CHAPTER FOUR

Who Were the Brothers of Jesus

This controversy has brewed between Catholics and non-Catholics for centuries. The following explanation is not an argument for anyone to become Catholic or non-Catholic. What this is, is an honest look at what the Scriptures say concerning what is labeled as the brothers of Yeshua (Jesus) in Matthew 12:47.

The word for brother is used for relatives up to, and including cousins in the Hebrew language. Therefore, it would behoove us to check other Scriptures, which relate to the above Scripture to show us just which brothers, the above Scripture is talking about.

First, let’s look at a couple of facts which are not really well known within the Church walls of today. This will help us to figure out just which brothers Matthew 12:47 is talking about.
The Virgin Mary had a sister who had the same name as her. She also was named Mary. We find this to be true in John 19:25, “Now there stood by the cross of Yeshua (Jesus), His mother, AND HIS MOTHER’S SISTER, MARY, the wife of Cleophas…”

The above Scripture also tells us whom the Virgin Mary’s sister had married. She had married a man named Cleophas. This becomes very important to our understanding of just who the brothers of Yeshua (Jesus) mentioned in Matthew 12:47 actually were. But let us continue on with this mystery.

Now this is where you will either accept the interpretation within these pages, or reject it according to your maturity and ability to accept truth. John 19:25 names three women at the foot of the cross. All three were named Mary.

Now if we look at Mark 15:40, “There were also women looking afar off (from the cross): among whom was Mary Magdalene, AND MARY THE MOTHER OF JAMES THE LESS (Why mention James as being the less; more on this in a minute), AND OF JOSES, AND SALOME;…”

Now if Mark 15:40 were talking about the Virgin Mary, it would have included Jesus as one of her sons. But this is not the case here. So we see that those who are commonly called Jesus’ brothers within the Scriptures, were those whose names were those of the Mary who had married Cleophas, and were in fact Yeshua’s cousins.

But there are yet other Scriptures, which will verify this even more. Matthew 27:55-56, “And many women were there (at the cross), beholding from afar off; which followed Yeshua (Jesus) from Galilee, ministering unto Him:

Among which was Mary Magdelene, and Mary the mother of James and Joses (remember, this is not the Virgin Mary), AND (not another woman, but rather a continuation of who the above Mary was also the mother of); the mother of ZEBEDEE’S children (why mention who her husband was if we are not to understand who her husband was)?”
Mary’s sister had been married twice. She was first the mother of Zebedee’s Children, and then when he died, became the mother of James the lesser, Joses, and Salome, with her present husband, Cleophas.

How can I be sure that this is the correct way to view these Scriptures? Because this is why the Scriptures tell us that Mary was the mother of JAMES THE LESSER. She had named one of her children with her new husband Cleophas, after her first child James who had become an apostle of Yeshua and left her, her husband having already died sometime earlier, long before Yeshua chose James and John to be His disciples. Notice that the Scriptures tell us that Mary was the mother of James and Joses, and (as well as) the mother of Zebedee’s children.

Who was Zebedee? Just look at the second pair of brothers that Yeshua called to be His disciples. Matthew 4:21, “And going on from there, He (Yeshua) saw two brethren, James (the greater, since he was Mary’s first born son whom she had named James, who was taken by Yeshua to be His desciple), the SON OF ZEBEDEE, and John his brother.

This is why Scripture is clear about Mary’s (the virgin Mary’s sister) other son named James as being the lesser or younger of her two sons named James. She had also named her next son who was fathered by Cleophas, James. But Scripture calls him James the lesser or younger brother of the Apostle James, or to put it another way, “James junior.”

Now do you understand why James the brother of Yeshua (Jesus), who became a powerful evangelist was NOT Yeshua’s brother but rather his cousin? Mary remained a virgin throughout her life.
But this will not make sense to you unless you understand the custom of those days concerning virgins. In those days in Israel, the custom was that a woman who had dedicated her life to God as a virgin, would take a husband who would be a husband to her in every way, except having intercourse with her.

He basically became her caretaker and defender. He would defend her virginity to make sure that no one could take her virginity away from her by force. She in return, would cook, clean house, and provide companionship without intercourse being part of that companionship. Joseph’s job would be to make sure no one took advantage of Mary so she could keep her vow of chastity!
This then, explains why when Joseph found out that Mary was with child, he decided to put her away (divorce her) quietly. If they had actually been married in the conventional contract of marriage, the law would have required him to stone her. This was the penalty for adultery.
But since this was a different type of marriage, it did not include him being intimate with her. He knew from the beginning that he was never going to take her virginity, which she had already given to God.

So when he found out that she was with child, it wasn’t as if she had done him an injustice. To Joseph, it was as if she had broken her vow of celibacy. This is why he felt no compulsion to stone her.

In Joseph’s mind, she had done an injustice to God and he would let God decide what to do to her. This is why he didn’t immediately call for her to be stoned. He was relying on God to make the decision about what to do with her.

This has been an excerpt from my latest ebook.

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Tag der Veröffentlichung: 07.07.2012

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