Jesus Names His True Family in a Crowded HouseBible World
12:48Matthew 12:48
But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?
When He was teaching a crowd and His mother and brothers could not reach Him for the press and sent word that they wanted to speak with Him, He answered by asking who His mother and His brethren are, without disrespect or rebuke, to fix attention and give a lasting lesson. They had come to draw Him away for food and rest and to persuade Him to be more prudent in His labor, thinking His unceasing work and nights in prayer were wearing Him out and that He was beside Himself. Pointing to His disciples, He explained that His mother and brethren are not known by blood but by doing the will of His Father in heaven, so that whoever does that will is His brother and sister and mother. That obedience makes a person more closely related to Him than family ties do, and brings all who accept the word of truth into the heavenly family as adopted brothers and sisters. Duty to God and His work therefore stands above duty to relatives when the two compete, requiring Him to be put before even father or mother, yet giving comfort that all who keep the Father's commandments and follow Him are regarded by Christ as His own kindred.
Question's Setting and Aim
Jesus was teaching a crowd, absorbed in giving solemn and awful warnings to the people, when His mother and brothers could not reach Him for the press and sent word that they desired to speak with Him. The message that His mother and brothers wanted to see Him drew from Him the answering question about who His mother and brothers were. That question then led to His explanation identifying those who do His heavenly Father's will as His true family.
His mother and the sons of Joseph had come to persuade or constrain Him to cease His manner of labor and be more prudent. Thinking Him beside Himself, they sought to draw Him away from His work for food and rest because they feared His unceasing labor was wearing Him out. The reports that astonished and dismayed them were that He spent entire nights in prayer and was thronged all day with no time so much as to eat, wearing Himself out by incessant labor.
His brothers were far from sympathy with His work and could not understand or sympathize with the mission He came to fulfill, neither understanding nor believing His mission. They could not account for His attitude toward the Pharisees, and some feared His reason was becoming unsettled. They felt keenly the reproach of the charge that He cast out devils through Satan, knew the tumult His words and works created, and were alarmed at His bold statements and indignant at His denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. Thinking His love for Mary would prevail upon Him, they induced her to unite with them in this effort.
By asking who His mother and brothers are, He answered that intervention without lack of respect and without rebuke. He seized the interruption to fix attention and give a lasting, immortalized lesson to His mother, His brethren, His disciples, and the multitude.
True Family Defined
When word came that His mother and brothers wanted to see Him, He answered with the question who His mother and brothers were, and then pointed to His disciples and declared them to be His mother and brethren. That question opens His explanation that true belonging to Him is decided not by natural birth but by doing the will of His Father in heaven. Whoever does that will is His brother and sister and mother.
Obedience to God creates a tie closer than blood, so that those who do God's will are more nearly related to Him than are kindred by family ties. This stood in contrast to His own family members at that time, who could not understand or sympathize with the mission He came to fulfill. All who follow His teachings and accept the word of truth are by that obedience made members of the heavenly family, adopted into God's family as His brothers and sisters.
His great love for this family cannot be measured, yet it is known through experience.
Loyalty Cost and Comfort
Duty to God and His work stands above duty to relatives when the two compete, and the question of who mother and brethren are challenges the claim of ordinary family ties in that loyalty. It was asked without lack of respect and without rebuke, yet it seizes the interruption to fix attention and give a lasting lesson to mother, brethren, disciples, and multitude. Following Him requires counting the cost and denying self and putting Him before even father, mother, son, or daughter, and no one is worthy of Him without that commitment.
Those who are agitated about receiving Christ, when accepting His words brings determined opposition from fathers and mothers and relatives, are to make obedience to the will of the Father in heaven the bond of union. Every soul striving to do God's will is to be treated as one's own relative, without favoritism toward biological family. This kinship calls believers to recognize their divine relationship and honor their Father and treat one another with tenderness as Christ's kindred.
Believers can take comfort in knowing that Christ regards those who do His Father's will as His brother and sister and mother. His little ones show that kinship by keeping the Father's commandments and taking up the cross and following Him.
When He was teaching a crowd and His mother and brothers could not reach Him for the press and sent word that they wanted to speak with Him, He answered by asking who His mother and His brethren are, without disrespect or rebuke, to fix attention and give a lasting lesson. They had come to draw Him away for food and rest and to persuade Him to be more prudent in His labor, thinking His unceasing work and nights in prayer were wearing Him out and that He was beside Himself. Pointing to His disciples, He explained that His mother and brethren are not known by blood but by doing the will of His Father in heaven, so that whoever does that will is His brother and sister and mother. That obedience makes a person more closely related to Him than family ties do, and brings all who accept the word of truth into the heavenly family as adopted brothers and sisters. Duty to God and His work therefore stands above duty to relatives when the two compete, requiring Him to be put before even father or mother, yet giving comfort that all who keep the Father's commandments and follow Him are regarded by Christ as His own kindred.
Question's Setting and Aim
Jesus was teaching a crowd, absorbed in giving solemn and awful warnings to the people, when His mother and brothers could not reach Him for the press and sent word that they desired to speak with Him. The message that His mother and brothers wanted to see Him drew from Him the answering question about who His mother and brothers were. That question then led to His explanation identifying those who do His heavenly Father's will as His true family.
His mother and the sons of Joseph had come to persuade or constrain Him to cease His manner of labor and be more prudent. Thinking Him beside Himself, they sought to draw Him away from His work for food and rest because they feared His unceasing labor was wearing Him out. The reports that astonished and dismayed them were that He spent entire nights in prayer and was thronged all day with no time so much as to eat, wearing Himself out by incessant labor.
His brothers were far from sympathy with His work and could not understand or sympathize with the mission He came to fulfill, neither understanding nor believing His mission. They could not account for His attitude toward the Pharisees, and some feared His reason was becoming unsettled. They felt keenly the reproach of the charge that He cast out devils through Satan, knew the tumult His words and works created, and were alarmed at His bold statements and indignant at His denunciation of the scribes and Pharisees. Thinking His love for Mary would prevail upon Him, they induced her to unite with them in this effort.
By asking who His mother and brothers are, He answered that intervention without lack of respect and without rebuke. He seized the interruption to fix attention and give a lasting, immortalized lesson to His mother, His brethren, His disciples, and the multitude.
True Family Defined
When word came that His mother and brothers wanted to see Him, He answered with the question who His mother and brothers were, and then pointed to His disciples and declared them to be His mother and brethren. That question opens His explanation that true belonging to Him is decided not by natural birth but by doing the will of His Father in heaven. Whoever does that will is His brother and sister and mother.
Obedience to God creates a tie closer than blood, so that those who do God's will are more nearly related to Him than are kindred by family ties. This stood in contrast to His own family members at that time, who could not understand or sympathize with the mission He came to fulfill. All who follow His teachings and accept the word of truth are by that obedience made members of the heavenly family, adopted into God's family as His brothers and sisters.
His great love for this family cannot be measured, yet it is known through experience.
Loyalty Cost and Comfort
Duty to God and His work stands above duty to relatives when the two compete, and the question of who mother and brethren are challenges the claim of ordinary family ties in that loyalty. It was asked without lack of respect and without rebuke, yet it seizes the interruption to fix attention and give a lasting lesson to mother, brethren, disciples, and multitude. Following Him requires counting the cost and denying self and putting Him before even father, mother, son, or daughter, and no one is worthy of Him without that commitment.
Those who are agitated about receiving Christ, when accepting His words brings determined opposition from fathers and mothers and relatives, are to make obedience to the will of the Father in heaven the bond of union. Every soul striving to do God's will is to be treated as one's own relative, without favoritism toward biological family. This kinship calls believers to recognize their divine relationship and honor their Father and treat one another with tenderness as Christ's kindred.
Believers can take comfort in knowing that Christ regards those who do His Father's will as His brother and sister and mother. His little ones show that kinship by keeping the Father's commandments and taking up the cross and following Him.