Exploring the Family Tree of Jesus: Ancestry and Immediate Family

Table of Contents

1. Introduction
2. Jesus's Immediate Family
3. Ancestry of Jesus
4. Siblings of Jesus
5. Mary's Family
6. Jesus's Cousins
7. The Twelve Disciples
8. Mary's Parents and Grandparents
9. Conflicting Genealogies of Joseph
10. Interpretation of Genealogies

The Family Tree of Jesus: An Exploration of His Ancestry and Immediate Family

Introduction

On this Christmas day, we will Delve into the family tree of Jesus. This article will explore the members of his immediate family, as well as his ancestry Based on the genealogies given in Matthew and Luke. It is important to note that this article is coming from an academic perspective, and not a religious one. While there are different traditions about the family of Jesus, we will present an amalgamation of these traditions.

Jesus's Immediate Family

All Christians agree that Jesus's parents were named Joseph and Mary. Although Joseph was not the biological father of Jesus, legally-speaking, Jesus would have been considered the son of Joseph. In addition to his parents, the New Testament also mentions siblings. In Matthew chapter 13 verses 55 and 56, it says, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” According to some Christians, these four individuals were in fact the literal brothers of Jesus – i.e. children born to Mary sometime after the birth of Jesus. However, Roman Catholics, Eastern Orthodox Christians, and some Protestants believe that Mary remained a virgin for the rest of her life. Therefore, these so-called brothers must either be sons of Joseph from a previous marriage (which would make them older brothers) or they were actually Jesus’s cousins.

Ancestry of Jesus

The genealogies given in Matthew and Luke differ in the names of the ancestors of Joseph. One possibility is that one of these lists is actually showing Jesus’s maternal line (i.e. the line of Mary), even though they both say Joseph. As far as most Christian scholars know, Matthew covers Joseph’s line and Luke covers Mary’s line. However, there are some scholars who argue for the reverse. There are even some attempts out there to reconcile the two lists by adding in things like Second marriages and step children, but to me, I don’t think that’s necessary. Personally, I think the reason why the two genealogies don’t match is that neither of them are genuine. In other words, I think that both Matthew and Luke made up the final parts of their genealogies from scratch.

Siblings of Jesus

According to some Christians, Jesus had four brothers: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. However, there are different traditions about the family of Jesus, and some believe that these four individuals were actually Jesus’s cousins. The argument for them being cousins is based on the fact that Jews at the time did not have separate words for brother versus cousin. Any male relative of a similar age was simply your brother. For the sake of this article, we will go with the cousin theory.

Mary's Family

There were at least three separate people named Mary Mentioned in the New Testament. Mary, the Mother of Jesus, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. According to John chapter 19 verse 25, Mary the wife of Clopas was Jesus’s aunt. Mary Magdalene is thought by many to be the author of the Gospel of John, who is also known as “the disciple whom Jesus loved” as well as the three letters named 1st, 2nd, and 3rd John, and the Book of Revelation.

Jesus's Cousins

According to several branches of Christianity, three of the twelve apostles were in fact the cousins of Jesus: James the Less, Simon, and Judas. James the Less was one of the main leaders of the early church and is thought to have written one of the books in the New Testament – the one called James. Simon is notable in that he is thought to have taken over the leadership of the Jerusalem church after the death of James and is thus considered by some to have been the second bishop there. Finally, Judas is traditionally thought to be the author of the New Testament Book of Jude.

The Twelve Disciples

The twelve disciples, later known as the twelve apostles, were Simon Peter, Andrew, James and John (the sons of Zebedee), Philip, Bartholomew (also known as Nathanael), Thomas, and Matthew. Finally, we get another James (mentioned as being the Son of Alphaeus, in order to distinguish him from James the Son of Zebedee); then Thaddaeus (who was also called Judas); Simon (nicknamed the Zealot); and last of all, Judas Iscariot.

Mary's Parents and Grandparents

According to many branches of Christianity, we actually know the names of Mary’s father and mother as well – who would also be the parents of Mary of Clopas, and the grandparents of not only Jesus, but of at least three of the twelve apostles. According to tradition, they are named Joachim and Anne. Anne was the daughter of a priest named Matthan and the sister of a woman named Sobe, who, in turn, was the mother of Elizabeth. Elizabeth was a close relative of Mary (the mother of Jesus) and the two women were pregnant at the same time. Mary, of course, had Jesus, and Elizabeth had John the Baptist.

Conflicting Genealogies of Joseph

The New Testament gives us two conflicting genealogies for Joseph. In Matthew, Joseph is said to be the son of Jacob, who in turn was the son of Matthan. However, in Luke, Joseph is said to be the son of Heli, the son of Matthat. One possibility is that one of these lists is actually showing Jesus’s maternal line (i.e. the line of Mary), even though they both say Joseph. As far as most Christian scholars know, Matthew covers Joseph’s line and Luke covers Mary’s line. However, there are some scholars who argue for the reverse.

Interpretation of Genealogies

The genealogies given in Matthew and Luke have several poetic, symbolic elements. For example, there is numerology involved. Matthew’s account can be divided into three sets of fourteen (fourteen being two times seven; and we know that seven was and is a particularly important number for Jews). In Luke, the entire genealogy adds up to exactly 77 names (again, the whole thing is centered on the number 7). The purpose of the Bible is to make theological points, not to Record literal history. I think this goes for the gospels as well. Yes, the gospel writers certainly believed that Jesus was the Son of God and yes, they certainly believed that, as the Jewish messiah, he was the literal descendant of King David. But I don’t think that the exact specifics mattered to them as much as they matter to our very Detail-orientated modern minds today.