The Family of Jesus
THE FAMILY OF JESUS
1 CE/AD | 136 CE/AD
ACCEPTED DATES OF MY BLOGS
“Pay attention to the WORD. UNDERSTAND KNOWLEDGE and get to LOVE LIFE and no one will persecute you, nor will anyone oppress you, other than you yourself”
It is normal to think that JESUS had siblings. We understand that he had brothers and sisters.
But this is what we know. JUDE – SIMON – JAMES THE JUST and JOSEPH, JOSES were his brothers.
THOMAS
He was born in 1 CE/AD in GALILEE, which was part of the ROMAN EMPIRE at the time and is present-day ISRAEL. He was also known as DIDYMUS.
My research could not find concrete evidence that THOMAS was the brother, much less the ‘twin’ brother of JESUS. Their dates of birth are not recorded to be the same nor the cities in which they are assumed to have been born.
He travelled all the way to the MALABAR COAST, around 52 CE/AD, today known as INDIA preaching about GOD’s LAW and it is speculated that he even travelled to CHINA –
In INDIA, within the region of KERALA, he established about 7 Churches – THOMAS, died in CHENNAI – INDIA on the 3rd July 72 CE/AD
THOMAS wrote about JESUS, and one of the statements he wrote was this:
“When SIMON PETER said to them in a gathering, whilst MARY, JESUS’ mother was present, ‘Let MARY leave us for women are not worthy of life’ – JESUS then said ‘I myself shall lead her in order to make her male, so that she too may become a living SPIRIT resembling you males, for every woman who will make herself ‘male’ will enter the KINGDOM OF HEAVEN’”
What we do not know is what ‘make herself male’ means yet – but I am of course sure it is not the obvious – later
SIMON
We have two SIMON’S. The half-brother of JESUS and the SIMON who helped carry the cross for JESUS along the path – born in LIBYA and of dark skin – which means he could not have been crucified ‘on behalf’ of JESUS –
We focus on SIMON who helped JESUS, he was from the city of CYRENE, located in NORTHERN AFRICA, in the Province of CYRENAICA in LIBYA (present day SHAHHAT). A GREEK CITY since 323 BCE – 285 BCE. It had a population of approximately 100 000 JEWS. The JEWS were forced to live there during the reign of PTOLEMY SOTER. They live at an EARLY ‘CHRISTIAN’ CENTRE which was started by LUKE?
JAMES THE JUST
We could not find his date of birth
But we found that he died in 62 CE
The ‘stories’ we found about JAMES, are many. He was not a ‘true’ brother of JESUS. Could he have been a cousin of JESUS, or a son of JOSEPH of another marriage? (He seems to have been younger than JESUS, which means he was not from a ‘previous’ marriage. ). What we do know is that he was close to our JESUS, and he could just simply have been a close cousin of JESUS.
WHAT I NEED TO KNOW. IS, WHO WROTE THE BOOK OF JAMES
But what we know is that he condemned various sins:-
- PRIDE
- HYPOCRISY
- FAVOURITISM
- SLANDER
- VANITY
He encouraged and implored BELIEVERS to LIVE HUMBLE GODLY lives, and to PRAY in all SITUATIONS.
THE SECRET BOOK OF JAMES
This is a Book believed to have been written after the crucifixion by JAMES THE JUST. JESUS is quoted as explaining how his followers must UNDERSTAND his TEACHINGS (who was he talking about. His own teachings or that of JAMES THE JUST)
“Pay attention to the WORD. UNDERSTAND KNOWLEDGE and get to LOVE LIFE and no one will persecute you, nor will anyone oppress you, other than you yourself”
A quick update – there were 3 x JAMES’ ‘around’ JESUS
- JAMES the son of ZEBEDEE
- JAMES the son of ALPHAEUS
- JAMES the half-brother of JESUS – who was not a member of the 12 Apostles, but was referred to as JAMES THE LESSER (younger)
- When JESUS asked JAMES (Son of ZEBEDEE) to join him, his brother JOHN also decided to join. JOHN was to become the Author of the BOOK OF JOHN and also the BOOK OF REVELATIONS
- JAMES became a member of JESUS’ INNER CIRCLE
- JOHN and PETER (Simon Peter or CEPHAS) were close friends, and they often were witness to the miracles of JESUS.
- PETER, was close to JESUS and became a PILLAR in the church.
Growing up JAMES misunderstood JESUS, but later became a great BELIEVER. After the death of JESUS. JAMES’ status in the CHURCH grew. He took JESUS’ TEACHING forward. The Church did not survive as planned after the fall of JERUSALEM in 70 CE/AD. But a religion continued under the RULE OF ROME.
JAMES meets SAUL and PETER in JERUSALEM, after PETER’S prison escape. He tells JAMES about the details of the escape – JAMES accepts him and allows PETER into the inner circle, and he sends him on various missionary duties. JAMES becomes the CHAIRMAN (Pillar) of the church – but then he is killed in 62 CE/AD.
JAMES, seem to have completed his BOOK OF JOHN somewhere between 50 CE/AD and 60 CE/AD. He refers to himself as a SERVANT of GOD and of the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
What we see in JAMES’ speech at the JERUSALEM COUNCIL – Acts 15:14-21 is that he reveals his reliance on SCRIPTURE. His desire for PEACE, within the CHURCH, his EMPHASIS of GRACE over the LAW, and his CARE for gentile believers, although he himself ministered exclusively to JEWISH CHRISTIANS. However, we accepted that the word ‘Christian or Christians, was established by SAUL.
JAMES was a GRACIOUS LEADER through whom the church was richly BLESSED.
What we notice is that at the fall of JERUSALEM in 70 CE/AD, the FAITH called ‘Christianity’ started to part company with its ‘JEWISH’ origins and soon all sight of the hero called YEHOSHUA, who for so many years earlier took the lead from MOSES, was no more.
Deuteronomy 31:1-8 │ 34:9 and JOSHUA becomes the leader of the ISRAELITE TRIBES and who conquered CANAAN and distributed its land to the 12 TRIBES, after the EXODUS from EGYPT – he leads them across the RIVER JORDAN and took the city of JERICHO and then captured other towns in the NORTH and SOUTH until most of PALESTINE was brought under ISRAELITE CONTROL, and at his death he admonished them to be LOYAL TO THE GOD OF THE COVENANT, this was the LEGACY OF MOSES.
The ‘NEW RELIGION’ led by JOSHUA, is taken forward by him, with the peaceful, comprehensive, calculated plan of conquest which continued for a couple of centuries. It reaches its fulfilment in the RISE OF DAVID. JOSHUA’s campaigns (Joshua 10 – 11) seem to fit the understanding of GOD’S LAW by DAVID to occupy JERUSALEM. Yes JOSHUA does seem to have been a ‘force to be reckoned with for many years within the open spaces between the walled cities of the time.
What we see in the ROMAN mythology of ROMULUS and REMUS, were men who tried to become the saviour kings of the people of that time. They took ‘on’ the ‘life stories’ of PETER and PAUL.
The citizens of the ROMAN EMPIRE – between ROME itself and through LIBYA into EGYPT, ASIA and SYRIA into ISRAEL found the ‘new’ religion both familiar and reassuring. They might not be doing so well in this life, but they would get a better deal in the next, was their hope !!
Like most people throughout history, they had little use for LOGIC, and preferred to take enjoyment from the emotion of it all, asking their (now one) GOD for help in times of need and praising him when things went well.
JUDE
We could not find much regarding the family life of JUDE. We did however find the confusion as to whose son he truly was. But for our interest, he was the half-brother of JESUS. According to the flesh. He became a holy man, during and after being taken by the ROMAN named of DAMITIAN. He was killed by EMPEROR TRAJAN.
HEGESIPPUS, a 2nd-century Christian writer, mentions descendants of JUDE living in the reign of DOMITIAN (81-96 CE/AD). DOMITIAN, was a self-proclaimed, ruthless dictator. He was the son of VESPASIAN a brother of TITUS, who conquered JERUSALEM in 70 CE/AD.
But this same DOMITIAN commanded that the descendants of DAVID should be slain. An ancient tradition says that some of the heretics brought accusation against the descendants of JUDE. Because he it was said that he was a brother of the Saviour. According to the flesh. Therefore, on these grounds they were of the lineage of DAVID, therefore related to Christ himself.
“Of the family of the Lord there were still living the GRANDCHILDREN of JUDE, who is said to have been the Lord’s brother according to the flesh.
“Information was given that they belonged to the family of KING DAVID. So, they were brought to the EMPEROR DOMITIAN. DOMITIAN feared the coming of Christ as had Herod. He asked them if they were descendants of KING DAVID, and they confessed that they were. He then asked them how much property they had, or how much money they owned. They answered that they had only nine thousand denarii, half of which belonged to each of them.
This did not consist of silver, but of a piece of land which contained only thirty-nine acres, from which they raised their taxes and supported themselves by their own labour.”
They showed their hands, exhibiting the hardness of their bodies and the callouses produced by continuous toil as evidence of their own labour. And when they were asked about CHRIST and his KINGDOM, they answered that it was not a temporal nor an earthly kingdom, but a HEAVENLY and ANGELIC ONE, which would appear at the end of the world. He would come in glory to judge the living and the dead, and to give to us according to his works.
Upon hearing this, DOMITIAN did not pass judgment against them. Despising them as of no account, he let them go, and by a decree put a stop to the persecution of the Church.
But when they were released they ruled the churches because they were witnesses and were also relatives of the Lord. And peace being established, they lived until the time of Trajan.
JUDAH KYRIAKOS, was the great grandson of JUDE, and the last JEWISH BISHOP OF JERUSALEM, who was still living after the BAR KOKHBA’S revolt 132 CE/AD – 136 CE/AD. He lived as a MONK he had no descendants.
THE PARENTS AND BROTHERS AND SISTERS OF JESUS
There are many possibilities as to whom JESUS ‘belonged.’ For this part of our research, we will Focus on what we ‘found.’
A quick reflection on how ‘many’ brothers and sisters JESUS might have had. This information Will assist us in our future research and understanding
DENISE
A lovely BLOG, which made me smile when I wrote it and when it was edited. I think ‘if only’ we got to be told the true beautiful stories about the stories which made up the LIFE of JESUS, his family, his cousins and his friends. What were we deprived of by so much, by the writers of the various religious books we were made to ‘believe’ in.
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