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Matthew

Matthew 
Day 
Day 197

Family Matters

Text: Matthew 12 : 38 - 50

Jesus was deep in His teaching ministry when He was informed of the arrival of His family.

“While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold,
His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak
with Him. Then one said to Him, ‘Look, Your mother and
Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with you.'”
MATTHEW 12:46-47

The construction of this text is a little puzzling. Let’s examine the text carefully so that we can understand better what Matthew was trying to convey.

“Behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him”

This was a simple statement of fact. The interesting word is “behold”. This word is usually used when something “special” or “different” takes place. Jesus’ mother and His brothers were not “disciples” at this stage (Acts 1:14 tells us that in the process of time, Mary and the half-brothers of Jesus became disciples, and were the founder members of the first Church).

“Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with you”

We seem to have a simple repetition of the same statement. How do we understand why there was a repetition of the same thing in such proximity?

1. The sheer size of the crowd

The synoptist Luke mentioned that there was such a huge crowd of people that Mary and her sons did not have immediate access to Jesus.

“Then His mother and brothers came to Him,
And could not approach Him because of the crowd.”
LUKE 8:19

2. The Intent of the Visit of Mary and the half brothers of Jesus

The synoptist Mark offered an important insight for this visit of Mary and her other sons. It was certainly not a flattering comment.

“Then the multitude came together again,
So that they could not so much as eat bread.
But when His own people heard about this,
they went out to lay hold of Him, for they
said, ‘He is out of His mind.'”
MARK 3:20-21

Concerned relatives must have informed Mary about what Jesus was doing. She decided that she must see Jesus for herself and decide what to do next. For support, she brought her other sons along. Their intent was not to become followers or disciples of Jesus!

A NEW SIGNIFICANCE

Jesus must have known that His mother and His half-brothers had turned up! Yet, He continued teaching the multitudes! He did not cease teaching! His family waited outside. Why did He not respond to them immediately? This must have been in the mind of the people who watched and waited for His response.

“But He answered and said to the one who told Him,
‘Who is My mother and who are My brothers?’ And
He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said,
‘Here are My mother and My brothers!
For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven
is My brother and sister and mother.'”
MATTHEW 12:48-50

What a response! What did Jesus mean when He said these words? What Jesus said was unheard-of!

1. Not demeaning to the idea of “family”

Jesus was not demeaning the idea of a family. He must have loved His mother and His half-brothers! He had them for 3 decades! There must have been strong family ties!

2. The reality of a spiritual family

Jesus used the occasion to teach an important lesson! The spiritual family was as valid as the physical and natural one! Those who followed Him as His disciples would be regarded as “family”.

People may be related by blood relationship, but they may not be “family” in the spiritual sense. If His half-brothers did not in fact believe in Him, were they true spiritual “family” at all?

3. Doing the will of God

What was the will of God? Surely, it was to believe in who Jesus really was! He wasn’t just the son of Mary! He wasn’t just the eldest brother to His siblings! He was much more!

There were those who recognized Jesus as One greater than Jonah. They followed Him because His wisdom was greater than that of king Solomon! They had become His disciples because they recognized Jesus to be the Son of God! They were willing to sit at His feet to listen to Him. They were learning how to do God’s will! To this faithful band of disciples, Jesus felt a special sense of kinship. True disciples were family! They were His brothers, sisters and mothers!