LUKE 1:13-16
— The Passion Translation —

At daybreak, he called together all of his followers and selected twelve from among them, and he appointed them to be his apostles. Here are their names: Simon, whom he named Peter; Andrew, Peter’s brother; Jacob; John; Philip; Bartholomew; Matthew; Thomas; Jacob the son of Alpheus; Simon, known as a fiery political zealot; Judah the son of Jacob; and Judas the locksmith, who later betrayed Jesus.

Discipleship is discovering your relationship to the Triune God in that:

1. your identity is endowed by your Heavenly Dad.
2. your ability is revealed by your friend, Jesus.
3. your activity is empowered by the Holy Spirit.

JESUS' FAMILY CONNECTION

When we read the Gospels carefully, we see a number of family connections that help us better understand certain events. For example, several of Jesus' disciples were his cousins. Later his half brothers James and Judas (Jude or Judah in Hebrew) wrote letters in the New Testament that bear their names.

One of the most important connections is found in Luke 1.36, where the same angel, Gabriel, who informs Mary that she will bear a Son also tells her, "And behold, even your relative Elizabeth has also conceived a son in her old age." This same Elizabeth would give birth to a son named John, who would be known to history as John the Baptist (Luke 1.57-60; Luke 1.80).

While the relationship between Mary and Elizabeth isn't explicit, it is apparent that they were cousins, which made Jesus and John cousins. Furthermore, both Jesus and John were aware of each other's ministries. This is futher revealed in John's statement when he saw Jesus coming to him to be baptized, where he exclaimed, "Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!" (John 1.29).

John's understanding about the identity of his counsin, Jesus, as the prophesied Messiah (John 1.30-34) was either derived from a personal revelation from God or a study of the Hebrew Scriptures. Also, the fact that John, for the most part, accepted the truth of this revelation testifies to the fact that Jesus had to have lived a sinless and upright life. One exception to this is when John is imprisoned and sent messengers to question and confirm whether Jesus was the awaited Messiah (Luke 18.23).

Some Apostles Were Cousins
At least two of Jesus' disciples were also cousins. We discover this when cross-referencing the lists of the four women who witnessed Jesus' crucifixion (see Matthew 27.56; Mark 15.40; John 19.25). Comparing these accounts we see that the women included:

• Mary of Magdala or Mary Magdalene (see list in Matthew, Mark and John);
• Mary, the mother of Jesus (see 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 disciples, also called "James the son of Alphaeus" (see 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, identifies Clopas as a brother of Joseph, Mary's husband and stepfather of Jesus — making James another cousin of Jesus.

Salome (see Mark) is also called "the mother of Zebedee's sons" (see Matthew) and "Jesus' mother's sister" (see 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.

These familial ties give insight into the incident in Matthew 20.21, where "the mother of the sons of Zebedee" asked that her sons, James and John, be given the two most prominent positions in Jesus' Kingdom. The boldness of this request by James and John' mother is minimized only after recognizing that it was Jesus' aunt making the request on behalf of his two cousins. Their closeness and familiarity to Jesus 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 further reveals why James and John, along with Peter, were three of Jesus' closest friends, and why he asked them to accompany him at important events (Matthew 17.1-9; Matthew 26.36-37; Mark 5.37). If these three, Jesus, James, and John grew up together and were likely childhood friends, it is no wonder that he would have enjoyed their company.

Jesus' Brothers and Sisters
The Gospels show Jesus as having several half brothers and sisters born to Joseph and Mary. One example is in Matthew 13.55-56 where 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 — Jacob, Joseph, Simeon and Judah in Hebrew — 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 the promised Messiah (John 7.5). Yet, after his resurrection, James became a prominent believer. In Acts 1.14 James, along with his other brothers and his mother, Mary, is among the original members of the Church, the same group that received the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2.1-4).

James later became a leader of the Jerusalem congregation. He played a prominent role in the conference of Acts 15 (see Acts 15.13-21). Paul later visited James in Jerusalem (Acts 21.18). In Galatians 2.9 Paul refers to James as a "pillar" of the Church. James also 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 relatives intimately knew him attests to his unparalleled character. Their transformation from doubters to believers following his resurrection serves as compelling testaments to the reality of Jesus' victory over death as the promised Messiah.