God regards Jesus as a family member. As born again believers are told that we, too, are members of this family. This is what Jesus tells those around HIM as HIS family comes to take HIM away. When we hear the gospel, confess our sins, and place our faith and trust in Jesus we are then born into GOD’s kingdom, As HIS children we become heirs with Him for eternity. As heirs we inherit rewards which non believers can never enjoy. The rewards of our inheritance include the gift of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit which empowers us to live for Him in the present, and the knowledge that our salvation is secure for eternity.
While our physical family is the most important building block in human society, our relationships with other Christians is even more important. Our Christian family is a spiritual family which makes up the body of the Church. All people who call upon the Lord Jesus Christ are members of this family which is drawn from every nation, tribe, people and language.
John 13:35-36
(Matthew 12:46) While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him.
So here Jesus is, making His own mother wait until He’s done speaking!
The parallel passage in Mark 3:21 some religious leader that Jesus was going crazy
This is why in Mark 3:22-30 and Matthew 12:24 the Pharisees accused HIM of casting out demons by the prince of the demons.
In response to this accusation, Jesus’ own family came to seize Him and take Him into custody because they felt He was insane.
In Mark 6:3 we learn of the names of Jesus earthly family
Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.
His family has been standing outside the house all this time while Jesus is speaking to those in the house, just waiting to grab him and lock Him up in an insane asylum!
(Matthew 12:47) Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”
Although it is mostly a repeat of the previous verse and doesn’t add much information, it does set the stage for what Jesus says next.
Someone in the crowd recognizes Jesus’ mother and brothers.
This person in the crowd may be merely alerting Jesus to the presence of His family, but
In effect, the person telling HIM HIS family is outside is saying this in a rubiuking way as to accuse Jesus for being mean and cruel to HIS family for not letting them in.
This is when Jesus teaches everyone a lesson on who is truly your family, those of blood, or those of the spirit. This is a powerful lesson that leads us to understand how we are adopted into an even greater family than the one we have in this World.
(Matthew 12:48) But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?”
Think about it. Some may ask Jesus,
“Hey Jesus, what do you mean? The woman and the young men standing outside the door of this house are your family, how can you ask such a question?”
You must understand that Jesus is not speaking in His capacity as the physical son of Mary and Joseph. He is speaking in His capacity as the Son of God. He wants us to understand how HE sees everything, and that is from the point of the spiritual realm, not the physical World. The eternal, not the temporal. Thus Jesus is actually asking;
“Who is the bride of God? And who relates to God as a Father after the fashion that I do?”
(Matthew 12:49) And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!
In an incredible display of revolutionary thinking about family relationships, Jesus passes by His own mother who gave Him birth and raised him, and His own brothers and sisters with whom He grew up, and confers the same intimately-close family relationships upon His disciples. Not just the 12 closest disciples either, but He includes the women also by calling them mothers and sisters.
Here then is Jesus, who holds total knowledge and power over the spirit world and is willing to stand by His disciples and be that big brother who can keep them safe in a dangerous World.
HE’s the strong SON every elderly mother needs to lean on in a dangerous World.
It is great that Jesus offered this type of relationship to HIS disciples, but could HIS offer extend to us? If so, what do we have to do to get that kind of security? Jesus answers this question next
(Matthew 12:50) For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
A Christian’s life is characterized by a continuing desire to be obedient to God’s will.When Jesus instructed HIS disciples on how to pray, he added this about accepting GOD’s will;
Your kingdom come. Your will be done On earth as it is in heaven.
Matthew 6:10
We become a spiritual family when we start doing the will of God whose last command out of the heavens was,
While he was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them; and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud, saying, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Hear Him!”
(Matthew 17:5)
As those gathered around listening to Jesus teach, HE tells everyone that these people in the room are HIS true family, because they are doing what HE wants them to do.
Of course, they did not physically give birth to Jesus nor did they share the same mother; Jesus is obviously speaking figuratively and spiritually again, and thus draws a contrast between a physical family and a spiritual family.
Jesus is claiming that those in the room are already HIS family, Are you that one? Are you one who is doing the will of God? Jesus tells us in John 6:39-40
This is the will of the Father who sent Me, that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up at the last day. And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”
If you do the will of the will of GOD, then Jesus is calling you His brother, His sister!
For both He who sanctifies and those who are being sanctified are all of one, for which reason He is not ashamed to call them brethren,
Hebrews 2:11
Paul tells us in Romans 8:15-7
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Do you understand what it means to be a joint-heir with Christ? If all things have been given to Jesus, and we are joint heirs, that means everything HE owns is ours by adoption into HIS family. The next and final part explains what it means to be a joint heir and family member of Jesus
(Romans 8:16-17)
The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together
Paul goes on from discussing the Spirit’s most important role of bearing witness with a believer’s spirit, to what’s on the other side of the new birth.
If we are children, then we are also heirs, heirs of God.
What does it mean to be an heir of God?
Heir means a receiver of an inheritance, a beneficiary.
If we are children, we are receivers of God’s inheritance.
The inheritance we possess in Christ does not have any basis in works.
Our inheritance has no basis in anything enjoyed by human beings.
It comes to us strictly by saying ‘Yes’ to Jesus Christ.
Being heirs of God is one part of our inheritance but being a joint-heirs with Christ is yet another.
Joint-heirs means we have received an inheritance together with Jesus Christ.
Because we share our inheritance with Christ means we are sealed by the promise given to us by the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross
Jesus paid the penalty for our sin and became the heir before there could ever be a joint heir.
The full inheritance Jesus purchased for us has been set aside or reserved for us for a future time.
The best part of our inheritance
When God raised Jesus from the dead, HE inherited a name above every other name.
Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Philippians 2:9-11
When Jesus inherited His Name, We are called Christians, because we have been adopted into HIS spiritual family, no longer bound by flesh and blood, but rather destined for eternal life in heaven in the very presence of GOD.
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