Matthew 1:18-25 (ERV) reveals the record of Jesus’ conception and birth: “This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah happened. His mother Mary was engaged to marry Joseph. But before they married, he learned that she was expecting a baby. (She was pregnant by the power of the holy spirit.) Mary’s husband, Joseph, was a good man. He did not want to cause her public disgrace, so he planned to divorce her secretly. But after Joseph thought about this, an angel from the Lord came to him in a dream. The angel said, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to accept Mary to be your wife. The baby inside her is from the holy spirit. She will give birth to a son. You will name him Jesus. Give him that name because he will save his people from their sins.” All this happened to make clear the full meaning of what the Lord said through the prophet: “The virgin will be pregnant and will give birth to a son. They will name him Immanuel.” (Immanuel means “God with us.”) When Joseph woke up, he did what the Lord’s angel told him to do. He married Mary. But Joseph did not have sexual relations with her until her son was born. And he named him Jesus.”

As stated in verses above, Mary was a virgin when Jesus was born, and Joseph and Mary had no sexual union until after Jesus’ birth. 

Was Jesus an only child or did Jesus have any half-siblings? Did Mary conceive any children with Joseph? The scriptures tell us Jesus did, indeed, have brothers and sisters!

Matthew 13:55,56, “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us?

This common Greek name, Judas, when translated into English can be either Jude or Judah. We should note that the Judas mentioned in this Scripture was not Judas Iscariot who betrayed our Lord. This scripture instead refers to Jesus’ half-brother who wrote the book of Jude in the Bible. Also, Jesus’ brother, James, is not one of the two apostles named James, but instead, he was one of the leaders of the church in Jerusalem mentioned in Acts chapter 15. It is also thought he wrote the book of James in the Bible.
           
There are more scriptures to indicate Jesus had brothers: Mark 3:31:, “Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him.” Acts 1:14, “They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary, the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.”

There is an interesting prophetic scripture in Psalms that refers to how Jesus was at first rejected by his brothers: Psalm 69:8 (New Heart English Bible) “I (referring to Jesus) have become a stranger to my brothers, a foreigner to my mother’s children.”  Later, however, James and Jude became active church leaders, writing very important letters in the New Testament.  

So, Jesus had four half-brothers and at least two half-sisters. These children were the fruitage of Joseph’s and Mary’s marriage.

Additional Resources:
For children, parents and Bible class teachers:
Animated video: Did Jesus have any brothers or sisters?
Animated video: Why did God choose Mary to be the mother of Jesus?