Jesus: Son and Big Brother

Mary and Joseph had at least seven children together; Jesus (the oldest), James, Joseph, Simon, Judas and sisters (Matthew 13:55). More children if Jesus had more than two sisters.

Imagine the dilemma of Mary and Joseph… do you have a conversation with Jesus’ brothers and sisters about Mary’s impregnation and the events that took place at Jesus’ birth or do you leave that topic alone?

Apparently they chose not to tell Jesus’ siblings because there is no evidence that the siblings believed in Jesus until after his resurrection. The real question is did Joseph and Mary have those conversations with Jesus?

My guess is that Mary and Joseph (especially in Jesus’ formative years) never had that conversation with Jesus.

Would it be intimidating having a son who you knew to be the future Messiah? Would you be worried about showing favoritism? How could you suppress those feelings so you don’t do a parental disservice to your other children?

Luke 2:52 says that Jesus grew in body and wisdom, i.e. he didn’t have instantaneous knowledge and wisdom. It grew in him as he grew.

Philippians 2 states that Jesus “emptied himself" (of his deity). Just how much did he empty himself? All of his deity or some of his deity? Could Jesus have performed miracles before his Baptism and his reception of the Holy Spirit? My guess is that he could not and even if he could it wasn’t the right time to do so.

Consider that Joseph must have died at some point. He might have gotten sick and died or he might have just died abruptly making Mary a widow. Joseph was the only earthly father Jesus had ever known. That event must have been very traumatic. Certainly Jesus would have cried and shared tears with his mother, brothers and sisters. Nothing binds a family together like the loss of the patriarch of the family.

Here’s the question… if Jesus had the power to heal or restore life prior to his baptism and reception of the Holy Spirit then why didn’t he do so for Joseph? Why like at the wedding feast didn’t Mary say… do it… save him?

My guess is Jesus had to lead a perfectly normal human life (including the loss of a parent) to be “tempted in every way that we are yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15) and that must mean Jesus emptied himself of his deity (Philippians 2) and his power to work miracles.

Jesus had at least six brothers and sisters. I suspect he never played the deity card with any of them or with his earthly parents. His true nature was ultimately revealed when he was resurrected and seated in glory at the right side of God the Father. Then Jesus’ brothers and sisters could clearly see the deity of their brother and like Mary become believers.