God's Family

Matthew 12:46-50

As Jesus’ preaching became more and more controversial, we are told that Mary and Jesus’ brothers came to speak to him, but Jesus ignores their request. Instead, he replies that the people who have come to listen to him and obey him are his “brother, and sister, and mother.” We do not know what they came to speak to him about. Some theologians suggest they wanted to encourage him to tone down his preaching to not make so many enemies. I struggle with this interpretation of Mary though. Jesus’ brothers may have taunted him and refused to believe he was the Messiah until after his resurrection, but I find it very doubtful that Mary could have forgotten all that she had seen, heard, and experienced. The fact is, we are not told why Jesus’ earthly family came to speak to him because it is not relevant to the lesson Jesus taught.

There are two important lessons that we learn from this brief encounter. The first concerns Jesus’ response to being told his family had arrived to speak to him. Adam Clark explained the beautiful meaning of this encounter in his commentary. He wrote, “Those are the best acknowledged relatives of Christ who are united to him by spiritual ties, and who are become one with him by the indwelling of his Spirit. We generally suppose that Christ’s relatives must have shared much of his affectionate attention; and doubtless they did: but here we find that whosoever does the will of God is equally esteemed by Christ, as his brother, sister, or even his … mother.” Matthew Poole added, “The only thing to be further learned from this paragraph is, how dear believers and holy persons are to Christ; he counts them as dear as mother, brethren, or sisters, and thereby teacheth us the esteem we ought to have for such.”

The other lesson we can learn from today’s reading is one we all need to be reminded of. “His mother and brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him, when they should have been standing within, desiring to hear him.” (Matthew Henry) We can become so familiar with things of faith and religion that we forget to be in awe of it. Matthew Henry continued his comment about Jesus’ family by saying, “We are apt to neglect that which we think we may have any day, forgetting that to-morrow is not ours.” There will always be earthly cares surrounding us. There will always be things that we need to do as well as things we want to do. However, they will not always be time to sit and learn from God. There will not always be time to pray. There will not always be time to share the gospel. None of us are promised tomorrow, let alone our next breath.

I read a very provocative comment from a friend of mine today. It asked what we would do if we knew we were to die the next day. As our minds began to fill with things we deemed important, he added, Jesus donned a towel and washed his disciples’ feet. It’s all about perspective. It’s all about priorities. Chores and obligations will never end. Even after we do them, they still begin to stack up once more. Opportunities to grow, learn, teach, and love, may only come once. Let us not put off what we have opportunity to experience now. Afterall, we are all the family of God. If Jesus placed such a high priority on spending time with God’s family, shouldn’t we?

(Written by Keegan Harkins.)