Jesus Speaks to a Crowd About His BrethrenBible World
12:50Matthew 12:50
For who soever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.
When His mother and brothers sought Him while He was teaching, He stretched His hand toward His disciples and pointed to them as His family, defining His true family as those who do the will of His Father in heaven. Obedience to the Father is the bond that makes a person His brother and sister and mother and a member of the heavenly family. This kinship rests on doing God's will through faith, not on natural ties, and it joins believers to Him more closely than ordinary birth can join them. Even His mother was savingly nearer to Him by believing and doing His words than by giving Him birth, and His natural brothers gained nothing from kinship unless they received Him personally as Saviour. Those born into this family are dear to Him because He gave His life to bring them in, so every soul striving to do God's will is to be treated as one's own relative with tenderness, without favoritism or coldness.
Setting and Wording
The saying was given while He was teaching and His mother and brothers were seeking Him, and when the question was put who His mother and His brothers were He stretched His hand toward His disciples and pointed to them as His family. They sent word to Him from outside because the press kept them from reaching Him. He was then absorbed in giving solemn and awful warnings that He desired to lodge in hearts and would not have interrupted.
They sought to draw Him from His work because they thought Him beside Himself. Without lack of respect or rebuke He made duty to relatives secondary at that hour. He seized the incident to give assurance to all who follow His teachings and accept the word of truth, answering those wondering what to do if receiving Him brought determined opposition from fathers and mothers and relatives.
His brothers were the sons of Joseph, who had no sympathy with His work and could not understand His mission or account for His attitude toward the Pharisees. They were astonished and dismayed by reports that He spent whole nights in prayer, was thronged by crowds all day, took no time even to eat, and was wearing Himself out by days of almost unceasing labor for the pressing crowds. Some feared His mind and reason were becoming unsettled. They felt keenly the reproach of the charge that He cast out devils by Satan's power, 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. They decided He must be persuaded or constrained to cease that manner of labor, and they induced Mary to unite with them, thinking His love for her would prevail on Him to be more prudent.
The saying defines who are His brethren. It identifies His true family, even His little ones, as those who do the will of His Father.
Kinship Through Obedience
Whosoever does the will of the Father in heaven is Christ's brother and sister and mother, and obedience to the Father in heaven is the bond of union that makes a person a member of the heavenly family. That obedience enters believers into the hallowed circle that binds every believer to Him as brother and sister and mother. Those born into the heavenly family are in a special sense His brothers and sisters, and His love binds the family together, so that wherever that love is shown the divine relationship is revealed. Doing the Father's will, rather than family relationship alone, marks this spiritual kinship.
This kinship rests on obedience to God, not on natural family ties. Those who do the will of God are His true family, more closely related to Him than people joined to Him by ordinary family ties or by birth. Belonging to Him as brother, sister, or mother is defined by doing the will of His Father, and He applies this truth to the men and women listening to Him to give believers comfort and encouragement that He regards them as His family.
Doing God's will is the result of faith working through love and purifying the soul. Righteousness is shown by doing what is right, not merely by enjoying it. Those who receive Christ by faith as the One sent by God and accept Him as personal Saviour have everlasting life. They are united to Him more closely than human ties can unite them, becoming one with Him as He is one with the Father.
Even Mary's relation to Him was savingly closer through believing and doing His words than through being His mother by birth. His natural brothers gained no spiritual benefit from kinship unless they accepted Him personally as Saviour. This saving relationship is a comfort and cause for rejoicing to everyone linked to Him by saving faith. These family ties describe close bonds in the church and membership in God's adopted family.
Life as His Family
Doing the will of the Father makes a person closer to Christ than joining by ordinary birth, for His true family are those who do the will of God. Every soul striving to do God's will is to be treated as one's own relative. Kindness and compassion therefore must not be reserved for family or favored people. There is to be no favoritism and no coldness toward those outside one's own family.
Those who serve God through faith and repentance belong to His royal family and are dear to Jesus, because He gave His life to bring them into this relationship. Criticism and hostile words against them dishonor Him. Those born into the heavenly family are in a special sense His brothers and sisters. His love binds the family together, and wherever that love is shown the divine relationship is revealed.
Those who belong to Him through this divine kinship are members of God's adopted family and should honor their Father and treat one another with tenderness as His kindred. That means treating fellow believers as His children and responding to irritation with patience and care for one another's feelings. He applies this truth to the men and women listening to Him, giving believers comfort and encouragement in knowing that He regards them as His family. Receiving Him by faith as the One sent by God and accepting Him as personal Saviour gives everlasting life and makes one with Him as He is one with the Father, a saving relationship closer than natural family ties and a comfort and cause for rejoicing to everyone so linked to Him. His followers so identified as His little ones are called to keep the Father's commandments, take up the cross, and follow Him.
When His mother and brothers sought Him while He was teaching, He stretched His hand toward His disciples and pointed to them as His family, defining His true family as those who do the will of His Father in heaven. Obedience to the Father is the bond that makes a person His brother and sister and mother and a member of the heavenly family. This kinship rests on doing God's will through faith, not on natural ties, and it joins believers to Him more closely than ordinary birth can join them. Even His mother was savingly nearer to Him by believing and doing His words than by giving Him birth, and His natural brothers gained nothing from kinship unless they received Him personally as Saviour. Those born into this family are dear to Him because He gave His life to bring them in, so every soul striving to do God's will is to be treated as one's own relative with tenderness, without favoritism or coldness.
Setting and Wording
The saying was given while He was teaching and His mother and brothers were seeking Him, and when the question was put who His mother and His brothers were He stretched His hand toward His disciples and pointed to them as His family. They sent word to Him from outside because the press kept them from reaching Him. He was then absorbed in giving solemn and awful warnings that He desired to lodge in hearts and would not have interrupted.
They sought to draw Him from His work because they thought Him beside Himself. Without lack of respect or rebuke He made duty to relatives secondary at that hour. He seized the incident to give assurance to all who follow His teachings and accept the word of truth, answering those wondering what to do if receiving Him brought determined opposition from fathers and mothers and relatives.
His brothers were the sons of Joseph, who had no sympathy with His work and could not understand His mission or account for His attitude toward the Pharisees. They were astonished and dismayed by reports that He spent whole nights in prayer, was thronged by crowds all day, took no time even to eat, and was wearing Himself out by days of almost unceasing labor for the pressing crowds. Some feared His mind and reason were becoming unsettled. They felt keenly the reproach of the charge that He cast out devils by Satan's power, 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. They decided He must be persuaded or constrained to cease that manner of labor, and they induced Mary to unite with them, thinking His love for her would prevail on Him to be more prudent.
The saying defines who are His brethren. It identifies His true family, even His little ones, as those who do the will of His Father.
Kinship Through Obedience
Whosoever does the will of the Father in heaven is Christ's brother and sister and mother, and obedience to the Father in heaven is the bond of union that makes a person a member of the heavenly family. That obedience enters believers into the hallowed circle that binds every believer to Him as brother and sister and mother. Those born into the heavenly family are in a special sense His brothers and sisters, and His love binds the family together, so that wherever that love is shown the divine relationship is revealed. Doing the Father's will, rather than family relationship alone, marks this spiritual kinship.
This kinship rests on obedience to God, not on natural family ties. Those who do the will of God are His true family, more closely related to Him than people joined to Him by ordinary family ties or by birth. Belonging to Him as brother, sister, or mother is defined by doing the will of His Father, and He applies this truth to the men and women listening to Him to give believers comfort and encouragement that He regards them as His family.
Doing God's will is the result of faith working through love and purifying the soul. Righteousness is shown by doing what is right, not merely by enjoying it. Those who receive Christ by faith as the One sent by God and accept Him as personal Saviour have everlasting life. They are united to Him more closely than human ties can unite them, becoming one with Him as He is one with the Father.
Even Mary's relation to Him was savingly closer through believing and doing His words than through being His mother by birth. His natural brothers gained no spiritual benefit from kinship unless they accepted Him personally as Saviour. This saving relationship is a comfort and cause for rejoicing to everyone linked to Him by saving faith. These family ties describe close bonds in the church and membership in God's adopted family.
Life as His Family
Doing the will of the Father makes a person closer to Christ than joining by ordinary birth, for His true family are those who do the will of God. Every soul striving to do God's will is to be treated as one's own relative. Kindness and compassion therefore must not be reserved for family or favored people. There is to be no favoritism and no coldness toward those outside one's own family.
Those who serve God through faith and repentance belong to His royal family and are dear to Jesus, because He gave His life to bring them into this relationship. Criticism and hostile words against them dishonor Him. Those born into the heavenly family are in a special sense His brothers and sisters. His love binds the family together, and wherever that love is shown the divine relationship is revealed.
Those who belong to Him through this divine kinship are members of God's adopted family and should honor their Father and treat one another with tenderness as His kindred. That means treating fellow believers as His children and responding to irritation with patience and care for one another's feelings. He applies this truth to the men and women listening to Him, giving believers comfort and encouragement in knowing that He regards them as His family. Receiving Him by faith as the One sent by God and accepting Him as personal Saviour gives everlasting life and makes one with Him as He is one with the Father, a saving relationship closer than natural family ties and a comfort and cause for rejoicing to everyone so linked to Him. His followers so identified as His little ones are called to keep the Father's commandments, take up the cross, and follow Him.