Apparently Mary and Elizabeth were cousins, with some Bible translations rendering Luke 1:36 as: “Elizabeth your cousin has also conceived a son in her old age.” This would also make Jesus and John the Baptist cousins, probably with close family ties. They were aware of each other’s ministries, and when John saw Jesus coming to him to be baptized, he exclaimed, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). While it was divinely revealed to John that his cousin Jesus was the prophesied Messiah (John 1:30-34), the fact John so unhesitatingly accepted this revelation testifies to the fact that Jesus had to have lived a sinless and upright life.
At least two of Jesus’ Apostles were also apparently His cousins. When we compare the lists of the four women who witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion as recorded in Mark 15:40 and John 19:25, we see the women included:
• Mary of Magdala or Mary Magdalene (mentioned by Matthew, Mark and John);
• Mary, the mother of Jesus (mentioned by John);
• Another Mary, identified by John as “Mary wife of Clopas” and by Matthew and Mark as “Mary the mother of James and Joses.”
This James is generally identified as James the Less, one of the 12 Apostles, also called “James the son of Alphaeus” (Matthew 10:3; Mark 3:18; Luke 6:15). “Clopas” and “Alphaeus” seem to be variations of the Aramaic name “Chalphai,” which can be transliterated into Greek as “Clopas” and Latin as “Alphaeus.” The 2nd-century historian Hegesippus states that Clopas was a brother of Joseph, Mary’s husband and stepfather of Jesus. If true, then this Apostle James was a cousin of Jesus.
Salome (mentioned by Mark) was also called “the mother of Zebedee’s sons” by Matthew and “His [Jesus’] mother’s sister” by John. With Salome and Mary being sisters, their children—Jesus, son of Mary, and the disciples James and John, sons of Salome and Zebedee—were first cousins.
This relationship sheds light on the incident in Matthew 20:21 when “the mother of the sons of Zebedee” asked that her sons, James and John, be given the two most prominent positions in Christ’s Kingdom. The woman was Jesus’ aunt, making the request on behalf of His two cousins.Their closeness to Jesus as family members likely made them think such a request wouldn’t be seen as too forward—and also helps explain Jesus’ tactful but firm response.
This family relationship also adds understanding as to why James and John, along with Peter, were the three disciples Jesus seems to have been closest to, asking them to accompany Him at significant times and events (Matthew 17:1-9 and 26:36-37; Mark 5:37). Jesus was evidently close to these two cousins, and it isn’t much of a stretch to think they might have grown up together and been friends from childhood.
The Gospels also show Jesus had many half brothers and half sisters born to Joseph and Mary. In Matthew 13:55-56 we see that some residents of Nazareth asked: “Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us?” This passage names four half brothers and mentions His half sisters (plural). Thus Jesus had at least six half siblings—four brothers and two sisters.
During Jesus’ life, His half brothers did not believe in Him as Savior and Messiah (John 7:5). Yet, after His resurrection, James became a prominent believer. In Acts 1:13-14 James, along with his other brothers and his mother Mary, are among the original members of the Church, the same group that received God’s Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).
James later became a leader of the Jerusalem congregation, and played a prominent role in the conference of Acts 15 (Acts 15:13-21). Paul refers to James as a “pillar” of the Church (Galatians 2:9) and James wrote the New Testament epistle that bears his name (James 1:1). Another brother listed above, Judas or Judah (Matthew 13:55), wrote the short epistle of Jude (Jude 1:1).
The fact that these half brothers and other relatives accepted Jesus as their Messiah and personal Savior is strong testimony to the fact He lived an exemplary and sinless life, and that they became believers after His resurrection is a powerful witness to the reality of that resurrection from the grave.
