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“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?” (Matthew 13:55)
Mainstream Christianity is divided on the understanding of this verse and its parallel in Mark 6:3. Roman Catholics and Orthodox Christians, as well as some Anglicans and Lutherans, believe the brothers and sisters mentioned were in fact Jesus’ cousins, or children of Joseph by a former marriage, and that Mary remained a virgin throughout her life. The main argument for this view is that the Greek word adelphos used in this scripture can also sometimes be used in a broader sense meaning step-siblings or cousins.
Most Protestants believe that because there is no indication in scripture of this former marriage, and for several other reasons, it is better to understand sisters and brothers as literal siblings. They argue that although adelphos can sometimes mean “cousin,” its normal use is “brother,” and the actual word for “cousin” in Greek (anepsios) is never used of any of Jesus’ family members. If the children mentioned as being with Mary in Matthew 13:55 were from a former marriage of Joseph, those brothers and sisters are not mentioned when Mary and Joseph went to Bethlehem, or to Egypt, or returned to Nazareth.
Another argument sometimes proposed in this context is that in three of the Gospels, when Jesus is told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you,” he replied: “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it” (Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21). This is sometimes said to show that Jesus’ brothers and sisters were just disciples, but it seems clear that these scriptures are speaking metaphorically because the apostle John wrote that Jesus “… went down to Capernaum with his mother, his brothers, and his disciples …” (John 2:12), and here Jesus’ actual family members are clearly distinguished from his disciples.
A final issue to consider is that Protestants believe other scriptures such as Matthew 1:25 which says of Joseph, “ But he did not consummate their marriage until she gave birth to a son…” and Luke 2:7 which says of Mary: “and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son” indicate Jesus’ brothers and sisters were physical siblings. By the second century, this was the position of some members of the early Church such as Tertullian (c. AD 160 – c. 225), whereas others believed in the perpetual virginity of Mary.
Yet ultimately far more important than any theological or historical discussion of whether Jesus did have siblings is the fact that the Son of God now does have brothers and sisters. The Book of Hebrews tells us that we who follow Jesus since His resurrection become his brothers and sisters in the family of God: “Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. He says, ‘I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters…’” (Hebrews 2:11-12). It is clear that those with whom we share fellowship in Christ are now His brothers and sisters, as well as ours.
Have you ever noticed, when reading the Gospels, how often we are told that Jesus noticed something, saw something? We are frequently told that he observed those around him: “Seeing the woman…,” “seeing the man …,” “seeing the people…,” “seeing their faith …,”–even noticing small details of people’s expressions: “seeing he had become sad…” (Luke 18:24).
It is clear that Jesus was observant, and although his eyes took in no more than those of others, it is clear that rather than just looking at people Jesus saw them in a way that others did not – it is as if he thought about everyone he saw. Do we have that kind of focus, or do we go through each day so busy and absorbed in our own lives that we are conscious of others, but not clearly seeing them in focus? The truth is, we can’t love without looking – seeing – comprehending. Perhaps part of the answer is that if we see ourselves as the servants of others, we will see them differently – as Christ did. The apostle Paul put it this way: “In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who … made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant…” (Philippians 2:5-7). Think of an attentive waiter in a fine restaurant, or a rich person’s personal servant. A servant certainly watches those he is responsible for – staying aware and looking out for any need that may occur. And a person’s servant doesn’t just stop at noticing the need – the servant obviously acts swiftly to take care of it.
That’s what the Gospels show was the natural corollary of Jesus seeing people the way he did – he didn’t stop at seeing them, he immediately responded to what he saw: “seeing the woman he said …,” “seeing their faith he [healed]…,” “seeing the crowd he [asked] ‘Where are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?’” (John 6:5). Jesus saw and then acted with compassion according to what he saw. So seeing people in a focused way was only the first half of what he accomplished with his observant attitude. Always, the seeing led to acting in some manner in order to help those who needed help.
We too can accomplish so much more when we train our minds to really see the people around us, to focus on them and to ask ourselves what do they need and is there a way we can serve them. It’s not just about giving physical things; it’s just as much about seeing people’s emotional and spiritual needs. But it takes a kind of awakening of the eyes to see like that – we won’t do it unless we think about doing it. Perhaps that’s part of what the prophet Isaiah meant when he wrote: “Then the eyes of those who see will no longer be closed…” (Isaiah 32:3). He wasn’t talking about the blind, but those who see coming to really see. That may primarily mean coming to see spiritual truth, of course, but it can also mean coming to see others as we should see them – through the eyes of a servant.
It’s clear that we have entered the age of the infographic. So it makes sense that the publishers of the New International version of the Bible have now brought out the NIV Quickview Bible which (usually) effectively summarizes many aspects of the Biblical narrative into easily accessible and interesting infographics.
The infographic we look at here, “Teachings of Jesus in the Gospels,” provides a good example of the value of this kind of presentation for rapidly conveying important data. The first thing we notice in this graph is the huge preponderance of Christ’s teachings regarding “Spiritual Life” – far greater in number than even those on the Kingdom of God. Yet herein lies a problem in that we don’t know what criteria the producer of graphics of this nature utilized in dividing the verses on these topics – many of which overlap. For example, many of the verses where Jesus is speaking about “Spiritual Life” are clearly in the context of what has been called “Kingdom Living” – living according to the principles of the Kingdom of God in this life now (see our article The Kingdom of God: Living Tomorrow Today), and when this is taken fully into account, the balance between the “Kingdom of God” and “Spiritual Life” categories might be quite different. Further, many of the verses regarding “Last days and judgment” may actually be relevant to the Kingdom of God.
On the other hand, the graphic is successful in showing us several things. Even if we ignore possible or probable overlaps, we can still see the centrality of some of these great themes of Jesus’ teaching; and some – such as marriage and family – may come as a surprise.
As with any other infographic, we must always ask ourselves what other ways the pie could have been sliced. For example, if we made a category for “Prophetic statements,” it would have to include many of those in the “Kingdom of God” category, as well as all those from the “Jesus’ death and resurrection” and “Last days and judgment” categories. As such, at as many as 480 verses, it would clearly become the second largest category. But we can do some of this re-cutting of the pie by simply adding relevant categories to form new ones. If we are willing to take the time to do that, graphs of this type become even more significant.
Most infographics are also limited in the ability they give us to distinguish between real and apparent significance. I would presume that the Parable of the Lost Coin is included in the section on “Money and Treasure,” but if we read that parable we find it is not about money per se, it just uses money as a metaphor for something else. In cases like this we need to be careful that we do not think that Jesus put more stress on the importance of money than he really did – something an infographic can’t really show us.
Ultimately, then, by their very nature, infographics are always going to be limited in the degree that they can be specific about details, but the one we have chosen here represents particularly difficult data to present. The graph still shows us interesting and important things, however, and if we think about it, we can see just a little bit more clearly what Jesus talked about.
Most of us know what it feels like to finally accomplish something we have worked toward for a long time: a goal, a dream, a project to which we have dedicated time and energy. Even with small scale things it can be a triumphant feeling. The larger the accomplishment, the greater the triumph, thankfulness and deep happiness that come with accomplished goals.
This ties to the spring season of the year in which we celebrate the supreme sacrifice of the Son of God on behalf of humanity. That had surely been a project a long time in the planning, and it had been the thirty-five or more patient years of the physical life of Jesus (see our last blog post) in the actual making: growing, building, preparing, working toward the eventual goal of the sacrifice itself.
Meditating on the sacrificial death of Christ is a somber and heart-wrenching thing – as it doubtless should be – but I cannot help but believe that even as he perished in excruciating pain, there was for the Son of God a feeling of triumph and thankfulness at the very end. He had done it – successfully accomplished the very reason for his human life – something that would touch all other human lives throughout all time. We know that, leading up to that moment, because of the human sin he had taken upon himself, he was cut off from the very One who had brought him thus far, as is seen in his almost final words “Why have you forsaken me?” (Mark 15:34 – and see Psalm 22:1). But he had to have known that he and the Father had succeeded.
It is in that way I believe the very last words of Jesus – three small words, in English translation, spoken directly before he died – were the most triumphant words spoken to that point in history: “It is finished!” (John 19:30). To that point in time no single event had accomplished so much good or incorporated such a victory. Those had to have been the three most triumphant words ever spoken – until just a few days later, when they were replaced by three yet more triumphant words: “He has risen” (Matthew 28:6).
This is one of those questions where many Christians believe they know the answer, but may not. Most people who know the Bible will answer that Christ died around the age of 33 or 33 and a half. But careful reading of the Gospel accounts shows this to be unlikely. The facts are very nicely summarized in an article by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Justin Taylor published in Christianity Today this week – as this brief extract shows:
“The common assertion seems reasonable that if Jesus “began his ministry” when he “was about thirty years of age” (Luke 3:23) and engaged in a three-year ministry … then he was 33 years old at the time of his death. However, virtually no scholar believes Jesus was actually 33 when he died. Jesus was born before Herod the Great issued the decree to execute “all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under” (Matt. 2:16, ESV) and before Herod died in the spring of 4 B.C. If Jesus was born in the fall of 5 or 6 B.C., and if we remember that we don’t count the “0” between B.C. and A.D., then Jesus would have been 37 or 38 years old when he died in the spring of A.D. 33 (as we believe is most likely). Even if Jesus died in the year A.D. 30 (the only serious alternative date), he would have been 34 or 35, not 33 years old.”
As the Christianity Today article points out, no major doctrine is affected by this common misconception, but it is something that is better to understand in speaking of Jesus’ life and in telling the story to others. You can read the CT articlehere.
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