Chapter 2.5
Jesus’ Family
Provisions in Advance to flee to Egypt
The Vow of the Nazarene
The Family of Jesus; Mary, Joseph
Jesus and half-brothers Jude James,
Joseph, Simon and some sisters.
Provisions in Advance
Jesus
and his family were very poor and could not even afford a lamb as an
offering in the temple. According to
scripture their finances were at poverty level[1]
until the visit of the Magi who brought very expensive gifts of GOLD, FRANKINCENSE and MYRRH.[2] The Magi were Religious leaders who could
appoint kings and place people in power and authority. They traveled almost two years and almost a
thousand miles just one way. It is not
known how many of them there were or the number of servants, or the value of
their gifts as they had much wealth.
Gold is associated
with “Royalty.”
Most people in the time of Jesus could
not afford to own Gold.
Frankincense is associated
with “Worship”. It is extracted from gum from the Arabia tree
and is expensive; it’s called the perfume of Love.
Myrrh is associated with “Suffering” and was offered to Christ
on the Cross; it was a sedative when mixed with wine. The Gum is extracted by “Piercing” the bark of
a “thorny” bush to allow it to bleed; it turns red on
contact with air.
God
financed their flight to Egypt in
advance to avoid Pharaoh’s decree to kill all the new born males under the
age of two.[3]
From Bethlehem to Helipolis Egypt was
300 plus miles taking up to three weeks for the family to get there. For safety
concerns, people usually paid the price to travel in a caravan. The road trip to Egypt and His return to
Nazareth was about a year.[4] There probably wasn’t much of the “treasure”
left after 30 years for His ministry, but who knows.
Vow of the Nazarene
If you are moved by the Spirit to get
closer to God, then you must separate yourself from strong drink for whatever
time is impressed on you; John’s vow was for life. The grape to the Nazarene is a symbol of
temptation because symbolically;
prosperity, leisure and the fullness of life are connected to it.
Vow of the Nazarene: To make one-self available to God; to be a
spiritual leader.[5]
Dedication and separation for a period of
time to a priestly life.
Abstinence from anything
from the vine, including raisins and the vine itself.
Defilement avoidance: To avoid
touching a dead body, making them un-ceremonial defiled.
Unimpaired strength: The cutting of hair was forbidden, it is a
symbol of strength.
The Family of
Jesus
Some
commentaries “force” the issue that all of the brothers of Jesus were
of Joseph from a previous marriage. This
is because of their belief that Mary remained a virgin after the birth of
Jesus. There is no reason not to believe
that Mary bore other children. I use the
term “half-brother”
because God was the father of Jesus and not Joseph. When Jesus starts his ministry Joseph has
probably been dead for some time. It
must be pointed out that Jesus did not continue in the carpentry trade of
Joseph, but left the family. There may
have been some family disappointment as well as lost honor in His
community. This appears to show up later
when Jesus returns home and is rejected.[6]
At first it seems that the family of Jesus
was skeptical about His ministry,[7]
however, Jesus appeared to James after the resurrection and he was converted
and that brought the whole family in. Note: I
firmly believe Mary and Joseph both believed that Jesus was the Messiah, but
because of the times, the family just simply didn’t understand and were
confused, timid and even afraid to be seen around Jesus.[8] I think they wanted to believe; and
eventually their timidity would be replaced with boldness because of the
testimony of their brother James who became a church leader. Just
saying”.
It seems probable that all the brothers
were married to believing wives. None of
the brothers were chosen to be one of the inner circle of “Twelve” Disciples.
Mary of Nazareth the
mother of Jesus did not seem to accompany Jesus on his journeys but was present
from time to time, possibly helping with income from the carpentry business.
Jude - The half-brother of Jesus, most
believe, is the author of the next to the last book of the New Testament. He was the half-brother of Jesus and a disciple,
but not one of the twelve. Jude had three brothers, James, Joseph and
Simon and some sisters.[9] Some students believe that the father Joseph was
a widower and possibly had children before he married Mary. At
first the half-brothers did not accept Jesus as the Messiah.[10]
James – The half-brother of Jesus.[11] There were at least five “James” in the
ministry of Christ. This one is the
half-brother of Jesus and not James the fisherman, who was part of the inner
circle of Disciples. He was the oldest
of four younger brothers. One of his brothers was Jude, also a writer in the
New Testament. It has always been
tradition to name the first born after the father, so it is possible that James
was not the oldest, but the more prominent.
(Joseph was listed second also.)
James name does not appear in any of the
lists of the inner circle of Twelve Disciples.
Jesus appeared to James after His resurrection before He appeared to the
other disciples.[12]
This is probably when James was converted to Christianity.
Tradition has James as an important leader
in early church history and appointed as the first Bishop of Jerusalem by the
apostles and the Lord Himself.[13] Scripture seems to indicate that James is the
author of the book of James. Both James
and Jude
in their writings refer to themselves as “a servant of Jesus Christ”.
The Book
says that Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him and THEY STOOD OUTSIDE and sent word for him to COME OUT AND TALK WITH THEM; they went to TAKE CHARGE of him, for they
thought, "HE IS OUT OF
HIS MIND.
[1] Leviticus 12:8 – If you
cannot afford a lamb bring two turtledoves or two young pigeons for an
offering. – Luke 2:24 – Mary and Joseph could only bring a pair of turtledoves
or two pigeons.
[2] Matthew 2:11 – Magi
brought Gold Frankincense and Myrrh to provide for their trip.
[3] Mathew 2:14-18 – Mary and
Joseph were warned in a dream to flee to Egypt to save the life of Jesus
[4] Matthew 2:19-23 – Mary
and Joseph returned to Nazareth after about a year
[5] Luke 1:13-16 - Want to be
totally dedicated to the lord -- Numbers 6:1-3 – Want more of god – Separate
from Wine -- Ephesians 5:18 – Seek the spirit of God -- 1 Corinthians’ 6:19-20
– Our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit-- Revelation 1:5-6 – We are a kingdom
of priest -- 1 Peter 2:5 – We are a
royal priesthood -- 1 Peter 2:9 – We are a chosen people
[6] John 4:44 – Jesus found
no honor in his own hometown
[7] John 7:5 – They did not
believe at first -- Matthew 12:46-50 – They stand afar off –unsure –
watching 1 Corinthians 15:6-7–Jesus
appears first to James after His resurrection. -- 1 Corinthians 9:4-5 – The
brothers believe and become disciples -- Acts 1:13-14 – They now all believe in
the upper room. -- Romans 8:15-16 – The Holy Spirit moved on their spirit
-- Romans 8:13-14 – They believed -- 1
Corinthians 9:4-5 – The Brothers have wives that were believers.
[8] Luke 4:28-30 – The town’s
people plotted to Kill Jesus -- Matthew 12:24 – They said His powers came from
Satan.
[9] Mark 6:3 – Half-Brothers
of Jesus James, Joseph, Judas and Simon
[10] Mark 3:21 – The family
thought He was out of His mind and sought to take Him away
[11] Matthew 13:55 – James;
half-brother of Jesus -- James 1:1 – James, the writer of the book of James --
Acts 21:18 – James hooked up with Paul
[12] 1 Corinthians’ 15:6-7 –
Jesus appears to him after His resurrection.
[13] Galatians 2:8-10 – James
becomes a Church leader for the Jews.
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