How to Respond When People Say Jesus Had Brothers and Sisters, by Kathy Schiffer

From the earliest days following the Resurrection, the Church has believed that Mary was a perpetual virgin, and that Jesus had no biological brothers or sisters.

By Kathy Schiffer, EWTN News, December 22, 2021

“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are his sisters here with us?” —Mark 6:3

Did Jesus have brothers and sisters? Some people think the Gospel of Mark seems to say so.

And not only in the Gospel of Mark. In Luke 8:19-21, the topic comes up again. Jesus is told by a crowd gathered to hear him speak. The crowd says, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.”

But Jesus, rather than inviting the rest of his family to come on in, dismisses them, using the opportunity to teach about the closeness he feels toward those who keep his word. …