Growing up, I prayed the Apostle’s Creed every week at Mass:

I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Creator of heaven and earth, and in Jesus Christ, His only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died and was buried; He descended into hell; on the third day He rose again from the dead; He ascended into heaven, and is seated at the right hand of God the Father Almighty; from there He will come to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Holy Catholic Church, the communion of Saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.

I believed Jesus to be born of the Virgin Mary. I believed Him to be Mary’s only son.

But when I began to read and study the Bible in earnest, I discovered that Jesus did have siblings. The Bible even mentions His brothers by name:

Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas (Matthew 13:55, NIV)?

Why did I not know this as a young Catholic student?

The Catholic Church believes in the perpetual virginity of Mary — that she was a virgin “before, during and after” the birth of Jesus.

As a child, I accepted this. However, as a born again believer, I test what I’ve been taught against the truth of scripture. And this claim does not fit with what I’ve discovered in the Bible.

Jesus’ brothers are mentioned many times.

After the family attended a wedding in Cana, they went to Capernaum:

After this he went down to Capernaum with his mother and brothers and his disciples. There they stayed for a few days (John 2:12, NIV).

His brothers did not believe Jesus to be the Christ:

Jesus’ brothers said to him, “Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world.” For even his own brothers did not believe in him (John 7:3–5, NIV).

Jesus’ brothers became His followers after His death and resurrection:

When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers (Acts 1:13–14, NIV).

Paul wrote about the rights of believers:

Don’t we have the right to take a believing wife along with us, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas (1 Corinthians 9:5, NIV).

Paul wrote about visiting Peter and James:

Then after three years, I went up to Jerusalem to get acquainted with Cephas and stayed with him fifteen days. I saw none of the other apostles — only James, the Lord’s brother (Galatians 1:18–19, NIV).

The Catholic Church argues these statements are metaphorical. They believe “brother” refers to cousin. However, in each instance, the specific Greek word for “brother” is used, not the Greek word for “cousin.”

From my study, I believe Jesus had siblings. However, regardless of whether He did or not, I feel blessed to be part of the family of God.

While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”

He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:46–50, NIV).

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