Is Jesus really my brother?

Parents need to know the number of their children to be sure they don’t leave anyone behind.

Perhaps your family has counted heads after exiting a museum or an amusement park ride and came up one short. The hearts of parents and brothers and sisters skip a beat. When a family member is missing, the only thought is to find that person.

But what if you completely forgot that you had another member in your family? You left the museum without that person and never realized he or she was missing. For days. For years.

We can’t imagine this happening. You can’t forget that you have a brother. You can’t forget that you have a sister. You can’t forget that someone is a member of your family.

Have you forgotten that Jesus is your brother?

God is our Father

When we think about God in terms of family relationships, different things may come to mind.

For example, we call the first person of the Trinity God the Father. We call God our Father because he is the creator of our bodies and because “[we] are all children of God through faith” (Galatians 3:26).

Being God’s child by Spirit-created faith makes your relationship with God the Father special. Every human being has been created by him, but when you pray “Our Father in heaven,” you are not just speaking to your Creator. You are speaking to the one who made you his child through faith in Jesus and promised you an inheritance. Your sin is forgiven, and heaven is your home. The Father adopted you into his family. You were dressed in a robe of righteousness at your baptism.

God is your Father in the most profound way.

The first person of the Trinity is also called Father in connection with the second person of the Trinity: the Son. God the Father “so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son” (John 3:16).

We are called God’s sons and daughters because our Creator, our Father, adopted us into his family. Is the second person of the Trinity called God’s Son for the same reasons? Did God the Father create the Son? Did God the Father adopt the Son into his family?

Neither is true. The Son of God was not created; the Son of God is eternal. The Son of God is coequal with the Father; the Son of God is God. That is different from our relationship with God the Father. We were created. We are children of God by faith. We are not God. While God the Father has a connection with both the Son and with us, the connections are very different.

But there are connections.

Jesus, God’s Son, is our brother

Since both we and the Son have connections with the Father, is this the reason we can call the Son our brother?

We can call the second person of the Trinity our brother but not because of the mystery of the Trinity.

The writer to the Hebrews says, “Since the children share flesh and blood, [Jesus] also shared the same flesh and blood, so that through death he could destroy the one who had the power of death (that is, the Devil). . . . He had to become like his brothers in every way . . . so that he could pay for the sins of the people” (Hebrews 2:14-17 Evangelical Heritage Version).

Notice that Jesus was made like his brothers and his sisters, that is, he also has flesh and blood. We are part of the same human family. The eternal second person of the Trinity took on human flesh when Jesus was conceived in the virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit. Jesus’ human flesh was connected to his mother. His mother was connected to King David. King David was connected to Noah. Noah was connected to Adam and Eve, and so are you.

Jesus is your brother in part because you are authentically related to him. You belong to the same human family.

But that isn’t all.

Speaking about those who rejoice that Jesus is their Savior, the writer to the Hebrews explains, “Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters” (Hebrews 2:11).

Speaking of this same gracious miracle of salvation, Paul says to the Romans, “Those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters” (Romans 8:29).

Jesus is your brother not simply because he shares human flesh with you but because God graciously brought you into his family through faith. Being a Christian makes you related to Jesus in a most special way: He is your brother.

What comes to mind when you think about a brother or a sister? You might first think about the fact that you all share the same parents, but there is more. Brothers and sisters share experiences. They have lived a similar life, and they can connect with you on so many levels.

When you think of Jesus as your brother, think about shared experiences. As a true human, Jesus suffered. “Because he himself suffered when he was tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted” (Hebrews 2:18). Suffering under temptation is an experience we share with Jesus, though unfortunately we often fall. Thank the Lord that he did not fall. “We do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are—yet he did not sin. Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need” (Hebrews 4:15-16).

Our brother shared our experiences, but he did so much more. He was the hero brother, the one who looked out for his little sister and stood up for his little brother. He accepted the punishment we deserved, and because of his sacrifice, there is now a throne of grace we approach. Mercy and forgiveness are ours. Because of our hero brother, every sin has been washed away.

Jesus is your brother not simply because he shares human flesh with you but because God graciously brought you into his family through faith.

Jesus is your brother. Call him that. Know too that he calls you his brother, his sister. “Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters” (Hebrews 2:11).

Jesus is not ashamed of you. He rejoices that you are his brother, his sister. You are part of his family, and he does not forget. Family members do not forget a member of their own family, which means that you do not forget about Jesus either.

He is your Savior. He is your Lord.

He is also your brother.

Ask a question at forwardinchrist.net/submit.

Author: Stephen Geiger
Volume 113, Number 08
Issue: August 2026