Who
are My brothers?
Scripture:
While He was
still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside,
seeking to speak with Him. Then one said
to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to
speak with You.”
But He
answered and said to the one who told Him, “Who is My mother and who
are My brothers?” And He
stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, “Here are My mother and
My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father in
heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”
Matthew 12:46-50
Observation:
In this passage, Matthew
records a scene where Jesus’ mother and brothers come to see the Lord while He
is teaching the multitudes. Someone alerts Jesus that His family has come to
speak to him, but the Lord answers surprisingly “Who is My mother and who are
My brothers?” He then stretches out His hands towards His disciples and
declares “here are my mother and my brothers, for whoever does the will of my
Father in Heaven is My brother and sister and mother.
At first sight, this
scene seems rather strange and we
could wonder if the Lord’s mother Mary and his brothers would be insulted by the
Lord’s words. Why did Mary and the Lord’s brothers come to speak to Him in the
middle of his ministry? In the book of John, it is written how even the Lord’s
own brothers did not believe him. Later,
the Lord chose not to go up to Jerusalem
In any case, the Lord uses this
opportunity to teach the crowd an important concept. We have our earthly
families, which is of course very important, but more important than that, we
have our spiritual families, which even transcends this life. Ideally, our
earthly families would also be part of our spiritual family, but that would not
always be the case. While Mary would have believed the Lord was the Son of God,
his brothers did not believe until later after the resurrection.
What is it that characterizes those in
the Lord’s spiritual family? In summary, they seek to know God’s will and do
it. Our spiritual family should also be strongly known for our love as the Lord
commanded that others will know we are Christians by our love. Unity or oneness
is also very important in our spiritual family, as the Lord prayed that we
might be one as He and the Father are one.
Applications:
Do we really see our fellow Christians
really as brothers and sisters? Do we really see others in the church as our
family? Especially in the mega-churches, we hardly know the majority of other
church-goers. In spite of that, we can look with new eyes at those who cross
our path. They are really our brothers and sisters, though we don’t know them
well. We are really of the same family. We need to see elderly Christians like
our own father and mother, and little Christians like perhaps our own children.
If we learn to look with “family” eyes, our heart will soften and open to bless
and speak to other Christians we come across for they really are our family.
Remember that our common goal is to do
the will of God and to love each other. Encourage each other to stay focused to
our common purpose. Strive always for oneness and unity in our spiritual
family.
Prayer:
Praise thee, Father in Heaven, for the
great things You have done. Praise You, Lord, that in You, we have become part
of God’s royal family. You are our great older brother, who brought us into
God’s family. Give us “family” eyes of love, to really see our fellow Christians
as family, as dearly beloved brothers and sisters. Strengthen us O Lord, and
give us the courage and faithfulness to continue in seeking and doing Your
will. Fill us Lord with more and more of Your love that we may love each other
in Your family more and more. Let us be one O Lord, as You and our Father are
one. Let there be unity always O Lord, in our blessed family. Praise You, O
Lord, for all things. In Jesus name, Amen.
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