The Meaning of “Brothers” in Matthew 13:55: Spiritual Brothers, Fleshly Brothers, or Cousins?
- Edward D. Andrews
- 14 minutes ago
- 6 min read
The question of whether the “brothers” mentioned in Matthew 13:55 refers to spiritual brothers, fleshly brothers, or cousins of Jesus is central to understanding both the historical reality of Jesus’ family and the inspired accuracy of the Gospel accounts. The verse states: “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?” Matthew provides names, identifies relational connections, and reports the reaction of Jesus’ townspeople who knew His earthly family. Because Scripture is the final authority, the meaning of “brothers” must be settled by lexical analysis, contextual exegesis, historical background, and comparison with parallel texts, all within the historical-grammatical method and without resorting to late theological traditions.
The Literal Meaning of the Greek Term Adelphoi
The Consistent New Testament Usage
The Greek word adelphoi used in Matthew 13:55 carries a straightforward, literal meaning. In standard Koine Greek, adelphos refers to a male sibling who shares the same mother or father. It does not carry the flexible range of meaning found in some Semitic languages unless a context demands an extended metaphorical sense. The New Testament writers employ adelphos in its literal sense whenever discussing natural family relationships, such as Andrew and Peter, James and John, or Mary and Martha (the latter in feminine form adelphē). When the term is used metaphorically for believers in Christ, the surrounding context unmistakably indicates that shift, emphasizing faith-based unity rather than family lineage.
In Matthew 13:55, there is no indicator of metaphor or spiritual relationship. Instead, the verse specifies Mary, the known mother of Jesus, and the townspeople openly identify multiple sons connected to her. This is a direct reference to a biological family unit, not a spiritual community.
Named Siblings Demonstrate Physical Kinship
Matthew records four names: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. Listing actual names strongly supports a literal meaning. Spiritual metaphors are never presented with birth family structures, nor are they reported as part of a villager’s attempt to identify a person’s family background. When people asked “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” they were drawing from shared familiarity with Jesus’ household. Their question hinges on their perception of His physical family, not on any spiritual association.
The Immediate Context of Matthew 13
Recognition by Those Who Knew Jesus’ Household
Matthew 13 describes the reaction of people in Nazareth who were familiar with Jesus for many years. Their astonishment came from the contrast between His well-known, ordinary upbringing and His divine authority. This is a setting involving day-to-day relationships, local community knowledge, and human familiarity, not spiritual symbolism. The people of Nazareth referenced:
Jesus as the carpenter’s son
Mary as His mother
His “brothers” by name
His “sisters” living among them
This family framework is concrete and physical, not metaphorical. Even the mention of “sisters” (Matthew 13:56) confirms that an entire set of natural children existed in Mary’s household. The text does not say “sisters in faith” or imply any form of spiritual kinship. Such an interpretation would be impossible in the setting of a village inquiry.
Matthew’s Literary Intent
Matthew’s Gospel consistently presents events with clarity, precision, and historical grounding. In genealogies, birth narratives, and family references, Matthew avoids ambiguity. When referring to spiritual brotherhood, Matthew uses contexts involving discipleship, obedience to God, and shared faith (for example, Matthew 12:50). In contrast, Matthew 13:55–56 is part of a narrative that describes social reaction to Jesus’ identity, not a teaching discourse about spiritual relationships. Therefore, the only grammatically and contextually sound interpretation is that these are Jesus’ literal, fleshly siblings.
The Cultural Background of First-Century Jewish Families
Ordinary Large Families
Jewish households in first-century Galilee typically included multiple children. It was common for families to have five, six, seven, or more offspring. Matthew’s mention of four named brothers and at least two sisters aligns perfectly with the cultural norm of a large family. Nothing unusual or theologically symbolic appears in the text.
Adoption or Cousin Theories Are Late and Unbiblical
Some later traditions claim these “brothers” were cousins rather than children of Mary. However, Greek has a well-established term for cousin, anepsios, which is used in the New Testament (Colossians 4:10). Matthew, an educated Jewish Christian trained as a tax collector, would not use adelphoi if he meant cousins. The claim that cousins are “brothers” is linguistically unsound in Greek and exegetically unsupported in Scripture.
The idea that Joseph had children from an earlier marriage is also without a single biblical reference. No Gospel writer, no New Testament author, and no first-century Christian document provides such an assertion. The cousins theory and the stepbrother theory arose centuries after the apostolic era and are driven by theological motivations that do not emerge from the inspired text itself.
Parallel Gospel Accounts Confirm Physical Brothers
Mark 6:3 Strengthens the Literal Understanding
Mark records the same account: “Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” Mark uses the same term adelphoi in the same narrative context. The parallel structure reinforces that these are siblings in the ordinary sense. Two independent Gospel witnesses present the same family composition, further grounding the interpretation.
The Role of Mary After Jesus’ Birth
The inspired text clearly shows Mary and Joseph engaging in normal marital relations after Jesus’ miraculous birth. Matthew 1:25 states that Joseph “did not have sexual relations with her until she gave birth to a son.” The word “until” indicates change in action after a specified time period. Natural marital relations after Jesus’ birth naturally result in additional children. These children are the named brothers and the unnamed sisters mentioned in the Gospels. The biblical record presents a normal household in every respect following the birth of the Messiah.
Comparison With Spiritual Brotherhood Passages
Clear Distinction Between Physical and Spiritual “Brothers”
When Jesus refers to spiritual brothers, He defines them as those who “do the will of my Father.” Such passages explicitly contrast spiritual kinship with biological ties. Matthew 12:46–50 describes Jesus’ physical mother and brothers standing outside while He teaches. Jesus then uses the moment as a teaching illustration about spiritual family. The narrative preserves both concepts simultaneously: literal mother and literal brothers present physically, with spiritual brothers defined theologically. The two categories are distinct, not interchangeable.
No Spiritual Teaching in Matthew 13
In Matthew 13, unlike in Matthew 12, Jesus is not delivering a lesson about spiritual kinship. Rather, the people are reacting to His identity as Messiah and Teacher. They invoke His family only in terms of natural life, astonished that someone from their own small, ordinary community should possess divine wisdom. Thus, the “brothers” of Matthew 13 cannot be spiritual brothers.
The Testimony of Early Christian Understanding
First-Century Readers Would Have Understood Literal Siblings
Those who first received and copied Matthew’s Gospel were native speakers of Greek or bilingual Aramaic-Greek Christians who understood adelphoi in its ordinary sense. No early writer within the apostolic age suggested that these brothers were anything other than Mary’s children. The earliest interpretations, closest to the text and the original audience, align with the literal-brother view.
Theological Claims Should Not Override Scripture
The concept that Mary remained perpetually virgin is neither found in Scripture nor compatible with the direct testimony of inspired authors. The insistence that “brothers” cannot mean literal brothers arises from extra-biblical theology, not from biblical texts. The historical-grammatical method requires understanding words as the inspired writers intended, not as later traditions reinterpret them. This means accepting adelphoi as literal brothers unless a context clearly dictates metaphor, which Matthew 13 does not.
Narrative Logic Within Matthew’s Gospel
Jesus’ Return to Nazareth
The people’s questions express their disbelief that someone of divine authority could arise from their own village. Their shock depends on the ordinariness of His earthly household. If these relationships were spiritual or extended kinship, their objection would lose force. Jesus’ humble upbringing is the contrast to His divine teaching, and the mention of His brothers and sisters forms part of the evidence they use to dismiss Him.
The Family’s Interactions Show Real Kinship
Other passages show that Jesus’ brothers had difficulty accepting His role before His resurrection (John 7:5). Such a reaction is consistent with physical brothers who grew up with Him, not distant cousins or spiritual associates. Their later presence among the believers (Acts 1:14) confirms genuine family ties rather than figurative language.
The Most Coherent and Biblically Faithful Conclusion
Matthew 13:55–56 refers to the literal, fleshly brothers and sisters of Jesus, the natural children of Mary and Joseph born after Jesus. The term adelphoi has its ordinary meaning, the context requires physical family identification, the parallel Gospel accounts confirm the same understanding, and no biblical evidence supports cousins or spiritual interpretation. Scripture presents Jesus as the firstborn of Mary, with several younger siblings who formed part of the Nazareth household.
This understanding affirms the accuracy of the inspired Word and grounds our interpretation in the historical reality of Jesus’ human life, consistent with conservative evangelical exegesis and the historical-grammatical method.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
EDWARD D. ANDREWS (AS in Criminal Justice, BS in Religion, MA in Biblical Studies, and MDiv in Theology) is CEO and President of Christian Publishing House. He has authored over 220+ books. In addition, Andrews is the Chief Translator of the Updated American Standard Version (UASV).