Articles
Jesus' Family
Think about Jesus’ family.
Physical Family
Jesus’ mother was Mary. She was likely from the tribe of Judah, and she was somehow related to Elizabeth, John the Baptist’s mother (Luke 1:36). Mary conceived Jesus while she was still a virgin (Luke 1:34-35). Her willingness to do so is a great compliment to her faith and humility. She was evidently poor (Luke 2:22-24; cf. Leviticus 12:8).
After Jesus’ birth the Bible mentions Mary only on a few occasions: when she and Joseph took Jesus to Jerusalem when He was twelve (Luke 2:41-51), at a wedding in Cana where Jesus worked His first miracle (John 2:1-11), once when she visited Jesus in Galilee (Matthew 12:46-50; Mark 3:31-35; Luke 8:19-21), at the cross (John 19:25-27), and in a gathering of disciples following Jesus’ resurrection (Acts 1:12-14).
Jesus’ step-father was Joseph. He was of the tribe of Judah (Matthew 1:16) and was a righteous man (v. 19). He was betrothed to Mary when Jesus was born, but they had not yet come together. He therefore sought to put her away when he learned she was pregnant, but when an angel informed him of the truth he proceeded with the marriage plans as instructed (Matthew 1:18-25). Joseph was a carpenter (Matthew 13:55). He is not mentioned after the visit to Jerusalem when Jesus was twelve. That, coupled with Jesus’ instructions about Mary’s care (John 19:25-27), suggests Joseph died before Jesus’ public ministry.
Jesus also had brothers and sisters (Matthew 13:55; Mark 3:31; 6:3), some of whom are named: James, Joseph, Simon, Judas. Early on they did not believe in Jesus (John 7:5), but later they did (Galatians 1:19; cf. Jude 1:1).
Spiritual Family
When Jesus’ physical family came to visit Him in Galilee, He viewed the crowd listening to Him preach and said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:34-35).
Jesus is uniquely God’s Son, but God wants us all to be His children. His plan is for us to be adopted into His family so we can share the inheritance with Christ (Romans 8:15-17). Jesus died for us so that He could share with us!
God’s family is the church (1 Timothy 3:15), which is Christ’s body (Colossians 1:18). God adds us to that body when by faith we repent and are baptized for the forgiveness of sins (Acts 2:38-41, 47). Salvation, church membership, and discipleship all go hand-in-hand. When we are conformed to the image of Jesus—both now and in eternity—it makes Him the firstborn among many brethren (Romans 8:29). Are you in Jesus’ family?
