Part (2) two BUT THE NEW TESTAMENT WAS WRITTEN IN GREEK, WHICH DOES HAVE A WORD FOR COUSIN. This is a bit of a red-herring for two reasons. Firstly, there is evidence from the Early Church Fathers that the Book of Matthew, at least, was originally written in Aramaic, and so was translated into Greek. Secondly, we know that the people of Palestine in Jesuss time spoke in Aramaic, and it is therefore in Aramaic in which the oral stories which were later written down to form the Gospels, were transmitted. So it is likely that the Aramaic word brother, meaning not only sibling, but any kinsman, was translated into the Greek word brother, which has the tighter meaning of sibling only. This is clearly what has happened in Genesis 14.14 above. SO WHO WERE THESE BROTHERS OF JESUS? A. While James and Joses are mentioned as Jesuss brothers in Matthew 13:55, it is made clear in Mathew 27:56 and Mark 15:40 that their mother was another Mary. Matthew 27:56 Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, and the mother of Zebedees sons. This other Mary at the Cross, is revealed in John 19:25 to be the wife of Cleophas. Mary of Cleophas is therefore revealed as the mother of two of Jesuss so-called brothers, James and Joses. B. In John 19:25, the original Greek states. But by he cross of Jesus were the Mother of Him AND the sister of the Mother of Him, Mary the wife of Cleopas AND Mary the Magdalene. The precise positioning of the ANDs makes it clear that Mary the Wife of Cleopas, is also referred to as the Virgin Marys sister. Since we know no-one has two daughters and calls them BOTH Mary, we know that sister here does not mean sister. The same would apply to brother with reference to Jesus. C. In the introduction to the Book of Jude, Jude introduces himself as: Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ, and a brother of James. If Jude/Judas were truly the brother of Jesus, why wouldnt he say so? He identifies himself in his letter as brother of James, but significantly as servant of Jesus. To have identified himself as Jesuss blood brother would have added enormous weight to his epistle, but he doesnt so identify himself here. We know the reason, because James and Joseph have already been revealed to be sons of the other Mary in Matthew 27 and Mark 15. Judas then must also be a son of this other Mary. Mary wife of Cleophas. So another of Jesuss so-called brothers is eliminated. D. James Brother of Jesus is referred to as one of the APOSTLES by Paul in Galatians 1:19. . We know that neither of the Apostles named James was actually a Son of Mary. So James, brother of Jesus cannot be a Son of Mary. He is actually James, Son of Alphaeus (thought to be another form of Cleophas)! James is a kinsman of Jesus, but not a sibling. A few more points: In Luke 2:41-51, the twelve-year-oldJesus goes missing on a trip to Jerusalem, and is only found three days later in the temple. Yet in all this time no mention at all is made of any other children, even though the entire family made the journey together. If all the people mentioned in Matthew were actually surviving children of Mary, she would have had at least seven children younger than Jesus to look after! In fact both Mary and Joseph race back to Jerusalem to find him, through country filled with bandits, something they could not have done if there had been babies and other young children in need of care! The people of Nazareth refer to Jesus as the son of Mary (Mark 6:3), not as a son of Mary Finally, if James and Joseph, Simon and Jude, were children of Mary, and if Jesus had even more brothers and sisters, why did Jesus commit His Mother to the care of St. John at His death?
Posted on: Thu, 13 Mar 2014 16:12:43 +0000
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