JESUS: HIS FAMILY AND LACK OF HOLY AWE ¹

 Beth Moshe

Jesus, whose birth name was [could have been] Jeshua ben Joseph, was the firstborn in a large family of blood brothers and sisters. His mother Mary or Miriam, therefore was NOT an eternal virgin. Joseph, his father, was known by people to be Jesus' father of heritage and a carpenter. Four brothers’ names are given, and he had at least three sisters. The word "brethren" designates his blood brothers, not his disciples. His family was not far from him during his life. We are given no information about Jesus from age 12 until about age 30, when his public ministry began which lasted only 1-3 years. 

Matthew 1:25 (Luke 2:7), "...till she had brought forth her firstborn son: and he called his name JESUS.

John 6:42 (John 1:45) (Luke 4:22), "... Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? ..."

Matthew 13:55-56 (mark 6:3), "Is not this the carpenter's son? is not his mother called Mary? and his brethren, James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?..."

John 2:12, "... he, and his mother, and his brethren, and his disciples..."

Luke 8:19-20 (Matthew 23:46-47) (Mark 3:31-32), "Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press. And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee."

Now that we have seen Jesus' family background, let's progress to the following inquiry of importance. Shouldn't a truly startling revelation, of a nature beyond anything imaginable, of a heavenly dimension, be forever influencing the life of the human being who received and is affected by this revelation? Surely, yes. Why, then, is the relationship of Jesus and his mother so lacking in awe and reverence? 

Luke 1:26-35 relates a remarkable story of Mary and the angel Gabriel. Mary is told by the angel that without knowing a man, but with God's intervention alone, she would conceive and give birth to a child. This child, she is told, is to be the messiah. Is it not a dumbfounding scene:--angel--talking--virgin birth--messiah child? In Luke 2:7, 11 the birth occurs with Joseph there. Shepherds are told by an angel that it is the messiah who is born and is lying in a manger. The story in Matthew 2:1-2, 11 has the wise men of the east following a star to find the newborn King of the Jews, the messiah. They find him in a house, not a manger, with Mary and worship him. Even Elizabeth, Mary's cousin, knew of the supposed miraculous event. For in Luke 1:42-43 we read, "... Blessed art thou (Mary) among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. And whence is this to  me, that the mother of my Lord should come to me?" Joseph also knew of the New testament's miracle because in Matthew 1:20-21 an angel appeared to him in a dream telling him. 

Certainly Mary and those around her were aware of the mind-boggling occurrence. She understood the startling miracle which she was told because she exclaims in Luke 1:48-49, "... for, behold, from henceforth all generations shall call me blessed. For he that is mighty (God) hath done to me great things..." Think. Shouldn't her relationship to Jesus have been one of sublime mutual respect and awe in light of all this amazing background? Shouldn't Jesus' whole family have been his first followers? Yet, they were not. If there were truth to this extraordinary story of his birth, there would necessarily be a tremendous continual reverence between Jesus and Mary. Yet there was not. The New Testament reports quite the contrary, which brings a heavy cloud of doubt to the entire supposed miraculous event. Let's present here how far from sublimely reverent their relationship was, indeed how disrespectful. 

Matthew 12:46-50 (Mark 3:31-35) (Luke 8:19-21). "While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."

COMMENT: His mother came to talk to him, but he did not go to her. For any son this would be disrespectful. For Jesus, whose mother reportedly bore him through the unique intervention of God, this is astonishingly disrespectful. Moreover, Jesus did not speak of his mother in a loving manner, but curtly brushed her aside, together with brothers. Jesus certainly could have made the point, that all who do God's will are important, without being disrespectful and disparaging his mother. How could he speak of his mother, Mary, in such a manner if she were the holy virgin mother of xianity? 

Luke 11:27-28, "... a certain woman ... said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked. But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it."

COMMENT: Here he reiterates his belief that those who do God's will are the blessed of this world. This is pure Judaism! This is Jesus the Jew talking. But, in regard to the point here, in addition to his lack of respect for Mary, he evidently denies the supposed blessed state of his mother. Thus he denies the exclamation of Mary in Luke 1:48, wherein she says all generations shall call her blessed. Where is the expected reverence? 

John 2:4, "Jesus saith unto her, Woman, what have I to do with thee?..."

COMMENT: This passage is also indicative of the shocking attitude of Jesus to Mary. She is his mother, yet he coldly call her "woman" and separates himself from her. In fact, never in the New Testament does Jesus use any endearing tern for his mother. Not only is there a lack of reverence, but there is also a strange lack of simple affection. 

John 19:26-27, "When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."

COMMENT: Here we have John's description of Jesus' crucifixion, where Jesus is dying and sees his mother near him. Remember, these are the last words Jesus spoke to Mary. And remember that she is Christianity's holy mother of the miracle-birth messiah, the Son of God. Wouldn't you think something more appropriate would have been said, such as "We will be in heaven together?" Wouldn't you suppose that words expressing eternity would have been in his parting thoughts to his mother? Yet, no such words are directed to her. Instead he uses those words for the criminal who was being crucified with him by the Romans in Luke 23:43. What is reported here is that Jesus loved his disciple so much he gave his mother to him and him to his mother. What a strange turn. Notice, it is the disciple, not his mother, "whom he loved." We can only guess why he had to assign her care to someone when she had at least seven other children of her own, any one of whom should have been responsible for her care. 

Luke 2:43,45-46,48-50, "And when they had fulfilled the days, as they returned, the child Jesus tarried behind in Jerusalem ... And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him ... after three days they found him in the temple ... both hearing them, and asking them questions ... and his mother said unto him, Son, why hast thou thus dealt with us? behold, thy father and I have sought thee sorrowing. And he said unto them, How is it that ye sought me? wist ye not that I must be about my Father's business? And they understood not the saying which he spake unto them."

COMMENT: First and foremost we here see Mary did NOT understand Jesus' alleged mission. It is clear from this that Mary had not been forever affected by xianity's miraculous birth. She "understood not." We see here that Mary and Joseph both do not understand that Jesus must do God's work, as he is the messiah. If the scene with the angel Gabriel were true, his parents would fully comprehend Jesus special nature and mission. But, they do not! 

We must offer another thought about these verses concerning Jesus' attitude toward his parents. His behavior is so ill-befitting a caring son to a holy mother, don't you think? How could Jesus give his parents such worry? How could he cause sorrow to his mother who supposedly gave birth to him in a miraculous way, touched by God alone? Wouldn't his reverence for her prompt him to treat her with supreme consideration? Indeed, how could xianity's Jesus, who taught love, be so inconsiderate al all, even if his mother were not a holy being? Surely, there is an absence of any heavenly relationship indicated here, In fact, the scene seems like one so often occurring to us simple human beings with children who forget to inform us of their whereabouts, add more white hairs to our heads, and then explain they thought we knew where they were, 

What has been described is a complete lack of spiritual reverence of Jesus for his mother Mary. This irreverence casts great suspicion on the veracity of xianity's remarkable story of Jesus' birth. Now, let's look at the verses which show the absence of awe for Jesus by those close to him. This should complete the picture of doubt being presented concerning Jesus' miraculous birth. 

Mark 3:21, "And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself."

COMMENT: It seems that those who were close to him, his friends, thought him crazy, not holy. Don't you believe they would have heard of his miraculous birth and that he was the expected messiah from his parents, his family, or from Jesus himself? Obviously, they knew nothing of his miraculous birth. In addition, they actually believe Jesus is mad! 

John 7:3,5, "His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou doest. For neither did his brethren believe in him."

COMMENT: His "brethren" are his blood brothers, not his cousins, friends, or disciples. His brothers, during his ministry at this point, are reported to have no belief in him. Isn't this surprising? For if the story of the miraculous birth and announcement of the messiah child were true, Jesus' home would have been filled with its wondrous awe. Yet, his brothers did not "believe in him." This presents a formidable obstacle to accepting the xian story as fact. It is clear when James was in contact with Jesus here he did not believe Jesus to be God’s appointed messiah. So we can deduce that he was not aware of xianity's miraculous event. We cannot visualize such a lack of knowledge in a family of so momentous an occurrence. No secrecy was ever declared. Therefore, again, we are given reason to doubt. Galatians 1:19 does not contradict this because it deals with James at a later time, after the crucifixion, when other factors were involved. 

Mark 6:4 (Matthew 13:57) (Luke 4:24) (John 4:44). "But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house."

COMMENT: We read here that Jesus himself said his family gives him no respect. They lack understanding and give him no honor. This is implicit denial of the truth of the supposed miraculous birth and the attending messianic announcement. We do not doubt that the miraculous birth could have occurred, for surely God can do anything. Nevertheless, we are stating that we do not have New Testament corroboration. There is no appropriate action and reaction in the lives of the people involved. Jesus, Mary, family and others interact inappropriately. They are seemingly oblivious of the startling revelation of xianity. There is no awe or reverence where it should exist, which completely destroys the credibility of the virgin birth story as well as the announcement of Jesus; messianic appointment.

Source:

Judaism's Truth Answers the Missionaries
Beth Moshe
Bloch Publishing Co., New York, 1987
ISBN 0-8197-0520-9
Ch 3: His Family and Lack of Holy Awe, pp 13-17

DISCLAIMER:

Citation of Hebrew scripture and sources in articles or analyses is not in any way an acceptance, approval or validation of the Jewish religion, its works or scriptures. The Hebrew bible, like the Christian New Testament, is fictitious; From a 6-day creation of the universe; a cunning, walking, talking snake; big fish tales; world flood and an "Invisible Man in the Sky" ― it is all fiction, a bold sham perpetrated on mankind.

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