The Book of Mark
Chapter 3 (NIV)
31Then Jesus' mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you."
33"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked.
34Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 35Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother."
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My dear friends, yous are my brothers and sisters. I read the news of the killing of another korean hostage yesterday. Read today that a suicide bomb in Baghdad killed at least 67 peoples there. 67 people?? I cant even begin to grasp the scale of tragedy for such an event. The world is a cynical place. Where can we find hope? Is there an exit to the cruel reality that we find ourselves in? Again, Jesus provides the new paradigm. In Him, I can find all that I am looking for, as He loves me and I yam known by Him just as I yam with no conditions. As I dwell in this new reality, He tells me today, whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister. Let me live with this kind of vision/paradigm of reality today. Not with that of my own or the world. amen.
Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You." Answering them, He said, "Who are My mother and My brothers?" Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said," Behold My mother and My brothers! "For whoever (C)does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother." (Mark 3:31-35)
Honestly, if I had been the brothers or mother of Jesus, I would have been disappointed at his answer. Initially, readers could think that it sounds as if the physical family would be not very important to Him...However, I don't think that we should take these verses literally. Certainly, Jesus tells us that whoever does God's will is our brother and sister and mother... In fact, our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are spiritual family whom we will also see again in heaven. That's why Jesus is encouraging us to love and encourage each other. However, it does not mean that we should neglect our physical families. One of God's ten commandments tells us to "Honor our father and your mother, so that we may live long in the land the LORD our God is giving us." Hence, I think it's important to look at some verses from different angles.
I agree with you EBSFellow, our physical parents are still very important. I see so many people where they neglect their own physical family members and go on their way helping others in the name of our Lord. If they truly want to follow God's will, they will certainly take care of their physical family members as well. I sure hope Jesus did go out to meet his physical family after this speech.
Thanks for your notes. I was also thinking that Jesus' answer was harsh to his physical family as well. But of course you are right. His comments should be taken as an "and" not an "or." Through Christ our idea of family gets larger (not smaller).
who knows how JC's mom and siblings felt. they may not even have heard what He said. He could've easily stepped out and met up with His physical family after this proclamation. i think, as woos pointed out, He was talking of the new family...that in Him and through Him we are all part of one family, newly united. and He wanted to emphasize that by saying as much as His physical family is real, also those who do God's will are His family.
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