV) -- 18 Now when Jesus saw great crowds around him, he gave orders to go over to the other side. 19 A scribe then approached and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go." 20 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." 21 Another of his disciples said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 22 But Jesus said to him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."

Matt.10.34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. Matt.10 – 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 and a man's foes will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.

Matthew 12:46-50 (NRSV) -- 46 While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." 48 But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49 And 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 19 -- 27 Then Peter said in reply, "Look, we have left everything and followed you. What then will we have?" 28 Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, at the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man is seated on the throne of his glory, you who have followed me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

Gospel of Luke

Luke 8:19-21 (NRSV) -- [19] Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd. [20] And he was told, "Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you." [21] But he said to them, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it."

Luke 9:57-62 (NRSV) -- 57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, "I will follow you wherever you go." 58 And Jesus said to him, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head." 59 To another he said, "Follow me." But he said, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father." 60 But Jesus said to him, "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God." 61 Another said, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home." 62 Jesus said to him, "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God."

Luke 12:51-53 -- 51 Do you think that I have come to bring peace to the earth? No, I tell you, but rather division! 52 From now on five in one household will be divided, three against two and two against three; 53 they will be divided: father against son and son against father, mother against daughter and daughter against mother, mother-in-law against her daughter-in-law and daughter-in-law against mother-in-law."

Luke 14:26-27 -- [26] If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Luke 18 -- 28 Then Peter said, "Look, we have left our homes and followed you." 29 And he said to them, "Truly I tell you, there is no one who has left house or wife or brothers or parents or children, for the sake of the kingdom of God, 30 who will not get back very much more in this age, and in the age to come eternal life."

Gospel of Thomas

Thomas 12 -- The disciples said to Jesus, "We know that you are going to leave us. Who will be our leader?" Jesus said to them, "No matter where you are you are to go to James the Just, for whose sake heaven and earth came into being."

Gospel of John

John.2.12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples, and they stayed there for a few days.

John.7.3 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples also may see the works you are doing. John.7.5 For not even his brothers believed in him.

John 19:26-27 -- When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” [27] Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.

Acts of Apostles

Acts 1:12-14 -- 12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a sabbath day's journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14 All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers.

Hegesippus, as reported by Eusebius of Caesarea

Historia Ecclesiae (Book III, ch. 19-20) -- "But when this same Domitian had commanded that the descendants of David should be slain, an ancient tradition says that some of the heretics brought accusation against the descendants of Jude (said to have been a brother of the Saviour according to the flesh), on the ground that they were of the lineage of David and were related to Christ himself. Hegesippus relates these facts in the following words. "Of the family of the Lord there were still living the grandchildren of Jude, who is said to have been the Lord's brother according to the flesh. "Information was given that they belonged to the family of David, and they were brought to the Emperor Domitian by the Evocatus. For Domitian feared the coming of Christ as Herod also had feared it. And he asked them if they were descendants of David, and they confessed that they were. Then he asked them how much property they had, or how much money they owned. And both of them answered that they had only nine thousand denarii, half of which belonged to each of them; and this property did not consist of silver, but of a piece of land which contained only thirty-nine acres, and from which they raised their taxes and supported themselves by their own labor." Then they showed their hands, exhibiting the hardness of their bodies and the callousness produced upon their hands by continuous toil as evidence of their own labor. And when they were asked concerning Christ and his kingdom, of what sort it was and where and when it was to appear, they answered that it was not a temporal nor an earthly kingdom, but a heavenly and angelic one, which would appear at the end of the world, when he should come in glory to judge the quick and the dead, and to give unto every one according to his works. Upon hearing this, Domitian did not pass judgment against them, but, despising them as of no account, he let them go, and by a decree put a stop to the persecution of the Church. But when they were released they ruled the churches because they were witnesses and were also relatives of the Lord. And peace being established, they lived until the time of Trajan. These things are related by Hegesippus.[7]"

Related categories

• Mary of Nazareth / Joseph of Nazareth / James
• Married Jesus / Jesus Bloodline

External links