True Family

Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him. They stood outside and sent word for him to come out and talk with them. There was a crowd sitting around Jesus, and someone said, “Your mother and your brothers are outside asking for you.” Jesus replied, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” Then he looked at those around him and said, “Look, these are my mother and brothers. Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” Mark 3:31-35

WHEN MARK WRITES that Mary, Jesus’ mother, and his brothers were “outside,” he is talking about more than where they were physically. They were outsiders spiritually. And why had they come now? They were on a mission to save Jesus from his saving mission, which they found embarrassing. And it was not the last time they’d try. In John’s Gospel, we read about a later time when Jesus’ brothers tried to convince him to leave Galilee. Perhaps they knew about the plot stirring among the Pharisees to destroy him. Perhaps they simply wanted to shut him up. John interpreted their actions this way: “Even his brothers didn’t believe in him” (John 7:5).

But there is something here for those of us who have family members who are “outside” when it comes to Jesus. There is hope. So often when we despair of our children ever coming to Christ, we don’t realize that we’ve not yet reached the end of the story.

The Gospel accounts are not the last time that we see Jesus’ family in Scripture. After the Resurrection and on the Day of Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit came down in power on those gathered inside the upper room, we read, “They all met together and were constantly united in prayer, along with Mary the mother of Jesus, several other women, and the brothers of Jesus” (Acts 1:14). Outsiders had become insiders. Through faith they had become part of the true family of God. Jesus’ brother James went on to become head of the church in Jerusalem and to write the epistle that bears his name. That letter begins with this self-identification: “James, a slave of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1).

Lord, I’m taking hold of the hope that is to be found in the transformation of Jesus’ family. They went from ridiculing Jesus to embracing him, from being cynical about Jesus to describing themselves as slaves and followers of him. I believe the same power that replaced their cold hearts toward Jesus with hearts on fire for the gospel can warm the hearts of those in my family who are cold toward you.