Acts 1:13-14 "When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs..."

"When they had entered the city, they went to the room upstairs where they were staying, Peter, and John, and James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. All these were constantly devoting themselves to prayer, together with certain women, including Mary the mother of Jesus, as well as his brothers" (Acts 1:13-14).

Question:

Just wanted to know if Jesus had brothers.

Comment:

There are different interpretations, and different traditions. It would certainly seem clear from the Gospels (see Matthew 13: 55 and Mark 6:3, for example) that Jesus did have brothers. And throughout Acts and the letters of Paul we are told that James the brother of Jesus became the head of the Jerusalem church. The Catholic Church, however, does not accept the idea that Mary had other children, and believes James and the others are really 'cousins,' since family relationships were not as specific then as they are today. Whatever, I guess. I just don't see that the message and ministry of Jesus loses one iota of its power and truth if he had brothers who both resisted and carried forward his work.   Blessings!

Rev. Ed