Mark 3:31-35 (Jesus' Mother and Brothers)
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.”
Tag: Family Matters - But, What Family?
Before we can grasp the above few verses, we have to recount what was stated by Mark, earlier in this chapter:
Mark 3:20-21
Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
Christ’s family did not support Him. They thought He was crazy. They actually rejected both his mission and his person. It would be later that they would come to a realization of the truth that He was the Son of God. But, to them He was someone to reject. Jesus, in turn, does not reject them (remember, at His death He made sure His mom, Mary, was cared for by John). Jesus simply redefined “family” for those who were speaking to Him. He defined family as those who are locked together in faith in Christ. Those who do the will of God and obey the Gospel message, are family. Jesus knows what rejection at the most personal level is all about. It should be noted that throughout the entire Gospels we hear only the above about Jesus family. On the cross Jesus would be rejected by EVERYONE. He would be rejected by all His disciples. Jesus knows rejection and hurt and sorrow from broken relationships. Jesus moved past those and shows us here how to handle the rejection of family: Family are those locked together in the Body of Christ via faith. We (believers) have a huge family.
No comments:
Post a Comment