Mark 3:31-35 — My Mother and Brothers?

Mark 3:31-35

Western Wall in Jerusalem Photo by Sander Crombach on Unsplash

And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him,

   “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.”
 And he answered them, 

    “Who are my mother and my brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Comments:

Jesus was fully involved in his Heavenly Father's work. There was no social-distancing going on. His earthly mother, brothers, and sisters showed up and wanted to see him but couldn't get there due to the crowd. Jesus’ unusual response to them teaches me at least three things.

First, Jesus’ reply made the point that the spiritual reality of the family of faith (that of the new birth) supersedes that of the family of our birth. We should also remember that Jesus was not denying his family or his responsibilities towards them, nor showing any lack of care. This becomes even more obvious later when Jesus hung dying on the cross for the sin of the entire world. As he hung in excruciating pain, one of the last things we see him do was an act of great love for his mother, as he charged his faithful follower John with her care (John 19:25-27). He entrusted her to his "brother" John. 

Secondly, Jesus shows us that the calling of our Heavenly Father is more important than the calling of our earthly family, especially when they are asking us to return to our old life. These were the same people who had just a short time before thought that Jesus was crazy (v.21). Sometimes our families want to go back to the way things were before we answered God's call upon our lives. They don't understand the change in us, in our dreams, our desires, our time commitments, and our giving patterns. In many places in the world today (as throughout history), it is one's own family that persecutes newly converted family members even to the death. Jesus knows how we feel in such situations, for it was not until after he died on the cross and rose from the dead that his birth-family believed. However, this is not an excuse for us to neglect our families. We should be above reproach in our love and care for our families as an important part of participating in the mission of God. May they join us on the journey!

Thirdly, the message of this passage is that the influences and ideas that raised us, and those we grew up with, to the degree that they are out of synch with the kingdom of God should no longer control our lives—though they will try—for they don't understand that we are different now. 

“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Cor. 5:17)

We have a new purpose to our lives—that of doing the will of God—and only those attitudes, habits, actions, and ideas, that contribute to that should be a part of our lives.

"I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace." (Eph. 4:1-3)

We are to love and care for our natural families, but we are to love and serve our Heavenly Father first. Now we have a larger responsibility and calling. Jesus had been the eldest son and had been responsible for his mother as well as bringing up his brothers and sisters after his foster-father Joseph's death. Now, Jesus had many more sheep to shepherd in addition to that little family in Nazareth/Capernaum. Ultimately, Jesus knew that the path which he took was in his family's best interest, and ours!