Mark 3:31-35 – Spiritual family

Here Jesus was back in Capernaum, a place where so many things had happened. Great crowds gathered, people healed, miracles experienced, even roof top had been broken up to enable a paralytic to reach Him. And still the multitudes kept pressing in to touch Him and hear His teaching. Many were awestruck by His teaching and many had also doubted and questioned the source of His authority. There were all kinds of response to Him.

Now at the fringe of the crowd were the Lord’s earthly family members – His earthly mother and brothers who came from Nazareth. Verse 31 said, “Standing outside, they sent word to Him, calling Him.” Out of the crowd that surrounded Him, the people told Him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for You.” But unknown to everyone, His family members were there to take Him away from what they thought was sheer madness and to bring Him back to Nazareth.

When the message reached Jesus, none was ready for His astonishing reply. Just imagine for a little while. He must have paused, stared at the crowd, and then retorted, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” Then He continued to say, “For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

In their culture where family played a key role, was Jesus denying His family? Certainly not! In His final hour on the cross, He still cared for His earthly mother and made provision for her to be cared for by His disciples. What the Lord is saying is this: there is a relationship that far transcends earthly kinship. This relationship is far richer, the tie stronger and is certainly more satisfying. It is characterized by those who love the Heavenly Father and would do His will. It is marked by this one feature: obedience to God, the heavenly Father.

Obedience to the heavenly Father is significant if we are to experience the reality of this family. He tells us here that like Him, a true member of this spiritual family, is one who would synchronize his or her heartbeats with God. When we choose to do His will, we are dynamically aligned with Him, and all people worldwide who have also chosen to submit to Him.

What Christ said here should stir our hearts to think about members of our own earthly family who do not know Him yet. We love each one of them and want our family to be preserved and complete. This can happen when we help everyone to align their will with God. This is the only answer. For those who are not Christians yet, we must seek to reach them. For those who are already Christians, we must all put God first. This will create a relationship that will transcend mere earthly affiliation and connection.