The tradition of at least James’s unbelief
during Jesus’s ministry is also attested by multiple sources. Besides Mark, in
John’s Gospel, when Jesus was in Galilee and the Jewish Feast of Tabernacles
was approaching in Judea, Jesus’s brothers suggested he attended the festival
so that the people there could witness the works (i.e., miracles) which he was
doing (John 7:1-4). But in John’s parenthetical comment here, he indicates that
“not even his brothers believed in him” (oude gar hoi adelphoi autou
episteuon eis auton, 7:5).
Once again this difficult theme
emerges. Although his mother and brothers may have followed along at least
occasionally with Jesus and his disciples (John 2:12), this seems not to have
been a lasting situation. In John 2:3-5, Mary and the brothers desired that
Jesus perform some miracles. As Craig Keener points out, “John specifically
attributes their request for Jesus’s open revelation to unbelief (7:5).” This
is an intriguing contrast with Jesus’s disciples, who did not wish for
Jesus to go into the region of Judea for his own sake (11:8). At any rate, the
comparison here in context may well be that Jesus’s brothers were at least
somewhat like those former followers of Jesus who had withdrawn (apēlthon
eis ta opisō) and just recently left him (ouketi met’ auto periepaton,
7:66). (Keener, Gospel of John, 2:1141-45)
One other passage should be mentioned
here, namely, John 19:25-27. During his crucifixion, it is narrated that Jesus
noticed his mother standing near the cross along with some other women and
committed her to the care of the beloved disciple who was also present, who
responded by caring for Jesus’s mother from that time onward. The point is
often made that, as the eldest son, Jesus was duty bound to take care of this
crucial matter. Especially in ancient Jewish culture, this incident could
signify a very meaningful obligation that had now been completed. Alternative
suggestions have also been made. Among these proposals is that Jesus knew his
brothers had not followed him and wanted a believer to care for his mother.
This could especially be the case in light of John’s earlier acknowledgment of
this reality (John 7:5). On this view, James and the other siblings would still
not have joined the disciples and other believers. (Gary R. Habermas, On the
Resurrection, 4 vols. [Brentwood, Tenn.: B&H Academic, 2024], 1:551)
