As the Christmas Season is upon us, many will be getting together with their family to share the joy and merriment of this glorious holiday. For many others, it is dreadful time and season, because they must reunite with their dysfunctional families and suffer hinderance, harping, hate, and hounding questions of those they are suppose to call most dear. Rather then merriment, these people feel like they are in a sadistic experiment, where they are cornered like rat in a maze of mean spirits and mocking siblings.
Dysfunctional families are commonplace in this imperfect world. It seems that few have the Hallmark family where everything is honky doory and happily ever after. Thankfuly the holy family was as dysfunctional as most families. Jesus Christ came into the world and was concieved by the holy Spirit. He was born of the Virgin Mary, who was a young maiden and married to a man named Joseph. They had no children prior to Christ coming, and the Scriptures say, "Joseph and Mary did not consumate thier marriage until after the Child was born." (Matthew 1:25). The fruit of Mary and Joseph's marriage was many sons and daughters, one of whom was James, the Apostle and writer of the epistle in the New Testament. Roman Catholic theologians and scholars disagree and believe Mary never had conjuigal relations with Joseph and instead the children she raised were from another wife of Joseph who had died. Joseph in both Catholic and Orthodox iconography is often old, even senior in age. However, Scripture contradicts this as I have already aforementioned.
Jesus Christ, Son of God, was not a child of Joseph, but was of the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, three but One God. (Nicene Creed, John 15:25, John 10:30, Matthew 28:19-20, Matthew 3:16-17 ). Jesus never was created, but has existed forever with the Father and Holy Spirit, He was there in Genesis, at the forming of our planet and even brough Light to it when the Father spoke (Genesis 1:1-3). When we as Christians say Jesus was born, we mean that He took flesh (body), humbled himself as child and became a Man, being tested in every way, but without ever sinning (Hebrews 4:15, 2 Corinthians 5:21). The Orthodox Christians explain it best, "Christ Jesus has always existed, Mary did not birth or partake in creating the Divine Nature, for He (the Divine) has always been (existed), but she birthed and was part of the Flesh Nature (body), she gave birth to body of the Son of God, and the Son of God entered into the Body with help of the Holy Spirit. The God Man who is Jesus Christ came forth from her womb, but she did not create Jesus, He has always existed with Father and Spirit and came down humbly through her" (The Orthodox Church, Timothy (Kallistos) Ware).
The Brothers and Sisters of Jesus were only half-siblings through Joseph and Mary. Technically there is no relation, because God Father, Holy Spirit could have had Jesus Christ the Son's body D.N.A. be completely God, but this is unlikely, because in Matthew 1 and Luke 1 we are given the linage of Jesus, so that we may know Jesus fufills the 358+ prophecies about being a Son of David, Abraham, and Adam. In order for Jesus Christ to die for all sins of men, he would need the bloodlines, and flesh body from man to crucify it on the cross, and thus end eternal damnantion, death's power, and sin's power over man. But then there is problem of did sin enter Jesus through the genes? How can he then be sinless, with the Blood D.N.A of sinners? This was major question of Ecumenical Councils that settle the matter with the Doctrine of the "Two Natures of Christ, which have Two Wills (one Will is God, the other will is the Flesh, this is supported by Jesus' struggle in garden and fighting agaisnt passing His cup of suffering away (see)." Simpy put, Jesus is God and Spirit who is sinless dwelling in body that has blood and D.N.A. of sinners; there is a seperation in this respect, but it makes it possible for Jesus to be tempted without sinning, and also for Him to die once for all for the sins of man. Be mindful this is best explaination the Church Fathers can give us, and they admit as we should, "How can creation understand the Creator?" At best we are making a guess, because we cannot fully fathom God or understand how this works. Jesus instead called us to "change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 18:3). Jesus is saying be quick to trust Him like children trust their parents, and its an analogy of how we are like ignorant children before an Almighty God and so our reasoning is limited because we are children with not fully formed minds. We are to trust even when if it is hard to understand. Still, I must confess the Ecumenical Councils give a rather plausible explanation for something beyond our capacity to fully comprehend; we are called to believe it, not completely explain it.
The children of Mary and Joseph are not gods, nor are they like Jesus who is God come in flesh (John 1:1), they are just normal people. These brothers and sisters of Jesus you would think growing up with God would have an awe of Him, and you could only imagine a book by the Apostle James, "Growing Up With God" would be great testimony of what is must have been like living daily with Divine. Or so we would think. The truth is that Jesus' relatives rejected Him. Worse the Scriptures say when Jesus was ministering, His family did the following, "When his family heard about this, they went to sieze him by froce, for they said, "He is out of his mind." (Mark 3:21). Christ's own family not only disbelieved His miracles and message, they tried to manage him and declared that he was "out of His mind." Jesus' family called Him crazy! On another occassion, more near the end of Jesus' ministry, and closer to His Passion, his brothers came to bring Him to Judea, Jerusalem. Jesus already knew it wasn't His time to die on cross yet, but his brothers insist on Him going, "Jesus' brothers said to him, "Leave Galilee and go to Judea, so that your disciples there may see the works you do. No one who wants to become a public figure acts in secret. Since you are doing these things, show yourself to the world." (John 7:3-4). Firstly, these brothers are not the Disciples, whom Jesus later says, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? Pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers." (Matthew 12:48-49). The verses in John clearly say that this is Jesus' brothers and they calling for Christ to visit His Disciples and reveal Himself to World and it says they do not believe in Him in verse 5. What is alarming about their request, is that by this point, the Pharisees and Saduccess are seeking to kill Jesus, and our Lord knows it is not yet His Time. One could infer that the brothers of Jesus are actually trying to murder Him! This is not far fetched and would fufill that Jesus is fufilling the foreshadowing of himself whose name is Joseph. Joseph was hated by his brothers and thrown into a pit, then taken into slavery, but he became a Prince of Egypt (See full story of Joseph in Genesis Chapters 37-46). In same way, Jesus Christ is going to be betrayed by his brothers (both his actual brothers through Joseph, and his disciples such as Judas and Peter), thrown into pit which symbolizes the pit Jesus will rescue sinners from, and goes into slavery, just as Jesus is slave until crucified, and then is raised to ruler as Joseph was, only Jesus will "Rule at right hand of His Father." (Mark 16:19). Speculating, I believe the brothers of Jesus wanted Him dead because they didn't like the publicity he was getting, the power he wielded, and because it says, "For even his own brothers did not believe in him." (John 7:5). Because Jesus' brothers do not believe In Him, they want to get rid of Him or they believed in making Him a king before His Cup of Suffering was drank, like those of Five thousand he fed (John 6:15).
It then makes sense knowing what Jesus' family is like, that He responds to person who says, "Your Mother, Brothers, and sisters are here and want to see you," (Luke 8:20) and Jesus responds, "My mother and brothers are those who hear the Word of God and do it." (Luke 8:21). I do not believe Jesus is singling out Mary, but it is important to note that His response comes after His Family tried to sieze Him and call Him crazy (Mark 3:21) and the Pharisees called him possessed by devil which he refuted (Mark 3:22-26). How Christ Jesus was treated by the family helpsn explain some of his difficult to swallow statments, "If anyone comes to me and does not hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters--yes, even their own life--such a person cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:26), and "Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn "'a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law--a man's enemies will be the members of his own household." (Matthew 10:34-36). Jesus Christ, Very God of Very God, had experianced first hand how family members can hinder, undermine, and even outright attack the work of God. Christ's enemies were not just Sanhedrian, Satan, and Romans, it was his very family. He thus warns us of the potential of our loved ones to turn against the Will of God and their propensity to disbelieve. There is a very telling verse that gives us further insight. It says, "But Jesus didn't trust them, because he knew human nature." (John 2:24). An older translation says, "He knew what was in Man, and so did not trust or put confidence in them." Our Lord and Savior knew the faithless nature of man, and that this nature is steeped in the flesh (sinful nature) and easily manipulated by Satan and the forces of darkness. It is only after Jesus dies on cross, raises from dead, and ascends that He can impart Himself into all who believe in Him once and for all to help them lean on Him and the Spirit, rather than the flesh. (John 16:7, 1 Corinthians 3:16, 1 Corinthians 6;19, Galatians 2:20).
There you have it. Familes can be enemies of faith. Jesus himself experianced a dysfunctional family. Only one of Jesus' brothers that we know of, James, believed in Him after The Ressurection. We know Mary believed and stayed with The Apostle John (John 19:26-27). Only Mary and James believed Jesus was the Christ, Son of God, The Messiah, Emmanuel (God with Us), The Bridgegroom, and God in bodily form. The rest of the brothers and sisters from Joseph as far as we know rejected the Truth and so we who have dysfunctional familes can rejoice, that our Redeemer knows the pain we suffer when our family is our enemy and against our faith. Jesus is the Author and Finisher of our Faith (Hebrews 12:2). He was mistreated, doubted, and disowned by his own family. We can take solace in that our Savior suffered as we suffer. If you have had to leave your family to follow Christ, be reminded Jesus Christ himself did the same before you did. You are not alone, God knows the pain of rejection, persecution, and distrust of family. Pour out your heart in prayer to Jesus Christ, for only He knows the pain and can bring you peace.
If you have not recieved Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Pray the following prayer, "Jesus Christ, I know I am sinner (wrong doer, wicked, do evil things) and deserve death and hell, but you paid for my sins with your blood and death on the cross (1 Peter 3:18, Romans 6:10, Hebrews 9:28). I ask you to forgive my sins. I believe in you Jesus Christ in my heart and confess you as Savior and Lord, and shall live for you, in the Name of The Father, the Son Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit, Amen."
Having done that now get baptized in the Holy Spirit. Pray this, "Holy Spirit come and descend upon me. Jesus breath the Spirit in Me (John 20:22). I want to walk by the spirit, not the flesh. I ask for the Fruit of Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) and the Gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:1-11). Give me tongues, discerning of spirits, the word of wisdom, the word of knowledge, prophecy, the gift of healing, the interpretation of tongues. Give to me as I need and to your glory, I accept all the gifts you wish to bestow on me, Amen."
You have been Born Again and Baptized in Spirit. As I have mentioned, The Trinity, God is Three but One. So when you pray to Father, Jesus Christ, or Holy Spirit it is praying to all three who are One. Each person in Trinity functions uniquely and our eyes and hearts are to be on Jesus Christ, but also Father and Holy Spirit, because they are One. This can be confusing, but it is the Truth, because we are but children, and God is the All Wise Sage of Ages who knows everything and invented all knowledge. To fully understand God is impossible, because we are the creation. But our goal is not to fully understand, but to love, relate, and draw closer in fellowship with Him. As you love, relate, and become closer to Christ, you shall know, understand, and concieve more, but as you learn more, more questions will arise unto infinity. That should bring joy, because we love to learn and know more and you can never exhaust the knowledge and wisdom God will reveal, giving us the peace of trusting Him to know all, but also the excitement of learning more and more.
Next I suggest you get a Holy Bible (NIV, NLT, NASB, Interlinear) or download one via Bible Apps. Read John, The Gospel, it comes after Matthew, Mark, and Luke. Read it, then read 1 John the letter, then read Romans, then read Galatians, then read Colossians, then read Ephensians, then Matthew, then read 2 Thessalonians, and from there read as you like. Read the Bible often and let its words sink into your soul, mind, body and spirit.
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