How Jesus Builds a Family
Mark 3:20–21
[20] Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. [21] And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
Mark 3:31–35
[31] And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. [32] And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” [33] And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” [34] And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! [35] For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
Mark 3:20–35 ESV Read More
If you are looking for a family without dysfunction, take a look at, oh wait, no. Jesus’ own family had disagreements and conflict over what to do with Jesus. Here, they think He is out of His mind. In another place, they tell Him that “nobody that wants to be famous acts in secret” and that He should go work miracles at a festival.
They didn’t get it.
The house is crowded again, so they only way in is through a hole in the roof. Surely this would be looking pretty crazy to Jesus’ family. He started out calling disciples, then traveling all over teaching like He was a rabbi, then working miracles…what’s next? Rabbis studied from a very young age and persevered through rabbi school until they became a leader or noteworthy teacher around the synagogues. Jesus learned the trade of His father, Joseph, and had spent His life growing up and learning to be a carpenter.
For Jesus to just start preaching at age 30 would be like a 45-year-old coal miner with no formal education putting on a sport coat (with elbow pads) and walking around USI like a professor. Imagine if he started teaching classes and people gathered around to learn! Everybody would think the guy was totally crazy, especially his family.
Jesus answer to His family cuts right to the chase of what He is doing. He isn’t shunning them. Jesus gives deliberate instructions to John about taking care of Mary after Jesus is on the cross. In this whole series of teachings, Jesus is talking about how new and different the Kingdom of God is.
In the Kingdom of God, family connections and family bonds aren’t just based on who was born to whom or who grew up next to you. In the Kingdom of God, eternal things like God’s will are what bring us and bond us together. This is the kind of thing they are talking about in Proverbs 18:
Proverbs 18:24 [24] A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.
Not only that, but Jesus’ statement is an invitation. Everyone that is squeezed into that house is seeking to learn from and be around Jesus. The things He says are so full of wisdom but so seemingly unobtainable. How could anyone come close to such a teaching? Jesus breaks it down in that not only is His teaching worth following but when we do the will of God, we are invited into the very family of Christ.
To be a sibling in Jewish culture was a big deal. You would do all kinds of things to protect the honor of your family, to guard the bond of your brothers and sisters and parents. To be called in to be welcomed into the life of Jesus at a brother and sister level is a big deal. No typical Rabbi would consider himself equal to his disciples like a brother. The relationship that Jesus is proposing is the one He’ll continue at the last supper when He says they aren’t His servants, but they are His friends.
Take a while to camp out on what Jesus is saying about a family. Family is built by people doing the will of God together, and as we do it, we become Jesus’ brothers and sisters. We are not called His brothers and sisters because we claim that for ourselves, but because, in the process of doing God’s will, Jesus calls us His brothers and sisters.
That of course, leads to us wanting to do God’s will even more, so we can have more family time together with Jesus.
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