Welcome and thank you for taking a bible break to test your knowledge of God's word.
This week's question:

Caesar Augustus sends out a decree for a census to be taken where each would register in his city of his house. Since Joseph was of the house of David, both he and Mary traveled to the town of Bethlehem, the birth place of David. Soon, Jesus is born in a manger and they are first visited by shepherds who tell of angels praising God of the Christ and are sent to Bethlehem to worship Him. Mary treasures all these things in her heart (Luke 2:18-19). Then Magi come to Jerusalem and inquire of king Herod about a newborn king of the Jews and both he and all of Jerusalem are troubled because of it (Matthew 2:1-3). He requests that they make careful search and when they find Him to return and tell them where He is so that he too can worship Him-though he secretly wishes to destroy Him. Herod inquires of the chief priests of where the Messiah is to be born and they tell him it is in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).

That brings us to our question, "Whose brothers were James, Joseph, Simeon, and Judas?". There is no doubt that it would be very difficult for those who saw Jesus grow from a boy to manhood, as his brothers and sisters did, to then accept Him as the Messiah.

When Jesus began His ministry, what did His brothers think? And after these things Jesus was walking in Galilee; for He was unwilling to walk in Judea, because the Jews were seeking to kill Him. Now the feast of the Jews, the feast of booths, was at hand. His brothers therefore said to Him, "Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may behold Your works which you are doing. For no one does anything in secret , when he himself seeks to be known publicly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world." For not even His brothers were believing in Him. (John 7:1-5). So there we see that Jesus' brothers did not believe in Him as the Christ at this point.

Therefore, for the answer to our question we turn and read, And He went out from there, and He came into His home town; and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many listeners were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon? Are no His sisters here with us?" And they took offense at Him. And Jesus said to them, "Aprophet is not withour honor except in his home town and among his own relatives and in his own household." And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching. (Mark 6:1-6).

So there we have our answer as James, Simeon and Judas are the brothers of Jesus! We can also see that Jesus indeed did have sisters as well as His hometown people recognized the carpenter, the son of Mary and His brothers and sisters there in the synagogue with them.

Note also, that His initial reading of Isaiah and even Him saying, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." (Luke 4:21), did not rile up His hometown folks; And He said to them, "No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, 'Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your own home town as well.'" And He said, "Truly I say to you, no prophet is welcome in his home town as well. But I say to you in truth, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the sky was shut up for three years and six months, when a great famine came over all the land; and yet Elijah was sent to none of them, but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in the time of Elisha the prophet; and non of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian." And all in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things; and they rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, He went His way. (Luke 4:23-30).

So we can see what set the Jewish people of Nazareth into a rage, not that Jesus said His coming was fulfilling the scriptures of Isaiah, who cares about that, it was that Jesus told about two Gentiles, the widow Zaraphath, and the leper Naaman, who were healed by God when there were many Jewish widows starving in Israel, and many Jewish lepers in the time of Elisha!

Interestingly enough, Jesus does see James after His resurrection, which puts James on a different path of life, "After that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time, most who remain until now, but some have fallen asleep; then He appeared to James, then to all the apostles;" (1 Corinthians 15:6-7). James helped during a council at Jerusalem (Acts 15:13-23) and even writes an epistle, 'James' as does his other brother, Judas, who also writes 'Jude'.