The Gospel of Mark 3:31-35
“31 Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and
standing outside they sent word to Him, calling Him.32 And a crowd was sitting
around Him, and they said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are
outside looking for You.”33 And answering them, He said, “Who are My mother and
My brothers?”34 And looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He
said, “Behold My mother and My brothers!35 For whoever does the will of God, he
is My brother and sister and mother.”
Jesus is amid His ministry inside the synagogue, and He had
recently been called “mad” and had been labeled as one who works by the power
of the devil. He is proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, healing the sick
and diseases, and casting out demons from people. And while all this is
happening His mother and brothers had arrived and were standing outside.
They sent a word to Him, calling Him causing the crowd
around Him to say “Behold, Your mother and brothers are outside looking for
you.” The Hebrew word for bother is understood to mean that all of them were
from the same stock, all born from Mary, though Jesus was begotten by the
Spirit, His brothers were born of Mary and Joseph.
One must twist the words of scripture to try and make them
other relatives, and being that, what other relative would come with Mary to bring
Jesus home from this craziness. Her concern for Him is that He might kill
himself, with all that He is doing. His brothers would be obliged for their
mother to convince their brother, Jesus, to break off this work.
In as much, the work of Yahweh comes with such hindrances,
distractions, and impediments. Many come to those proclaiming the truth of
salvation in Christ Jesus only to be cursed at, ridiculed, dismissed, libeled,
ran off, or discouraged. Unbelieving parents
fear for their believing children who risk their lives for the sake of
others. Jesus is doing just that, He is “risking” His life to bring the good
message that God is with them and that there is hope in Him.
And Jesus, disrespects, his mother, and brothers to show
that there is indeed a more important work. He says, “Who are My mother and My
brothers?” Mary and his brothers have no authority over Him. In Luke 2:48-49
Jesus at 12 years of age was found among the teachers in the temple for he had
been missing from His family’s retinue. “His mother said to Him, “Child, why
have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously
searching for You.”
His mother and father were concerned but Jesus even at 12
years old knew His priority “And He said to them, “Why is it that you were
searching for Me? Did you not know that I had to be in My Father’s house?”
Jesus is about the business of His Father. Not His mother, His Father to save
sinners, “It is a trustworthy saying and deserving full
acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners,”
(1 Timothy 1:15)
So then how does Jesus answer His own question? By showing respect
to those who are His, those who are around him listening to His teaching, His
doctrines, and the good ways of the Kingdom. He said, “Behold My mother and My
brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and
mother.” This is the truth, that those who obey Jesus are His.
Remember in John 10:26-27, when the unbelieving Jews cornered
Him and asked if He was the Messiah, He told them “But you do not believe
because you are not of My sheep. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and
they follow Me.” Jesus’ sheep follow Him. For the love of a believer toward God
is obedience to Him. He is not concerned with sacrifice, money, or the works
you do, He only asks that if you loved Him, you would obey Him.
Considering Jesus’ mother, in Luke 11:27-28 “one of the
women in the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that
bore You and the breasts at which You nursed.” But He said, “On the contrary,
blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it.” The importance is not
on Mary but on obedience.
Here is the thing, people today do not know the truth. You
are fed the words of men and are just throwing them up as though they are sound
doctrine that will sustain you. But they won’t, they will only lead to death. Why
do I say that? Why does it lead to death? Consider the outcome at the end of
your life. Where will you be next year? Where will you be five years from now? Does
living in the here and now build anything? Do you think about having children?
Do you think about what you will leave behind? Do you think about what happens
when you die?
All these questions will lead to one of two directions,
either you will live, or you will die. The Way of Jesus brings life, it brings
a connection to others, though sinners are redeemed and freed from the bondage of
sin, the ideologies of men, and the indoctrinations of the self. The message of
repentance is this, through the faith given to you by the Father you believe in
Jesus, you then turn away from the way you once lived and begin to learn the
ways of God and follow them.
A thief no longer steals but works for his wages, an addict
is freed from their slavery and walks in purity with a sound mind, and the sexually
immoral are freed, and either devote themselves to God or get married and have
a family. Liars no longer lie, but tell the truth, the selfish no longer look
to only their interest but help others, and haters learn to love as God defines
it. These are only a few of the millions of examples of a repentant life that
love Jesus does.
I know personally that I went from hating my parents to
loving them. From hating women to loving them. It was God who taught me that the
lack of love for my earthly father led me to my sexual sin because in my sin I
was seeking others to satisfy that desire. It was satisfied in Christ and once
I learned to honor my parents, even my father, our relationship as father and
son was restored. I cried the day my father said he was proud of me. It was
Jesus and His ways that made that happen. Praise God!
Understand this, Jesus came to save the lost, to save
sinners. Sinners repress the truth and hide in their darkness because they love
the darkness, but sinners who know God, are people who know in their hearts
that they are vile, rebellious, haters of God who are lost and stand in
condemnation and will be judged and sent to hell where they will burn for
eternity in the lake of fire.
Death will soon take you and when you die you will face
judgment for your sins. God is just and cannot by His nature abide by sin nor
dismiss it. Every act of rebellion and transgression against God is wrapped up
in sin, yet you have foolishly chosen to do it because you love your sin, rather
than follow Christ and His righteousness that would truly enrich you.
But God so loved His creation, Mankind, that He sent His Son
Christ Jesus who seeks you this day. He can forgive you of your sins and
restore you whole again, for He has the authority and the power. You who are
lost in the ideologies of this world, imprisoned by the doctrines of men,
slaves to your sexual desires and perversions, and pursuits of the flesh and
mind, who rebel at the created order of God and stand condemned to death and
destruction and are destined for eternal punishment in the lake of fire.
Jesus brings life to all who repent and believe. Jesus the
Messiah has risen from the dead, conquering it, and lives. He is in your midst
with us, but you cannot see. You are blind and your heart is darkened thus we bring
the light that we proclaim.
Jesus bore all our sins; He bore all the sins of all who believe in Him. He suffered the totality of God’s Wrath upon Himself that every sinner willingly deserves so that those who believe in Jesus may have peace with God. Turn away from your unrighteous sinful ways which lead to death and turn toward and follow Jesus which leads to life.
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