[all Bible verses: RSV]
[portion of my soon-to-be-released book, Biblical Evidence for Catholicism]
The word
brother as used in the New Testament (Greek,
adelphos), has a wide range of meaning, including those of the same nationality (Rom 9:3), neighbors or any man ((Mt 5:22; 7:3; Lk 10:29), mankind (Mt 25:40; Heb 2:17), Christian believers (Acts 1:15), etc.
Neither Hebrew nor Aramaic had a word for
cousin. Greek did have such a word, but since ancient Israel was a Semitic culture, they still used the equivalent of
brother to signify a cousin. Jesus Himself used the word in this way. He described the “crowds” and His “disciples” as His “brethren” (Matthew 23:8; cf. 12:49-50) We see this wider usage of
brother even in English today. Here are some plain examples of the wider (non-sibling) usage of
adelphos:
Acts 3:12,17,22 And when Peter saw it he addressed the people, “Men of Israel, . . . And now, brethren, I know that you acted in ignorance, as did also your rulers. . . . Moses said, ‘The Lord God will raise up for you a prophet from your brethren as he raised me up. . . . ’”
Acts 7:23-27 When he was forty years old, it came into his heart to visit his brethren, the sons of Israel. And seeing one of them being wronged, he defended the oppressed man and avenged him by striking the Egyptian. He supposed that his brethren understood that God was giving them deliverance by his hand, but they did not understand. And on the following day he appeared to them as they were quarreling and would have reconciled them, saying, “Men, you are brethren, why do you wrong each other?” But the man who was wronging his neighbor thrust him aside, saying, “Who made you a ruler and a judge over us?”
Romans 1:7,13 To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints: . . . I want you to know, brethren, . . .
I Thessalonians 1:1,4 Paul, Silva’nus, and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalo’nians . . . For we know, brethren beloved by God, that he has chosen you;
Hebrews 7:5 And those descendants of Levi who receive the priestly office have a commandment in the law to take tithes from the people, that is, from their brethren, though these also are descended from Abraham.
Revelation 22:9 . . . your brethren the prophets, . . .
St. Paul uses
adelphos some 138 times, and it seems clear that in virtually every case, the meaning is in the wider “non-sibling” sense. Thus, when he refers to “James the Lord’s brother” in Galatians 1:19, it is altogether sensible to interpret it in the same way. Keeping this usage in mind, let’s look specifically at several related passages that mention Jesus’ “brothers”:
Matthew 13:55-56 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 this?
Matthew 27:56 among whom were Mary Mag’dalene, and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zeb’edee.
Matthew 27:61 Mary Mag’dalene and the other Mary were there, sitting opposite the sepulchre.
Matthew 28:1 Now after the sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Mag’dalene and the other Mary went to see the sepulchre.
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 15:40 There were also women looking on from afar, among whom were Mary Mag’dalene, and Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salo’me,
John 19:25 So the soldiers did this. But standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother, and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Mag’dalene.
James and Joseph, who are described as Jesus’ “brothers” (Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3), are also called sons of Mary, wife of Clopas (Mt 27:56; Mk 15:40; cf. Jn 19:25). Thus, they were either Jesus’ cousins or fellow Israelites; not literally siblings. This same “other Mary” (Mt 27:61; 28:1) is called the Blessed Virgin Mary’s “sister” (
adelphe) in John 19:25.
Since it is unlikely that there were two Marys in one family, again the text must be referring to the Virgin Mary’s cousin or more distant relative. By quite plausible deduction, then, Simon, Jude, and “sisters” (Mt 13:55-56; Mk 6:3) are also Jesus’ cousins or more remote relatives.
We may have a bit more biblical information about the “brother” Judas. Many scholars believe he could very well be the same person as the “Jude” who wrote the New Testament book of the same name. Granting this for the sake of argument, note that he describes himself as “a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James” (1:1). It strains credulity to think that if he were Jesus’ blood brother, or sibling, that he would describe himself as
James’ brother. Therefore, it is far more reasonable to believe that he is James’ sibling and Jesus’ cousin or more distant relative; just as we have seen is the case with James himself, from direct exegetical indications.
Other arguments for Jesus being Mary’s only child derive from He alone being mentioned at age twelve, visiting the Temple with His parents for the yearly Passover observance (Luke 2:41-51), and His committing His mother Mary to the care of St. John, from the cross (John 19:26-27). It was unthinkable in that culture (as in most cultures) to do that if indeed Jesus had siblings.
Lastly, some think it is telling that
sungenis (Greek for
cousin) isn’t used in direct reference to Jesus “brothers.” Apart from the cultural considerations already discussed, there is at least one plausible indirect argument from cross-referencing, where this association does occur:
Mark 6:4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and among his own
kin [
sungenis],
and in his own house.”
John 7:3-5 So his brothers said to him, “Leave here and go to Judea, that your disciples may see the works you are doing. For no man works in secret if he seeks to be known openly. If you do these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his brothers did not believe in him.
The two passages seem to be describing the same thing. If so, then this would be an equation of those who are called “brothers” in John 5, with “kin” (
sungenis) in Mark 6:4; thus confirming the traditional Catholic interpretation yet again: that these “brothers” and “sisters” of Jesus are not siblings. Therefore, the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity is perfectly consistent with all of the biblical data, closely examined (which is why Luther, Calvin, and many Protestants through history have accepted this truth alongside Catholics and Orthodox).
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