On The O’Reilly Factor a few days ago, Bill
O’Reilly read an email a viewer had submitted of scripture that named the
brothers of Jesus. Mr. O’Reilly emphatically replied that he and Martin Dugard
had determined through their research that Jewish families during Jesus’ time lived
in communal homes and every boy in the home was considered a brother.
Mr. O’Reilly’s research
is correct, but he fails to mention that many Jews also lived in single family
homes. Especially if the father worked in a carpentry shop, as Joseph would
have done. In those days, a carpenter shop was often located in the front of a dwelling,
while the family lived in rooms behind the shop. Instead of multiple families,
the larger communal homes were usually inhabited by many generations of one
family. Would cousins, uncles, fathers and grandfathers be considered brothers?
The only way to uncover
anything about Jesus’ life between the time He returned from Egypt until He
began His ministry at the age of thirty is through research and the study of
historic customs. The only scriptural insight into those years is the incident when
Jesus was twelve years old. The next verse is the only scripture mentioning the
eighteen silent years between the age of twelve and thirty. Luke 2:51 states,
“He went down to Nazareth with them and was obedient to them. But his mother
treasured all these things in her heart and Jesus grew in wisdom and stature
and in favor with God and men.”
This is probably
the most powerful, totally ignored verse in the entire New Testament. This
scripture implies Jesus lived a very normal, well-disciplined earthly life for
eighteen years. He was not a rebel as some chose to assume, because rebels do
not grow in favor with God or man.
I am not trying to
convince anyone that my research is more accurate than anyone else’s, but to
present some facts that may suggest a different conclusion. After years of
research, I have discovered that scripture holds the answers I need if I am
willing to spend the time digging deeper into what is actually written. Using
scripture, I would like to offer a different theory from Mr. O’Reilly’s.
Matthew 13:55
asks, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t
his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us?” If
Jesus lived in a communal environment where everyone is considered one big
family and all the boys are brothers wouldn’t the other women in that community
also be considered Jesus’ mother?
Matthew clearly recognizes Jesus’ mother and His brothers by name. In
this scripture, Matthew gives the same personal relationship to these four men
and sisters as he does Jesus’ mother, Mary, whom we know is Jesus’ biological
mother.
In Mark 6:3, the question
is again asked, “Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and brother of
James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” Mark also
recognizes this same personal relationship with the mother and the brothers and
sisters.
We also know
Joseph and Mary had sexual relations after Jesus was born. Matthew 1:25 clearly
states, “But he (Joseph) had no union with her (Mary) until she gave birth to a
son.” Every word of the scripture is God-breathed so if God didn’t intend for
them to have intimate union, why would Matthew add “until she gave birth to a
son” to his statement.
Mary was a young
healthy girl, and Joseph was a healthy young man. They had an intimate
relationship. The only means of birth control was natural. The scripture offers
no indication that other children were not conceived during their sexual
encounters. If fact, scripture references and human behavior suggest the
opposite result.
The fact that
scripture states Jesus grew in wisdom and stature and in favor with God and man
implies Jesus was not an only child. How many only children do you know who grow
in favor with God and man? His family was part of His life experience. Jesus
had such an in-depth understanding of the trials and tribulations of earthly
life because He was exposed to everyday life including relationships between siblings
and cousins.
Luke 3:23 states,
“Jesus was the son, so it was thought, of Joseph”. God wanted people to think
Jesus was the son of Joseph until the time came for God’s plan to be fulfilled.
He did not want Jesus to stand out as being different in any way. With two
healthy earthly parents, would it have been unusual for Jesus to be an only
child?
The bottom line, as
Mr. O’Reilly would say, I cannot disprove Bill O’Reilly’s assumption, but
neither can he disprove mine. The fact that only four men were specifically
mentioned as Jesus’ brothers by two of Jesus’ closest friends implies their
relationship was more than a communal friend. And because they were mentioned
in the same context as His mother, Mary, perhaps these men were indeed his half-brothers
who shared the same mother and the same earthly father, but only Jesus had a heavenly
Father. Some day we will know with certainty the final answer to all our
questions. Until then, we can only make an informed decision based on research
and information God provides through the scripture.
