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5A. Jesus' Tomb and His Family Members 
Those who are successful in the management of their own household are considered suitable to be a bishop (also called an elder or overseer) or a deacon over a household church or group of them.
Bishops in the Early Church
Paul says that overseers have the care of all the churches. He writes to Timothy, "Now the overseer (bishop) must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled.... He must manage his own family well, and see that his children obey him with proper respect. If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God's church?"(4). In some Bible versions "family" is substituted for "household."
Bishop's Qualifications
The qualification for a bishop as, "the husband of one wife," loosely translated as "married only once", seem to be more a warning against immorality and bigamy than against a female bishop or elder. Paul lists the moral and leadership characteristics required of a leader but does not specifically rule out female leaders. He writes similarly of deacons, "A deacon must be the husband of but one wife, and must manage his children and his households well"(5). A third passage describes the qualities of their "wives" who "are to be women worthy of respect"(6). "Wives" here is the same word used of deaconesses. At any rate, women and men had an equally important role in both the New Testament church and the Old Testament. It is not gender but the person's spiritual and moral qualities that are essential for leadership.
Jesus' Household
Jesus' own household was of great significance and pre-eminence in the Early Church. Jesus called himself the householder and compared his own household with that of Beelzebub(7.) He described himself as the master and his disciples as servants of the household(8). Even though Jesus' brothers and family did not figure largely in his earthly ministry, his brother James suddenly came to the fore to become bishop (or president) of the church in Jerusalem after Peter had been executed. Another brother, Jude, composed an epistle which found its way into the canon of the Bible, even though Luther later described it as "an epistle of straw!" James and Jude were of the line of David, and blood brothers to Jesus, from Mary and Joseph. Jesus was born of Mary by the Holy Spirit.
Jesus' Tomb
The Jesus' Tomb if of no other significance shows the importance of all members of Jesus' family and that they should be buried in a family tomb. The location would not have been important to the early Christians because they believed in the resurrection of the body and therefore the bones are not necessary to the faith any longer. When the institutional church arose and it was discovered that some of the bones of the Saints had healing properties, even the empty tomb of a saint, the church in Rome and in other places as well as wealthy Christians started collecting bones, pieces of the cross, nails etc. These do not however figure in whether a person is saved or not.
The Pre-eminent Family in the Early Church
In AD 70, the Emperor Vespasian ordered a search for descendants of Jesus, believing the line of David to be the royal household of the Early Church. James, the brother of Jesus, may have been regarded as the Protector or Prince Regent until the imminent expected return of the his brother, the Messiah. The historian Eusebius reported that after James died another relative, a cousin of Jesus called Simon son of Clopas, became the leader of the Jerusalem congregation. These family members were sought after by the authorities in an attempt to stamp out the Christen faith which had become a threat because of the sheer numbers and power of its adherents.
Questions for Discussion
1. What role did Jesus take in the Christian family before his death? What role did Jesus take in the Early Church after his resurrection?
2. Describe the development of leadership from Patrons in the Christian Households to Bishops in the Early Church after AD 246.
Notes
(4) 1 Timothy 3.2-5. (5) 1 Timothy 3.12. (6) 1 Timothy 3.11. (7) Matthew 10.25. (8) Matthew 10.24.
"We are living members of his mystical body"
