"Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judah and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" ~ Mark 6:3
Wow...
Mary's son...
Brother to James, Joseph, Judah, Simon, and at least two sisters...
He was a human. He was very human.
That's the first thought that strikes me as I read this verse. Jesus was an oldest child... just like me... he had lots of siblings (unlike me)...
He probably played with them in the dust of the Nazarene streets, worked along side his brother's in their dad's carpenters shop. Maybe massaged the knots out of Mary's neck and shoulders after a long day. Sat and listened as his sisters confided their childhood secrets to him. Leant forward in the middle of talking about what he had his friends did with their day to stoke the fire. Thrown a baby sibling in the air and caught them, making those little gurgling sounds we all make. Raced a brother down a street, dodging adults and slowing down to let the brother win.
Wow...
What would it have been like to be James, Joseph, Judah, Simon or one of the unnamed girls?
Jesus is shown to be a man without sin... His family declare Him insane...
I wonder how much that had to do with feeling like they never measured up... couldn't quite be the same as there perfect older brother... how much of it had to do with Mary and Joseph exclaiming in frustration "why can't you be more like your brother?" probably no need to ask which brother.
But at the same time... those sisters probably felt loved and protected by their big brother in a way no girl has ever experienced. James, Joseph, Judah and Simon... those boys probably knew that they could rely on the big bro when times got tough.
Strange... I've never really considered Jesus' human side much. The side of Him that would have sat on a roof in a small village in the evening air listening to His younger siblings talk over each other in their excitement about their day. The side of Him that would have cradled a baby while His mother rushed to finish dinner. The side of Him that would have lived in a house cluttered by the mess of seven or more child. The side of Him that would have gone to school and been trained in the Scriptures.
But somehow... it's comforting... it's comforting to know that He's been there. He's experienced the distracted parents, the overenthusiastic siblings, the hormonal sisters and mother, the demands of looking after younger siblings... comforting, because it shows He does actually understand my day to day life.
And I just got a mental image of Him reading those words over my shoulder and nodding His head with a chuckle "that's what I've been trying to tell you, my precious." He says. "Now, given that you are one of my sisters, why don't you tell me those secrets hidden in that mind of yours?"
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