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| The Brethren of Jesus.
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17. The
Brethren of Jesus.
And the saying, “Whence hath this man this
wisdom,”5260
indicates clearly
that there was a great and surpassing wisdom in the words of Jesus
worthy of the saying, “lo, a greater than Solomon is
here.”5261
And He was
wont to do greater miracles than those wrought through Elijah and
Elisha, and at a still earlier date through Moses and Joshua the son of
Nun. And they spoke, wondering, (not knowing that He was the son
of a virgin, or not believing it even if it was told to them, but
supposing that He was the son of Joseph the carpenter,) “is not
this the carpenter’s son?”5262
And depreciating the whole of what
appeared to be His nearest kindred, they said, “Is not His mother
called Mary? And His brethren, James and Joseph and Simon and
Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?”5263
They thought, then, that He was the
son of Joseph and Mary. But some say, basing it on a tradition in
the Gospel according to Peter,5264
as it is entitled,
or “The Book of James,”5265
| 5265 Protevangelium Jacobi,
c. 9. | that the
brethren of Jesus were sons of Joseph by a former wife, whom he married
before Mary. Now those who say so wish to preserve the honour of
Mary in virginity to the end, so that that body of hers which was
appointed to minister to the Word which said, “The Holy Ghost
shall come upon thee, and the power of the Most High shall overshadow
thee,”5266
might not know
intercourse with a man after that the Holy Ghost came into her and the
power from on high overshadowed her. And I think it in harmony
with reason that Jesus was the first-fruit among men of the purity
which consists in chastity, and Mary among women; for it were not pious
to ascribe to any other than to her the first-fruit of virginity.
And James is he whom Paul says in the Epistle to the Galatians that he
saw, “But other of the Apostles saw I none, save James the
Lord’s brother.”5267
And to so
great a reputation among the people for righteousness did this James
rise, that Flavius Josephus, who wrote the “Antiquities of the
Jews” in twenty books, when wishing to exhibit the cause why the
people suffered so great misfortunes that even the temple was razed to
the ground, said, that these things happened to them in accordance with
the wrath of God in consequence of the things which they had dared to
do against James the brother of Jesus who is called Christ.5268
And the wonderful thing is, that,
though he did not accept Jesus as Christ, he yet gave testimony that
the righteousness of James was so great; and he says that the people
thought that they had suffered these things because of James. And
Jude, who wrote a letter of few lines, it is true, but filled with the
healthful words of heavenly grace, said in the preface, “Jude,
the servant of Jesus Christ and the brother of James.”5269
With regard to Joseph and Simon we
have nothing to tell; but the saying, “And His sisters are they
not all with us,”5270
seems to me to
signify something of this nature—they mind our things, not those
of Jesus, and have no unusual portion of surpassing wisdom as Jesus
has. And perhaps by these things is indicated a new doubt
concerning Him, that Jesus was not a man but something diviner,
inasmuch as He was, as they
supposed, the son of Joseph and Mary, and the brother of four, and of
the others—the women—as well, and yet had nothing like to
any one of His kindred, and had not from education and teaching come to
such a height of wisdom and power. For they also say elsewhere,
“How knoweth this man letters having never
learned?”5271
which is similar to
what is here said. Only, though they say these things and are so
perplexed and astonished, they did not believe, but were offended in
Him; as if they had been mastered in the eyes of their mind by the
powers which, in the time of the passion, He was about to lead in
triumph on the cross.E.C.F. INDEX & SEARCH
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