Exploring the Bible

The Silent Sisters: What Tradition Tells Us About the Women in Jesus’ Family In the study of the Holy Family, we often focus on the "Big Three": Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. If we dig a little deeper, we encounter the brothers—specifically James the Just and Jude, who authored biblical books. We know their names, their struggles with skepticism, and their eventual leadership in the early church. But there is a third group in the household of Nazareth that is almost entirely lost to history: the sisters of Jesus. The Bible confirms their existence but maintains a frustrating silence regarding their identities. In Matthew 13:56 , the townsfolk of Nazareth ask: "And are not all his sisters with us?" Mark 6:3 repeats the question: "Are not his sisters here with us?" The use of the plural "all" (Greek pasai ) implies there were at least two, and possibly more. Yet, the inspired text never names them. They are the background figures of the Gospel...

  The Apostle Paul: Bachelor, Widower, or Divorcé? When we think of the Apostle Paul, we typically picture the ultimate bachelor of the Bible. He is the man who wrote, "It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman" (1 Corinthians 7:1) and expressed a wish that everyone could be single like him. For centuries, the church has viewed Paul as the model of celibacy—a man so consumed by his mission that he had no time or desire for family life. But is that the whole story? There is a compelling historical case to be made that Paul, the most influential theologian in history, may have actually been a married man. While the New Testament clearly depicts him as single during his missionary journeys, several clues suggest that this singleness was a result of loss, not lack of experience. To understand Paul’s marital status, we have to look at his life before the Damascus Road. He wasn't just a generic Jewish man; he was a rising star in the religious est...

  The Silent Savior: Uncovering the Identity of Paul’s Sister In the tapestry of the New Testament, the Apostle Paul is often portrayed as a solitary figure. He is the rugged missionary, the prisoner writing by candlelight, the man who "suffered the loss of all things." We know about his spiritual son, Timothy, and his partners like Barnabas and Silas. But when it comes to his biological family, the text is almost completely silent. Almost. Hidden in the dramatic intrigue of the book of Acts is a brief, fascinating appearance of Paul’s immediate family. It is a single scene that reveals he was not as alone as we might think, and that his survival—and by extension, the spread of the Gospel to Rome—hinged on the loyalty of a woman we know nothing about, except that she was his sister. The year is approximately 57 AD. Paul has returned to Jerusalem, and the city is a powder keg. His presence has caused a riot in the Temple, leading to his arrest by Roman forces for his o...