In St. Matthew's Gospel (Chapter 13, verse 55) we read that people who heard Jesus preach asked, "Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren James, and Joses, and Simon, and Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us?" In St. Mark's Gospel (Chapter 6, verse 3) the words are "Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?"
According to both Matthew and Mark, the people are offended by Jesus's words. They cannot believe that the humble carpenter's son, whom they've known since he was knee–high to a grasshopper, is telling them how they should live their lives.
Mark continues: "But Jesus said unto them. A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house." Matthew's version is similar, but he doesn't mention the prophet's "own kin".
The suggestion that Jesus had siblings – at least six of them, in fact – is a conundrum for theologians, some of whom believe that Mary was a "perpetual virgin".
© Haydn Thompson 2021