Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
Mark 3:33-34
Imagine you are sitting in a house surrounded by admirers, but your own family cannot get in. Your mother and brothers stand outside and send an intermediary to fetch you. You then ask the circle around you a question that seems to indicate you don’t know your own kin!
The mother who nursed you, taught you to walk and talk, shepherded you to school and synagogue, and invested her life and soul in you as her firstborn—you don’t know your own mother! Amazing!
But that is exactly what Jesus said: “Who are my mother and brothers?” No one volunteered to answer the question. Dead silence.
So Jesus answered the question Himself. He redefined family. No longer did His family consist of blood relatives; it was made up of obedience-to-the-will-of-God relatives. And it was not just mother and brother but sister as well.
When Jesus posed the question, sister was not mentioned. In fact, His sisters were not standing outside with His mother and brothers—and we know He did have sisters (Mark 6 :3 ). (Joseph, the husband of Mary, is also not there, having evidently died sometime in the period between Jesus’ twelfth birthday and the beginning of His ministry at age thirty.)
What was Jesus doing? He was redefining our relationship to Him both vertically (mother to son) and horizontally (brother to siblings).
What does it mean to be a mother of Jesus in the spiritual sense? It is evidently an available role since Jesus includes it as a possibility for familial relationship. Does this not open the door for us to assume a nurturing role toward Jesus by lending our hearts and hands to help His body in every way possible? And what does it mean to be the brother or sister of Jesus? Doesn’t that involve camaraderie, mutual support, honesty, and a deep relational commitment that goes far beyond friendship?
I am very close to my family. I cherish the memories of my father, mother, and sister. My brother, daughter, and son, and their spouses and children are all living. I know who they are. In fact, I know them well. I am grateful for family, and I would never think to ask the question, “Who are my mother and brothers?”
Jesus came to create a family based not on bloodline but on faith in Him. Having formed that family, He calls us to belong to it. Yes, we will always have our family formed by the flesh, by our common bonds of DNA, parentage, and ancestry. But we also have another family. It’s called the body of Christ, and we are to treat that family as Jesus does.
Mistreatment of a brother or sister believer is an offense to Jesus since that individual is a mother, brother, or sister of Christ. If we wouldn’t mistreat our own blood family, then we must certainly love well the family of Jesus.
A Prayer: I call You Lord. I know You are God’s Son—and that title stands far above me—but “brother” or “sister” or “mother” binds me close to You. I am thrilled to be a member of Your family!
Excerpted from Dr. Wood’s book, Fearless: How Jesus Changes Everything, available from Vital Resources.
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