Siblings

Matthew 13:55-56 - "Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren't all his sisters with us?"

Assuming that these brothers and sisters were children of Mary and Joseph and not more distant relatives (since I think these terms can be ambiguous at times in the original -- but I may be wrong), I wonder what it was like growing up with Jesus as a sibling, a real brother, a physical, visible member of the family. I've heard comedians joke about this -- usually implying that it would be tough to be his sibling. If something was wrong, it was never, ever Jesus' fault -- really! He probably got blamed for wrong doing though -- just look at his adult life! You were never quite as good as him at anything.

But I wonder if it really would have been all that bad living with the perfect brother. He never treated you badly. He never got you into trouble by his own bad behavior. He loved you at all times. He helped you whenever possible. He was really your best friend, if you wanted him to be.

Hm, sounds like the Jesus I have as my brother today.