Did Jesus have a brother called James?

Answer 1

Answer: YesMark 6:3 (KJV) Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

Mark 6:4 (KJV) But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

Answer 2

AnswerYes Jesus did have a brother called James. He was his little brother. There is a book named after him in The Bible. Matthew 13:55 (KJV)

55 Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas?

Mark 6:3 (King James Version)3Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. Galatians 1:19 (KJV)

19 But other of the apostles saw I none, save James the Lord's brother.

Alternative Catholic View

This question comes from when Jesus was preaching and someone said to him "Your mother and brothers are here to see you". Jesus said "who are my mother and brothers? Those who believe in me and follow me are my mother and brothers". I am paraphrasing.

The term "adelphi" that was used in aramic means "cousin or kinfolk". It was a very common term used during this time. In fact, in the book of Tobit we see "this is my brother, Tobit" followed a few short sentences later with "have you met my cousin Tobit?"

This endearing term is still used today in some middle eastern and African cultures, though not that exact word. The word was used to describe a cousin or kinfolk that is referred to as "brother".

This interpretation of the meaning of the word "brothers" is supported by several other references in the gospels to these guys. For example, Matthew reports that watching Jesus on the cross from far away, was amongst others, Mary the mother of James and Joses. This cannot be the same Mary, mother of Jesus as John 19:25 has her standing at the foot of the cross. There are other references in Mark and Acts to the people named as Jesus' brothers, but in those they have different fathers, stongly indicating that they were not Jesus' blood-brothers.

But more significantly don't you think it's rather strange for Matthew and Mark to write "Mary the mother of James and Joses" instead of just Mary, Jesus' mother seeing as the gospels are about Jesus and not his brothers?

Also, John reports that when Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved he said to his mother "Behold your son" and to that disciple "Behold your mother". Now if Jesus had all those brothers and sisters it would have been extremely offensive and unusual in a culture where family and kinship ties were totally central for Jesus just to "give" his mother away like that. There's no reason not to think that if Jesus actually had any actual brothers or sisters they would have been quite capable of looking after Mary.

Another point is that if Jesus did have a number of brothers then it didn't take years and years for them to be born. Yet 3-4 years after Jesus' birth Matthew tells us Joseph took the child and his mother back to Egypt. Not children and their mother. Similarly Luke 2 has Jesus at the temple when he was 12 years old. It has his parents returning home while he stayed behind in the temple. Later when they come back to get him, Mary says "your father and I were anxiously looking for you". No mention at all of any siblings. If he was still an only child at 12 then Mary and Joseph must have waited an awful long time to have more kids!

It would certainly complicate matters theologically if Jesus had siblings. What is their status then? Are they sons and daughters of God as well by virtue of being Jesus' half-brothers and sisters? After all, the same womb that conceived by the Holy Ghost bore them as well. It is plainly repugnant to the spirit if not the letter of the gospels to imply that Jesus had siblings. This is a case where ancient Church teaching definitely needs to be invoked to prevent blasphemy and heresy.

These facts show that the question of whether Christ had siblings is not at all settled by the Bible as Protestants insist, and there is nothing contradictory between the Bible and the Catholic dogma of the perpetual virginity. In any case it's only when this controversy comes up that Protestants ever talk about his siblings. For the rest of the time Jesus is treated as if he were an only child.

AnswerIn context the Bible verses mentioned can have only one meaning, since Mary was clearly Jesus' mother and His other siblings were with her. If the generic term was meant then literally all believing men and friends of Jesus would be His brethren and all females in the same relation His sisters, which is the distinction He plainly draws.

Jesus Himself in the gospel passages is clearly and plainly drawing a distinction between the earthly relationship of kinship and the spiritual brotherhood and sisterhood. Any other interpretation makes the dialogue utterly meaningless.

Answer

If you look at the customs of the time and the laws as well, you will find the answer in scripture.

Are you familiar with how Jesus actually died on the cross? When one was crucified, it caused extreme pressure on your chest and made breathing very difficult. You had to push up with your feet, which had a large nail thru them, to breath. This cause extreme pain. You basically suffocated as your strength gave out. With this in mind, one would come to the conclusion that if you wanted to speak, you would make sure that what you said was very important because of what you had to endure in order to speak. Jesus did speak from the cross. He said "woman"- which in that era was a term of endearment, "woman, behold your son", then turning to His beloved diciple, He said "Behold your mother". He then asked John to take her into his home to care for her. If Jesus had brothers, he would not and could not have done this. We would have also heard major dissent from his siblings over him saying this. There was none because there were no siblings. It was the custom and the law for the next oldest male to have taken in the mother to care for her, but Jesus asked John to do this as Jesus was an only child.

The Bible States Jesus Had A Brother Called James.While it may be believed that Jesus didn't have a brother called James, the text of the Bible clearly does not support this. I am referring here, not just to the English translation, but to the Greek itself. So, biblically speaking, He did. The Bible cannot and ought not to be made to say something it doesn't. Answer:

Yes, he had two.

Brothers Named James:

1. James the Less, also called James son of Alphaeus, was the step or foster brother of Jesus.

2. James son of Zebedee, was the spiritual brother of Jesus.

Origins:

1. James the Less was the son of Alphaeus, who was fostered by Joseph and Mary along with his brother Judas dubbed Joses, (see Nativity Gospels for Joses) when Alphaeus was widowed. Jewish custom directed children to be placed with relatives, if under threat from Roman tax authorities taking them from parents for slave labor, because of an unpaid tax of which the relative paid, one possible reason for the fostering; or Alphaeus was just unable to provide care for his sons.

Alphaeus was the son of Clopas, who was the brother of Joseph. James was enrolled as Joseph's son when Jesus was enrolled in 1 AD. Mary brought up the youngsters James and Judas after she became betrothed to Joseph, and was therefore known as the mother of James and Judas dubbed Joses, and of Joseph's natural older children - Justus, Simion, Assia and Lydia - see The History of Joseph the Carpenter.

Mary, the younger sister of the Virgin Mary, married widower Alphaeus in the following years after the Virgin Mary's betrothal to Joseph and then she filled the principle definition of mother for James the Less and Judas - Mark 15:40/47.

[1: first born daughters were often given to serve in the Temple and be brought up there, and second born daughters were sometimes given the same name for the solace of parents.

2: Jewish custom directed that the mother of your brother is your mother and suchlike; hence Mary of Clopas could be noted as the mother of James, and the extended mother of the Joses dubbed for Justus, at Matthew 13:55, and Mark 6:3; although this is overridden by Judas dubbed Joses at Mark 15:40/47.]

2. James the son of Zebedee, was Jesus' comrade or peer, a brother in terms of being alike in character and physical appearance. Hence he was the so called, brother of the Lord.Ref: The History of Joseph the Carpenter; Infancy Gospels; Intertestamental Gospels; O.T.- Deuteronomy; N.T.; Ancient Authorities.

Answer 3

Jesus had a brother named Jude. He authored the book of Jude, which is the 2nd to last book in the Bible. Jude is a form of Judas or Judah. He is mentioned in Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:55. This, of course, is a completely different person than the one who betrayed Him.

Answer 4

Yes. The James that Jesus was brought up with, was his foster brother. Mary on arrival at Joseph's house cared for James and reconciled him for the recent loss of his natural mother. Hence, he was quite young, but old enough to sorrow for his loss.

Likely he was about, or at least 2 years old.With the betrothal period and pregnancy term, James was likely to have been about 5 years older than Jesus.

Ref: The History of Joseph the Carpenter.

Another answer:The New Testament answer is NO. Jesus had no "older brother."

Answer 5

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We can not be entirely certain that James was really the brother of Jesus. Paul, in his epistles, writes of James as the brother of Jesus, but 'brother' could have been a title used in the Jerusalem Church for its supreme leader, who at the time was called James.

Later, the Gospel of Mark talks of James (and Joses, Juda and Simon) as the biological brother of Jesus, but a few scholars have raised questions as to whether some of the material in Mark (and through Mark, the other gospels) was borrowed from the epistles. If so, the author of Mark was relying on Paul's Epistle to the Galatians and interpreting the reference literally.

Answer 6

His brother's name was James. He even has his own book in the New Testament.

Answer 7

James was the younger brother of Jesus. Mary had no children before Jesus was born.

Answer 8

Why of coarse!

Answer 9

no

Answer 10

No