Whatever Happened To ?

     A frequent sidebar when I am on the internet is a link to one of those "Whatever happened to. . ." websites. Though I try not to waste time pursuing them (because I'm already wasting time writing or looking at Facebook) I admit that I'm tempted to see how the child stars, teen idols, & sex symbols of my formative years turned out--or burned out. Hoping, of course, that those that didn't drink or drug themselves to oblivion, will have the good grace to look older and flabbier than I am. But the nearly famous I have been thinking of lately are Jesus' brothers. We know of the faith of two of them, because they are published authors in the New Testament--James and Jude.
     James appears to be Jesus' nearest sibling according to the order of names in Matthew 13:55. I have thought a lot about James. As brothers, James should have been Jesus' faithful supporter. It should have been James, instead of John, that Jesus entrusted the care of his mother to while on the cross. But apparently, James was not there to receive the responsibility. I think guilt over his failure is the reason Jesus made a private appearance to James, as he did to Peter, after his resurrection. (1 Cor. 15:7) By unbelief, James had betrayed his own brother. But we know by his epistle that James came to fervent faith and became the early leader of the Jerusalem church. Sorry Catholics, but if the early church had a pope, it was James, not Peter.
     Jude, who may be Jesus' youngest brother according to the list above, also wrote an epistle.While James' letter was about persecution and practical behavior, Jude was warning about false teachers that had already invaded the church. Neither brother used their earthly relationship to Jesus as a claim to fame, instead, they described themselves as his bondservants.
     That leaves two brothers and at least two sisters unaccounted for. Whatever happened to Joseph (Jr.) and Simon? I have no doubt that they, also, came to faith. I cannot imagine that Jesus would let his own earthly parents spend eternity without the company of all their children. That is a parent's greatest fear. This is one of those cases where I remind myself that the Bible leaves out far more than it records. There is no further record of the brothers, just as there is no mention of the death of Joseph, but that does not mean their lives were unimportant to God. No life is unimportant to God. When we get to heaven we can click on that sidebar, take the seminar or ask them in person, "So, what happened. . . ?"