Christian Pure

Is Jesus Really Our Brother? Yes: What Hebrews 2 and Romans 8 Say

Christian Pure Team

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Summary

  • The New Testament calls Jesus our brother: Hebrews says he “is not ashamed to call them brothers” (Hebrews 2:11), and Paul calls him “the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29).
  • Jesus said that whoever does his Father’s will “is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50), and after the resurrection he called the disciples “my brothers” (Matthew 28:10; John 20:17).
  • Hebrews roots the brotherhood in the Incarnation: Jesus shared our flesh and blood and “had to be made like his brothers in every respect” (Hebrews 2:14–17).
  • Catholic teaching says we are Christ’s brethren “not by nature, but by the gift of grace” (Catechism 654), and Protestant confessions call the same gift adoption.
  • The Gospels name brothers and sisters of Jesus (Mark 6:3); Protestants usually see them as Mary’s later children, the Orthodox as Joseph’s children, and Catholics as close relatives.
  • Latter-day Saints teach that Jesus is our elder brother as the firstborn of Heavenly Father’s spirit children.

Yes. The New Testament calls Jesus the brother of everyone who belongs to God. Hebrews says he “is not ashamed to call them brothers” (Hebrews 2:11), Paul calls him “the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29), and Jesus said that whoever does his Father’s will “is my brother and sister and mother” (Matthew 12:50). When the risen Jesus speaks of his disciples, he calls them family. He sends Mary Magdalene to “my brothers” with the news that he is ascending…

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Bibliography (Click to show)
  • Scripture quotations from the English Standard Version, with Genesis 13:8 and 14:14 cited from the King James Version: Matthew 6:9; 12:48–50; 13:55–56; 25:40; 27:56; 28:10; Mark 3:31–35; 6:3; John 1:12; 7:5; 20:17; Acts 1:14; Romans 8:15–17, 29; 12:10; 1 Corinthians 9:5; Galatians 1:19; Colossians 1:18; Hebrews 2:11–18; 4:15; 1 John 3:14; Psalm 22:22. https://www.biblegateway.com/
  • Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 460, 500 and 654. https://www.vatican.va/archive/ENG0015/__P1S.HTM
  • Second Vatican Council, Gaudium et Spes (1965), 22. https://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19651207_gaudium-et-spes_en.html
  • Westminster Confession of Faith, chapter 12, “Of Adoption.” https://opc.org/wcf.html
  • John Chrysostom, Homilies on Hebrews, homily 5. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/240205.htm
  • Irenaeus of Lyons, Against Heresies 3.19.1. https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/0103319.htm
  • Flavius Josephus, Antiquities of the Jews 20.9.1, translated by William Whiston. https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0146:book=20:whiston%20chapter=9:whiston%20section=1
  • “Brothers of Jesus” and “Perpetual virginity of Mary,” Wikipedia, on the Helvidian, Epiphanian and Hieronymian views and the Reformers. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brothers_of_Jesus
  • “Brethren of the Lord,” Catholic Encyclopedia (1907). https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/02767a.htm
  • Orthodox Church in America, “Apostle James the Brother of the Lord.” https://www.oca.org/saints/lives/2020/10/23/103039-apostle-james-the-brother-of-the-lord
  • “The Sheep and the Goats,” Wikipedia, on Reginald H. Fuller’s reading of Matthew 25:40. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sheep_and_the_Goats
  • The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Guide to the Scriptures, “Firstborn.” https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/scriptures/gs/firstborn?lang=eng
  • First Presidency, “The Origin of Man” (1909), reprinted in Ensign, February 2002. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/ensign/2002/02/the-origin-of-man?lang=eng
  • Nicene Creed (325). https://www.newadvent.org/fathers/3801.htm

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