The words ‘brother’ and ‘sister’ are used throughout the Bible in many ways: a fellow human; a blood relation; a colleague; a disciple or follower; someone of the same faith.1 While all these descriptions are relevant for our study, it is the last two mentioned that are specifically acknowledged if we label ourselves as brothers and sisters of our Lord. But, would it be proper etiquette to tell people Jesus is our brother?
What we know about Jesus is mostly based upon New Testament scripture from some two thousand years ago. These records detail his human birth, his ministry, and his death on the cross. And we also learn about his spiritual life after these events and his future ruling over a coming renewed earthly paradise.
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The New Testament also gives hints of his previous existence and the role he played in creating the earth. This is when he is referred to as the ‘Logos’ or ‘Word’, mentioned in John, chapter 1, “He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through him, and without him not one thing came into being,” (John 1:2-3, NRSV).2
This implies he was with God in the beginning of Earth’s history, hence explaining the scripture in the Book of Genesis when God stated, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness,” (Genesis 1:26, [boldface added]). The supposition here is that God first created our Lord long before the earth was made, and utilized him as a helper in creating everything else.3 I guess in one way, since God created his son and also humankind, we are technically all brothers and sisters through our father, Almighty God.
But, let us focus upon our Lord some four thousand years after the creation story, when his father sent him to earth to be born as a human by way of Mary in the town of Bethlehem. During Jesus’ ministry, there are a few scriptural passages using the words ‘brother’ or ‘sister’ to describe his relationship to other members of his physical family. In the Book of Matthew we are given the names of some of his brothers, and told that he also had sisters.4 “Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us?” (Matthew 13:55-56).
However, most of the time when people refer to Jesus as their ‘brother’, they are neither focusing upon a physical family relationship, nor even a generalized sense of everyone being brothers and sisters of the human race. Instead, they are focusing on a spiritual relationship and it is Jesus himself who tells us who his spiritual brothers and sisters are.
Once, when speaking to a crowd of people inside a house, Jesus was told that his mother and brothers and sisters were stuck outside. The Bible tells us, “Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent [someone] to him and called him. A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, ‘Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you’,” (Mark 3:31-32). Our Lord answers, “Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother,” (Mark 3:35).
Our Lord wasn’t ignoring them, but demonstrating that one’s commitment to God comes even before their own family. Not only did he not renounce his family but he highlighted a far deeper meaning of a person’s relationship to the savior. His words in Greek figuratively denote Jesus’ spiritual family, therefore doing God’s will characterizes those who are Jesus’ spiritual kinfolk. If we willingly follow Jesus’ teachings, we can be adopted into God’s family as spiritual brothers and sisters.5
Almighty God is the Father and Jesus Christ is his Son. And spiritually, since every Christian is an adopted child of God, we are therefore brothers or sisters to our Lord and Savior. And since we are adopted, we are thus reckoned as Abraham’s offspring and heirs according to God’s promise.
“But when the fullness of time had come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, in order to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as children. And because you are children, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba!6 Father!’ So you are no longer a slave but a child, and if a child then also an heir, through God,” (Galatians 4:4-7).
What about our relationship in Jesus’ post-human life?
Okay, we have covered the idea of brotherhood with Jesus from his pre-human times and through his life as a man. What about his post-human life, after he was murdered on the cross and then resurrected?
Well, after his resurrection our Lord was raised to a higher position in Almighty God’s organization, ruling with more power and authority, a reward for his obedience and faith to his Father. After his resurrection, Jesus told his disciples, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me,” (Matthew 28:18a).
The Book of Ephesians states that when God raised Christ from death, “he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the age to come,” (Ephesians 1:20-21). Now that he is back in the heavenly realm, Jesus sits “at the right hand of God, with angels, authorities, and powers made subject to him,” (1 Peter 3:22).
Christians that follow Jesus’ teachings, even after his death, are still servants to the Master and are his spiritual brothers and sisters; we have been adopted into the family of God and will also help rule with our King forever.
Adoption is God’s remedy for a specific situation. It actually meets our need for a new family, and its justification meets our need for a new legal status. The Bible teaches that, because of sin, we have all been children of the devil. But by faith, Jesus gives us authority to become sons and daughters of God. Through Jesus, God allows us to become his people by adoption. It is an honor to call Jesus our brother and share the blessings that the Father gives to his son.7
Just a thought!
As you probably have already figured out, I do not hold to the Trinity doctrine, but I have no qualms about those who do. We all have free-choice in what to believe, besides I don’t think believing one way or the other on this issue — at this time — will affect our place in our Savior’s new Millennial Age. We’ll find out the truth for sure soon enough.
However, I’ve found that God’s relationship to his Son (and our relationship to Jesus) is much easier to understand if one sheds their belief in a three-in-one Godhead. And for those readers sitting upon the fence not knowing which way to jump, let me throw in another idea that may help you decide.
Many people know the personal name of God in the Bible is ‘Yahweh’,8 but sometimes called ‘Jehovah’ or ‘YHWH’ in some versions. Well, some biblical academics believe “Jesus pre-existed as one of two ruling Yahwehs. It was Yahweh the Son who made visible appearances, whereas Yahweh the Father was always the invisible God.” As an example, it was Yahweh the Son who appeared to Abraham and other patriarchs and who also created all things by direction of Yahweh the Father.9
Even during the Second Temple historical period (516 BC – 70 AD), many serious Jewish students and intellectuals thought of two powers as their heavenly rulers. One was the invisible supreme God of Israel, while the other could appear visibly but was subordinate to him. And many early Christians also accepted this idea and considered the human Jesus as the second Yahweh, separate and lower in rank to Almighty God. These Jewish converts to Christianity worshiped both the God of Israel and Jesus of Nazareth, which when combined were thought to be the two powers of the Jewish thinkers.10
If true, this would suggest that the name ‘Yahweh’ is a position or an administrative agency, rather than an individual personal identification. It is reasonable that this could be confusing — two people with the same name (or title) — with both being Gods. This may be speculation, of course, but sometime later when some early church leaders, with their own agenda, decided to throw the ‘Holy Spirit’, into the mix, they mistakenly created the idea of a Trinity of personalities. Isn’t it interesting that what Christians believed during the actual time of Christ on earth is so very different from what is taught in Christian churches today?
According to the late biblical researcher Michael Heiser, “God’s heavenly dwelling was also his headquarters, the place where he met with his council, the members of the heavenly host who served him in the administration of his creations.” As mentioned earlier, this is the context for the plural language of Genesis 1:26, when it was said, “Let us make humankind in our image, according to our likeness.”11
I have often said that an analogy may be made by looking at Yahweh’s position as similar to a corporate office staffed with a President-CEO (Almighty God) at the very top and a Vice President-Manager (Jesus) as the ‘second in command’. And below these two individual Gods — down the administrative hierarchy — would be angels and other spiritual beings. I know you may think this is like comparing apples to oranges, but you get the general drift of this idea. For a deeper look into the hierarchy of God’s organization, see the article titled “What is God’s Divine Council?” which is listed in References & Notes.12
Conclusion
Clearly, Jesus is not everybody’s brother. He is a brother to some, but only to those who have made the effort to become part of his spiritual family. “Merely claiming that Jesus is your brother doesn’t cause it to become true.” So, from God’s perspective, the terms brother or sister only belong to those our Savior calls into his kingdom, those who were willing to follow, obey, and live a holy God-honoring life. These people are the brothers and sisters of Jesus, and our Lord will be their brother for all eternity.13
While in a sinful state, we are sons and daughters of the devil. But once we are born again and become adapted into the righteous holy family, Almighty God becomes our Abba Father and Jesus of Nazareth becomes our spiritual brother.14 Therefore yes, in this situation, it is proper etiquette to refer to our Lord and Savior as our brother.
The selection of a song for this Bible study is “Jesus My Brother” by Mission House and recorded live in Nashville, Tennessee (USA) in 2023. Mission House was formed by female artists Jess Ray and Taylor Leonhardt in Raleigh, North Carolina (USA). Selected lyrics are below and a link to the music video is in References & Notes.15
Jesus my brother,
My covenant friend,
You know the struggle,
No need to pretend.
Jesus my Savior,
My help in the night,
I walked in darkness,
Til I saw the light.
Copyright © 2024, Dr. Ray Hermann
OutlawBibleStudent.org
** Feature photograph from plainbibleteaching.com through Creative Commons License.
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References & Notes
- Easton, M. G., “Brother” in Illustrated Bible Dictionary and Treasury of Biblical History, Biography, Geography, Doctrine, and Literature, (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1893).
- All scripture quoted is from The Holy Bible: New Revised Standard Version, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1989). Used with permission.
- Hermann, Ray, “Why did God say: ‘Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness?’” (The Outlaw Bible Student, OBS, 6 January 2019), https://outlawbiblestudent.org/why-did-god-say-let-us-make-man-in-our-image-after-our-likeness/
- Hicks, Dennis, “Is Jesus our Brother?” (My Journal, [Journal33], 2007), https://www.journal33.org/godworld/html/jc-bro.html
- Walvoord John F. and Zuck, Roy B., (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), vol. 2, p. 118.
- Abba: Aramaic word for ‘father’ used by Jesus to speak of his own intimate relationship with God, a relationship others can enter through faith. ‘Abba, Father’ characteristically means ‘Father, my Father’ (see: Mark 14:36; Romans 8:15; Galatians 4:6).
Brand, Chad, et al., (Eds.), Holman Illustrated Bible Dictionary, (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2003), p. 3. - Frame, John M., Salvation Belongs to the Lord: an Introduction to Systematic Theology, (Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R Publishing, 2006), pp. 205–206.
- “Yahweh”, (Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 20 July 1998), https://www.britannica.com/topic/Yahweh/additional-info#history
- “The Preexistence of the Messiah, Appendix A” in The Festivals and Sacred Days of Yahweh, (Garden Grove, CA: Qadesh La Yahweh Press, 2022), pp. 385-398.
- Heiser, Michael S., “Old Testament Godhead Language” in Faithlife Study Bible, (Eds.), John D. Barry, et al., (Bellingham WA: Lexham Press, 2016).
- Heiser, Michael S., The Bible Unfiltered: Approaching Scripture on Its Own Terms, (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2017), pp. 185-186.
- Hermann, Ray, “What is God’s Divine Council?” (The Outlaw Bible Student, OBS, 20 March 2023), https://outlawbiblestudent.org/what-is-gods-divine-council/
- Hicks, Dennis, “Is Jesus our Brother?” (My Journal, [Journal33], 2007), see above.
- Jordan, Joseph M., “Is Jesus our brother? – What does the Bible say?” (Christian Faith Guide, retrieved 31 July 2024), https://christianfaithguide.com/is-jesus-our-brother/
- “Jesus My Brother”, Artists: Mission House, Dee Wilson, Jess Ray, Taylor Leonhardt; Songwriters: T. Leonhardt, S. Kroger, A. Osenga; Album: Family Nights, Vol. 1: All My Heart, December 2023. Used under ‘fair use copyright’ for teaching under Section 107 of United States Copyright Act of 1976 – MUSIC VIDEO: https://youtu.be/fRyrkovuZv0
