THEOSISAmbrose of Milan
According to the tradition of the Old Testament Law, it was a duty for a brother to ensure the continuation of his deceased sibling's lineage (see Gen. 38:8, Mk. 12:9, Lk. 20:28). Consequently, a person could be recognized as the son of two different men—not due to being born from both, but because he was biologically the offspring of one and, through legal obligation, became associated with the other. This commandment holds the promise that the lineage of those who have passed will endure; however, the Jewish people struggled to grasp this concept and, in adhering strictly to the law's wording, diminished the richness of the promise given.
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There was another Brother destined to restore the lineage of the departed; He was not related by physical ties but was bonded through the purity of divine grace. It might seem, then, that redemption could come solely from man (Ps. 48:8), for it was not merely a brother who would accomplish this, but the Lord Himself, the mediator between God and humanity, the man Jesus Christ (1 Tim. 2:5), who granted the gift of resurrection.
The directive from the Old Testament does not concern a literal brother restoring the lineage of a deceased sibling. Rather, it pertains to that Brother who, emerging from the Jewish nation that was spiritually dead, is to unite with the true wisdom that honors God and, through this union, bring forth a new lineage embodied in the apostles. These apostles were once hidden within the synagogue, likened to unborn infants of a dead people, yet through the gift of grace, they were blessed with the awakening of a new spiritual heritage.