Jesus' siblings- The Catholic vs. Protestant Debate (Part One)

Roman Catholics as a rule have long that Jesus Christ did not have any siblings. Protestants, on the other hand, typically claim the opposite.

Obviously, one of these groups has to be wrong and a look at our earliest available sources and the terminology of the New Testament should lead us to conclude He did in fact have siblings.

There are many reasons to conclude that Jesus had siblings, as these siblings are clearly mentioned in the Gospels in Mark 6:3 and Matthew 13:54-56. These passages reveal to us that Jesus had four brothers and at least two sisters.

The Gospels of Mark, Matthew and Luke each share a story about Jesus' mother and brothers coming to see Him.

Additionally, the apostle Paul indicates that he met with Cephas (Simon Peter) and James in Jerusalem (Galatians 1:18-20) within a few years of his conversion. In this passage, James is referred to as "the brother of the Lord."

While it is true Christians sometimes referred to each other as brothers and sisters, the meaning of the word is clear in Paul's epistle. Paul refers to James as the brother of the Lord to distinguish him from Peter and the other apostles, who Paul notes were not in attendance. Since Peter and the other apostles were certainly "brothers" in the sense that they believed in Jesus, the word could not mean that only James was a believer in Jesus.

Therefore, Paul is referring to Jesus' actual brother, James, who was one of the "pillars" of the early church (Galatians, chapter 2).

Lastly, the historian Flavius Josephus almost certainly referred to James, the brother of Jesus. The historian noted in "Antiquities of the Jews" that James, "the brother of Jesus, who was called the Christ," and other men were wrongly put to death by stoning in 62 AD by the corrupt high priest, Ananus. The deaths of this group of men was met with anger and protest and Ananus was desposed of his position.

Based on this evidence, why would Catholics, or anyone for that matter, argue Jesus did not have siblings? Arguments against Jesus having siblings will be explored in the next post.