{"id":19346,"date":"2009-07-01T20:52:00","date_gmt":"2009-07-02T01:52:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=19346"},"modified":"2024-11-25T20:12:08","modified_gmt":"2024-11-26T02:12:08","slug":"if-jesus-had-brothers-and-sisters-why-did-he-give-the-responsibility-of-mary-to-his-disciple-john","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-jesus-had-brothers-and-sisters-why-did-he-give-the-responsibility-of-mary-to-his-disciple-john\/","title":{"rendered":"If Jesus had brothers and sisters, why did he give the responsibility of Mary to his disciple John?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Since Jesus had brothers and sisters (Mark 6:3), why would the disciple John be given apparent responsibility for Mary, the mother of Jesus in John 19:25-27?\u00a0 Wouldn’t it seem better for Mary to be cared for by her own children?\u00a0 This would be particularly so because two of them, James and Jude, apparently wrote books of the Bible. The authors of the epistles of James and Jude are both reported to have been half brothers of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

The simple answer is that Jesus’ brothers and sisters were not there when Jesus was crucified. While Jesus was alive, his siblings did not believe he was the Christ. “For even His brothers did not believe in Him<\/em>” (John 7:5).<\/p>\n

At the end of his life, Jesus wanted his mother cared for by someone he could trust, so he placed her care in the hands of the disciple whom he loved, who also was present at his death. “Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home<\/em>” (John 19:25-27). As the eldest son in the family, Jesus fulfilled his duty to his parent.<\/p>\n

I can imagine that Jesus’ brothers felt slighted by his choice. But it remains a fact that Mary believed in Jesus and they did not. Jesus’ choice was both logical and practical.<\/p>\n

It is true that later, one of Jesus’ brothers, James, did become a Christian and a leading member in the church (Galatians 1:19). But this doesn’t change what took place at the cross.<\/p>\n

Neither author of James or Jude claims to be the Lord’s brother. The author of Jude does mention that he has a brother named James. The problem is that there are a number of James and Judes mentioned in the Bible, and there are two sets of possible brothers who are likely to have been the authors of the two books. See: “Can you help me understand who were the people with similar names?<\/a>“<\/p>\n\t

Response:<\/h2>\n

In my humble opinion that’s a great answer. Thanks!<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Since Jesus had brothers and sisters (Mark 6:3), why would the disciple John be given apparent responsibility for Mary, the mother of Jesus in John 19:25-27?\u00a0 Wouldn’t it seem better for Mary to be cared for by her own children?\u00a0 This would be particularly so because two of them, James and Jude, apparently wrote…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[73,278],"class_list":["post-19346","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-jesus","tag-mary"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":40087,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-jesus-have-brothers\/","url_meta":{"origin":19346,"position":0},"title":"Did Jesus have brothers?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 4, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Jeff! Did Jesus have brothers? How can we explain that a word such as \"wine\" has so many meanings depending on the context and root of the word in Greek, but that the word \"brother\" means just that? I ask because some denominational churches teach that when the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":13320,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/can-you-help-me-understand-who-were-the-people-with-similar-names\/","url_meta":{"origin":19346,"position":1},"title":"Can you help me understand who were the people with similar names?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 24, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Some articles on the net are so confusing and misguiding that a layman finds it hard to understand or come to a conclusion about who is who. Will you please explain and guide me if these following honorable characters are different or the same? {A} John the Apostle, Evangelist,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":91668,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-brothers-of-jesus-did-not-believe\/","url_meta":{"origin":19346,"position":2},"title":"The Brothers of Jesus Did Not Believe","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 30, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Hugh DeLong This title is open to some misunderstanding - at the time that this interaction took place, they did not believe. We are not explicitly told why, but from the context, several things are possible. This one is recognized as a 'first class' conditional sentence which, from the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":40398,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-is-it-so-important-to-you-that-mary-had-other-children-what-difference-does-it-make\/","url_meta":{"origin":19346,"position":3},"title":"Why is it so important to you that Mary had other children? What difference does it make?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 23, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have always been puzzled why the members of the church of Christ are so adamant that Mary, the mother of Jesus, had additional children with her husband, Joseph. I know the Catholic teaching is that Mary was a perpetual virgin; why does it matter to the church of\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51478,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/whos-who-of-the-new-testament\/","url_meta":{"origin":19346,"position":4},"title":"Who’s Who of the New Testament","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 17, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Acts 9:1-8 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Reading some parts of the New Testament becomes difficult because several people have the same name. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Keeping them straight is sometimes worse than a logic puzzle \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In our society we use multiple names with a surname as an attempt to distinguish people\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Audio"","block_context":{"text":"Audio","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/audio\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":1359,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-glorification-of-mary\/","url_meta":{"origin":19346,"position":5},"title":"The Glorification of Mary","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 1, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Text: \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A notable difference between Roman Catholicism and other denominations is the veneration of Mary \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0It is not a question of whether Mary existed or even her role in the birth of Jesus. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The question more revolves around what honor Mary deserves. II.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Was Mary sinless? \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0The Catholics teach that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19346","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=19346"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19346\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=19346"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=19346"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=19346"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}