Family of

Matthew 12:46-50

Matthew 12:46-50, While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.” 48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.” How would your life change if you could pick your family? If you could select who would be your brothers and sisters and choose who would be your relatives? Many of you would pass on the idea because you love your family just the way it is, but I know others would jump at that idea.

You look at a family picture and see people you got “stuck” being related to, so you would think it wonderful to exchange them for other people you like better. A wonderful blessing is that of having a family. A source of love and acceptance A stronghold of support and encouragement.

But we are not limited to the blessings of a physical family. Jesus hinted at the existence of an extended family.

Mark 10:28-30, Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.” 29 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, 30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. A benefit of leaving all to follow Him! Even if it meant leaving one's physical family. Here again Jesus used another opportunity to describe that family.

Here His physical family sought to speak to Him. He described those who made up His "spiritual"family. Let us look at "The Family Of Jesus"(both physical and spiritual). 1. Jesus Physical Family. Mother: Mary. A woman worthy of high esteem.

She was favoured and blessed among the women.

Luke 1:28, And having come in, the angel said to her, “Rejoice, highly favoured one, the Lord is with you; blessed are you among women!” Found favour with God.

Luke 1:30, Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favour with God. Praised by her cousin Elizabeth, the mother of John the Baptist.

Luke 1:42, Then she spoke out with a loud voice and said, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!

Luke 1:45, Blessed is she who believed, for there will be a fulfilment of those things which were told her from the Lord.” Mary realises about herself.

Luke 1:48, For He has regarded the lowly state of His maidservant; For behold, henceforth all generations will call me blessed. A mother of several children.

Matthew 1:25, and did not know her till she had brought forth her firstborn Son. And he called His name Jesus.

The term firstborn implying there were more!

Matthew 13:54-56, When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” He had "brothers"and "sisters", the brothers being named.

There is no indication in Scripture that these were cousins, or children of Joseph by a previous marriage. A mother who respected her Son. When our Lord was only twelve years old, He was taken by Mary and Joseph to Jerusalem to celebrate the Feast of Passover.

When the days of the feast were completed, Mary and Joseph went with the throng of relatives and acquaintances on their way home—having assumed that Jesus was somewhere among the crowd. But when they searched for Him along the way, they were unable to find Him.

After searching desperately for Jesus, they decided to return to Jerusalem to look for Him there. And after three days, they found Him—sitting in the temple in the midst of the teachers of Israel, listening to them, asking them questions, and astounding them all with His understanding and answers.

Mary probably had a remarkable motherly mix of emotions at that moment. All at once, she was experiencing relief, anger, pride, amusement, anxiety and—in this particular case—profound amazement at her Son.

Our Lord, who was the divine maker of all mothers knew that very a serious 'lecture'would begin as soon as the hugging and tears came to an end. She said, “Son, why have you done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought you anxiously”

Luke 2:48-51, So when they saw Him, they were amazed; and His mother said to Hm, “Son, why have You done this to us? Look, Your father and I have sought You anxiously.” 49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?” 50 But they did not understand the statement which He spoke to them. 51 Then He went down with them and came to Nazareth, and was subject to them, but His mother kept all these things in her heart. Joseph was our Lord's adopted father on earth.

But here, Jesus spoke of a different Father—a Father whose business was in the Temple; and whose business Jesus felt compelled to “be about”. Jesus revealed that He had a family circle that transcended that of Mary and Joseph.

It was a family circle that was not “physical” or “genealogical”, but “spiritual” in nature.

It was a family that is headed by a heavenly Father—and that was distinct from that which was headed by Joseph. She treasured His sayings in her heart. She respected His authority.

John 2:5, His mother said to the servants, “Whatever He says to you, do it.” She followed Him to the cross.

John 19:25, Now there stood by the cross of Jesus His mother, and His mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. She continued with the disciples after His ascension.

Acts 1:14, These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

This is the last time she is mentioned in the Bible. She was the "only"person who really knew the identity of Jesus that she let her Son die on the cross is evidence that He was truly the Son of God! Jesus was ever disrespectful to His mother, or that He ever treated His brothers in a hostile or inappropriate way.

Our Lord Jesus is the Second Person of the triune Godhead and it is He who gave us the commandment of His heavenly Father.

Exodus 20:12, “Honour your father and your mother, that your days may be long upon the land which the LORD your God is giving you” Jesus never ceased to appropriately love the members of His earthly family. He always perfectly fulfilled His just obligations to them. He never neglected them or responded to them in a way that violated the spirit of that commandment. Even as He died on the cross, He made sure that His mother was properly cared for. He looked down from the cross on His poor, distraught mother and then casting an eye upon the apostle John.

John 19:26-27, When Jesus therefore saw His mother, and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, “Woman, behold your son!” 27 Then He said to the disciple, “Behold your mother!” And from that hour that disciple took her to his own home. John understood what the Lord was commanding and from that day, he took Mary into his home and cared for her as if she was his own.

The full expanse of Jesus'love for His family is shown in that Mary and His brothers eventually became His followers and were saved by Him. They are with Him right now in heavenly glory. But as much as He loved his earthly family over whom Joseph had been the head, that family took second place to His spiritual family over whom His heavenly Father was head.

His fundamental commitment to the Father's business. Clearly, it was someone else that had that chief place in His heart. 2. Jesus Brothers & Sisters.

Matthew 13:54-56, When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” His brothers were James, Joses, Simon and Judas. He had at least two sisters.

His brothers (and likely His sisters) did not believe in Him at first. They even challenged Him on one occasion.

John 7:2-5, Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. 3 His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. 4 For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” 5 For even His brothers did not believe in Him.

They thought Him crazy on another occasion.

Mark 3:21, 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.” Yet after His resurrection they came to believe! He appeared to James.

1 Corinthians 15:7, After that He was seen by James, then by all the apostles.

They continued with the disciples.

Acts 1:14, These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

His brother James

Became a prominent leader of the church in Jerusalem.

Galatians 1:19, But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.

Galatians 2:9, and when James, Cephas, and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that had been given to me, they gave me and Barnabas the right hand of fellowship, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised.

Acts 15:6-21,

Acts 21:18-25.

The author of The Epistle of James Is said to have been martyred by being thrown off the pinnacle of the temple. His brother Judas is considered by many as the author of The Epistle of Jude. His brothers evidently were married and travelled about teaching.

1 Corinthians 9:5, Do we have no right to take along [c]a believing wife, as do also the other apostles, the brothers of the Lord, and Cephas?

The conversion of His physical brothers who were at first sceptical is additional evidence supporting the claim of Jesus as the Son of God. It must have been a wonderful privilege to be part of Jesus' physical family, especially after they came to believe in Him.

3. The Spiritual Family. Jesus Disciples. V 48-49, But He answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and My brothers!

He then described anyone who "does the will of My Father in heaven"as His brother, sister, and mother. Why would Jesus identify His disciples as His true family? Our physical families are only temporary. Begun at birth, ending at death.

Just as death ends the marriage bond (Romans 7:2-3), so it ends the familial tie.

Emotionally we might resist this notion, but the fact remains the same. Physical unions do not always mean spiritual ones. At the time Jesus spoke, His brothers did not believe in Him. As often happens, family members do not always have the same interests, the same concerns.

Jesus taught that physical relatives might not accept the truth.

Matthew 10:34-37, “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. 35 For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in- law’; 36 and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’ 37 He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. Thus, the true "Family Of Jesus"are those who do His Father's Will.

4. Qualifications to be Jesus family!

Jesus told Peter that His disciples would have "a hundredfold" brothers, sisters, and mothers in this lifetime.

Mark 10:28-30, Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You.” 29 So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, 30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.

John 6:27-29, Do not labour for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him.” ²⁸ Then they said to Him, “What shall we do, that we may work the works of God?” ²⁹ Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He sent.” Salvation is God’s gift and He grants it to whom He desires according to whatever conditions He wants to set up. That God places conditions upon those who will accept His offer of eternal life in no way changes that gift from being one of grace to one of works.

God grants salvation demonstrates it is a gift of His grace and mercy for we deserve eternal punishment, not eternal life with Him.

We cannot meet God’s conditions without His empowering us to do so demonstrates that it is not something received based on our work for we cannot earn it. All we can do is respond. This is an allusion to the church, which is now "the household (family) of God”.

1Timothy 3:15, but if I am delayed, I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. Jesus therefore offers those willing to "do My Father's will"the opportunity.

Luke 8:21, But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” To be born into the family of God.

1 Peter 1:22-23, Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, 23 having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, To enjoy God as our Father, Jesus as our "Elder Brother"

Hebrews 2:11-12, 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, 12 saying: “I will declare Your name to My brethren; In the midst of the assembly I will sing praise to You.” To have countless thousands as brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers.

1 Timothy 5:1-2, Do not rebuke an older man, but exhort him as a father, younger men as brothers, 2 older women as mothers, younger women as sisters, with all purity. To join a "family ring"which shall never be broken!

But the key is to "do the Father's will"! Not only to become a member of the family of Jesus but to enter the kingdom of heaven in its future glory.

John 1:12-13, But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: 13 who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Matthew 7:21-23, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of

My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

For it is serving God that ties us together in Christ. Bind us together in love. Uniting us with the same purpose, goals, and desires. The church of Jesus Christ, then, is the true "Family of Jesus" today, and forever! What is our inheritance as joint heirs with Jesus Christ?

• Salvation (Hebrews 1:14);
• Eternal life (Matthew 19:29);
• An interest in the kingdom of God (Matthew 25:34);
• An imperishable body (1 Corinthians 15:50-54);
• The promises of God (Hebrews 6:12);
• God’s blessing (1 Peter 3:9), and
• A place in heaven where God Himself will comfort us and provide for us (Revelation 21:7).

Conclusion

Who is our true family today?

If it is only our physical family, we are setting ourselves up for a great disappointment. If we want a family that will last for eternity, make sure that our bond is a spiritual one. Joined together by a mutual faith in Christ.

Working together as we do the will of our Father in heaven. Perhaps we can have the best of both worlds, where your physical family is also part of your spiritual family! What have you done for your true family lately? Have you gotten to know your brothers and sisters in Christ?

Are you growing in your love for them? Are you encouraging them to do the Father's will? May the teaching of Jesus in our text remind you who is truly your family!

Are you in the family of Jesus? No matter what kind of physical family you may have been born into, you have the opportunity by God's grace to be born into the wonderful family of God!