While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him (v 46).
Matthew tells us that someone interrupts Jesus with a message while He was still speaking to the crowds.
As Jesus was teaching, His mother and brothers were standing outside the building (v 46). This building was possibly a synagogue, but Mark’s parallel account seems to indicate that it was a home where Jesus and His disciples were trying to eat a meal—but the crowds were so invasive that they were unable to eat it (Mark 3:20Mark 3:20 commentary). It may have been Simon Peter’s home where Jesus had gathered before (Mark 1:29Mark 1:29 commentary).
Because Jesus was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14Isaiah 7:14 commentary; Matthew 1:18Matthew 1:18 commentary; Luke 1:27-36Luke 1:27-36 commentary), these brothers were really His half-brothers, and they were younger than He. Jesus’s half-brothers did not believe in Him (John 7:5John 7:5 commentary) until after He made a special post-resurrection appearance to James (1 Corinthians 15:7a1 Corinthians 15:7a commentary).
One of Jesus's half-brothers was James (Matthew 13:55Matthew 13:55 commentary), who scholars believe authored the epistle of James, and who later became the leader of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15Acts 15 commentary).
Another of Jesus's half-brothers was Jude (Matthew 13:55Matthew 13:55 commentary), who scholars believe authored the epistle of Jude.
James and Jude may have been some of the half-brothers who were seeking Jesus on this day.
Scripture does not refer to Jesus's earthly father, Joseph, beyond Jesus's childhood (Luke 2:41-51Luke 2:41-51 commentary). It is commonly believed that Joseph had died at some point before Jesus began His earthly ministry as the Messiah.
According to Mark, Jesus also had half-sisters but the Bible does not identify them by name (Mark 6:3bMark 6:3b commentary).
What Happened When Jesus’s Family Arrived
Because Jesus's mother and brothers came to seek Him, it is likely that Jesus is in the vicinity of Nazareth where He was raised. But it is unlikely that He is actually in Nazareth at this point, because Matthew later tells us that Jesus departed from there and went to His hometown (Matthew 13:53-56Matthew 13:53-56 commentary). The circumstantial details from Mark’s gospel indicates that it was Capernaum (Mark 3:20Mark 3:20 commentary).
As they stood outside, His mother and brothers were seeking to speak to Jesus (v 46).
Matthew does not tell us what they wanted to speak to Him about. But Mark’s gospel suggests that they were trying to take Jesus away to keep Him from getting into further trouble with the religious leaders who were trying to destroy Him (Mark 3:6Mark 3:6 commentary). Mark writes:
“When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, ‘He has lost His senses.’” (Mark 3:21Mark 3:21 commentary)
Jesus had not lost His senses. He was doing the will of His Heavenly Father. His family went to find Jesus, when they heard that He had returned and had immediately drawn a large crowd (Mark 3:20Mark 3:20 commentary).
Apparently, they were worried that the crowd would notify Jesus’s enemies of His whereabouts and give them an opportunity to harm Him. His family may have been frustrated that Jesus would make Himself such an easy target, and so they went to go get Him and try to keep Him safe.
But it appears as though at least some of Jesus’s family members did not understand His mission or believe that He was the Messiah (John 7:5John 7:5 commentary).
Someone informed Jesus about His family outside, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You" (v 47).
Rather than immediately go outside to His family, Jesus took this as an opportunity to illustrate a lesson. And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers!" (v 49). With the gesture and remark, Jesus indicated that His disciples were His family.
Jesus then elaborated what He meant by this. He broadens the definition beyond His literal disciples to whoever does the will ofHisFather.
For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother (v 50).
Jesus’s statement as recorded in the three synoptic Gospels reveals how their writers expressed it in such a way as to be best understood by their different audiences.
The statement in the Gospel of Matthew, which was probably the first of the four Gospels to be written and was addressed to the Jews, reads:
“For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.” (Matthew 12:50Matthew 12:50 commentary)
Matthew did not directly name God as God. Directly naming God as God may have been a stumbling block to Jewish sensibilities. Instead, Matthew described God as My Father who is in heaven.”
The Gospel of Mark, which was a condensed version of Matthew and was addressed to the Romans, is more direct—which is a Roman way of speaking. Mark wrote:
“For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.” (Mark 3:35Mark 3:35 commentary)
Both Matthew and Mark describe the action as doing “the will of God/My Father in Heaven” (Matthew 12:50aMatthew 12:50a commentary, Mark 3:35aMark 3:35a commentary). The Jews were concerned with doing the will of the LORD. And the Romans, whose national virtue was pietas—devotion, duty—highly valued doing the will of the lawful authority.
The Gospel of Luke was the last of the synoptic Gospels written. It was written to a Greek audience. Luke recorded Jesus’s statement for his Greek readers in this way:
My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it (v 21).
Luke inverts the statement, by stating the outcome first, and the process second. Luke also refers to God as God (as does Mark, who also wrote for a Gentile audience). But instead of saying whoever does God’s will (like Matthew and Mark), Luke writes that it is “these who hear the word of God and do it” (Luke 8:21Luke 8:21 commentary). This expression would have appealed to the Greeks who prized their independence and bristled at taking orders. The Greeks liked to hear words. The Greeks thought of themselves as listening and considering (hearing) and acting upon (doing) a wise word. God’s word is wise. The path to the Good Life is to hear and do it.The will of God in heaven is expressed in His word—the Bible.
The meaning in all three records of Jesus’s statement is the same in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, even as the synoptic Gospels use different expressions to convey it to their respective audiences (Jews, Romans, Greeks).
Jesus says whoever doesthe willof His Father in heaven and obeys Hisword are members of His spiritual family.
Jesus may have been indicating that His spiritual family are those who are willing to follow Him and identify with Him—and not those who are ashamed of Him, as perhaps His half-brothers who did not believe in Him might have been (John 7:5John 7:5 commentary).
Whoever follows Jesus and obeys God’s word are His family and share intimacy with Jesus.
Conversely, those who do not do God’s will do not share the intimacy with Jesus and His Father as cooperative family members.
Jesus’s family is composed of those who are under the headship of God as the Father.
The biblical model of the family consists of a father, who is its head, a mother, brothers and sisters. In the biblical model, a family lives together. They experience and seek to overcome the trials of life together. They share what they have together. They support one another in their hopes and dreams. And they take care of each other. Even though He had a family by blood, Jesus was teaching that He also had a spiritual family. And His spiritual family consists of whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven (v 50). His point was that His spiritual family consists of whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven (v 50). In other words, whoever follows the Father, wherever he might live, is an active member of Jesus's heavenly household.
This sheds light on a passage from Mark, where Jesus speaks of rewards that will be given to those who walk in obedience to His commands:
"Peter began to say to Him, 'Behold, we have left everything and followed You.'
Jesus said, 'Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.'" (Mark 10:28-30Mark 10:28-30 commentary)
In this passage, Jesus promises great rewards for suffering for His sake, a "hundred times" as much as was lost. But interestingly, Jesus says we will gain a hundred mothers for every mother we lost. How can this be? It seems that believers are supposed to be one another's reward.
When we walk by faith, in radical obedience to Christ, we gain a bond of fellowship that is a great reward, that will greatly benefit us in this life, and will carry over into the life that is to come.
In the broadest spiritual sense, Jesus’s family are as many as those who receive Him by faith:
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.” (John 1:12-13John 1:12-13 commentary)
Being born of God through faith is an act of grace that is a blessing associated with the Gift of Eternal Life.
Matthew 12:46-50 meaning
The parallel gospel accounts of Matthew 12:46-50Matthew 12:46-50 commentary are found in Mark 3:31-35Mark 3:31-35 commentary and Luke 8:19-21Luke 8:19-21 commentary.
While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him (v 46).
Matthew tells us that someone interrupts Jesus with a message while He was still speaking to the crowds.
As Jesus was teaching, His mother and brothers were standing outside the building (v 46). This building was possibly a synagogue, but Mark’s parallel account seems to indicate that it was a home where Jesus and His disciples were trying to eat a meal—but the crowds were so invasive that they were unable to eat it (Mark 3:20Mark 3:20 commentary). It may have been Simon Peter’s home where Jesus had gathered before (Mark 1:29Mark 1:29 commentary).
Jesus’s Family
Jesus's mother was Mary (Matthew 1:24-25Matthew 1:24-25 commentary; Luke 2:5-7Luke 2:5-7 commentary).
Because Jesus was born of a virgin (Isaiah 7:14Isaiah 7:14 commentary; Matthew 1:18Matthew 1:18 commentary; Luke 1:27-36Luke 1:27-36 commentary), these brothers were really His half-brothers, and they were younger than He. Jesus’s half-brothers did not believe in Him (John 7:5John 7:5 commentary) until after He made a special post-resurrection appearance to James (1 Corinthians 15:7a1 Corinthians 15:7a commentary).
One of Jesus's half-brothers was James (Matthew 13:55Matthew 13:55 commentary), who scholars believe authored the epistle of James, and who later became the leader of the church in Jerusalem (Acts 15Acts 15 commentary).
Another of Jesus's half-brothers was Jude (Matthew 13:55Matthew 13:55 commentary), who scholars believe authored the epistle of Jude.
James and Jude may have been some of the half-brothers who were seeking Jesus on this day.
Scripture does not refer to Jesus's earthly father, Joseph, beyond Jesus's childhood (Luke 2:41-51Luke 2:41-51 commentary). It is commonly believed that Joseph had died at some point before Jesus began His earthly ministry as the Messiah.
According to Mark, Jesus also had half-sisters but the Bible does not identify them by name (Mark 6:3bMark 6:3b commentary).
What Happened When Jesus’s Family Arrived
Because Jesus's mother and brothers came to seek Him, it is likely that Jesus is in the vicinity of Nazareth where He was raised. But it is unlikely that He is actually in Nazareth at this point, because Matthew later tells us that Jesus departed from there and went to His hometown (Matthew 13:53-56Matthew 13:53-56 commentary). The circumstantial details from Mark’s gospel indicates that it was Capernaum (Mark 3:20Mark 3:20 commentary).
As they stood outside, His mother and brothers were seeking to speak to Jesus (v 46).
Matthew does not tell us what they wanted to speak to Him about. But Mark’s gospel suggests that they were trying to take Jesus away to keep Him from getting into further trouble with the religious leaders who were trying to destroy Him (Mark 3:6Mark 3:6 commentary). Mark writes:
“When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, ‘He has lost His senses.’”
(Mark 3:21Mark 3:21 commentary)
Jesus had not lost His senses. He was doing the will of His Heavenly Father. His family went to find Jesus, when they heard that He had returned and had immediately drawn a large crowd (Mark 3:20Mark 3:20 commentary).
Apparently, they were worried that the crowd would notify Jesus’s enemies of His whereabouts and give them an opportunity to harm Him. His family may have been frustrated that Jesus would make Himself such an easy target, and so they went to go get Him and try to keep Him safe.
But it appears as though at least some of Jesus’s family members did not understand His mission or believe that He was the Messiah (John 7:5John 7:5 commentary).
Someone informed Jesus about His family outside, "Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You" (v 47).
Rather than immediately go outside to His family, Jesus took this as an opportunity to illustrate a lesson. And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Behold My mother and My brothers!" (v 49). With the gesture and remark, Jesus indicated that His disciples were His family.
Jesus then elaborated what He meant by this. He broadens the definition beyond His literal disciples to whoever does the will of His Father.
For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother (v 50).
Jesus’s statement as recorded in the three synoptic Gospels reveals how their writers expressed it in such a way as to be best understood by their different audiences.
The statement in the Gospel of Matthew, which was probably the first of the four Gospels to be written and was addressed to the Jews, reads:
“For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
(Matthew 12:50Matthew 12:50 commentary)
Matthew did not directly name God as God. Directly naming God as God may have been a stumbling block to Jewish sensibilities. Instead, Matthew described God as My Father who is in heaven.”
The Gospel of Mark, which was a condensed version of Matthew and was addressed to the Romans, is more direct—which is a Roman way of speaking. Mark wrote:
“For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
(Mark 3:35Mark 3:35 commentary)
Both Matthew and Mark describe the action as doing “the will of God/My Father in Heaven” (Matthew 12:50aMatthew 12:50a commentary, Mark 3:35aMark 3:35a commentary). The Jews were concerned with doing the will of the LORD. And the Romans, whose national virtue was pietas—devotion, duty—highly valued doing the will of the lawful authority.
The Gospel of Luke was the last of the synoptic Gospels written. It was written to a Greek audience. Luke recorded Jesus’s statement for his Greek readers in this way:
My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it (v 21).
Luke inverts the statement, by stating the outcome first, and the process second. Luke also refers to God as God (as does Mark, who also wrote for a Gentile audience). But instead of saying whoever does God’s will (like Matthew and Mark), Luke writes that it is “these who hear the word of God and do it” (Luke 8:21Luke 8:21 commentary). This expression would have appealed to the Greeks who prized their independence and bristled at taking orders. The Greeks liked to hear words. The Greeks thought of themselves as listening and considering (hearing) and acting upon (doing) a wise word. God’s word is wise. The path to the Good Life is to hear and do it. The will of God in heaven is expressed in His word—the Bible.
The meaning in all three records of Jesus’s statement is the same in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, even as the synoptic Gospels use different expressions to convey it to their respective audiences (Jews, Romans, Greeks).
Jesus says whoever does the will of His Father in heaven and obeys His word are members of His spiritual family.
Jesus may have been indicating that His spiritual family are those who are willing to follow Him and identify with Him—and not those who are ashamed of Him, as perhaps His half-brothers who did not believe in Him might have been (John 7:5John 7:5 commentary).
Whoever follows Jesus and obeys God’s word are His family and share intimacy with Jesus.
Conversely, those who do not do God’s will do not share the intimacy with Jesus and His Father as cooperative family members.
Jesus’s family is composed of those who are under the headship of God as the Father.
The biblical model of the family consists of a father, who is its head, a mother, brothers and sisters. In the biblical model, a family lives together. They experience and seek to overcome the trials of life together. They share what they have together. They support one another in their hopes and dreams. And they take care of each other. Even though He had a family by blood, Jesus was teaching that He also had a spiritual family. And His spiritual family consists of whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven (v 50). His point was that His spiritual family consists of whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven (v 50). In other words, whoever follows the Father, wherever he might live, is an active member of Jesus's heavenly household.
This sheds light on a passage from Mark, where Jesus speaks of rewards that will be given to those who walk in obedience to His commands:
"Peter began to say to Him, 'Behold, we have left everything and followed You.'
Jesus said, 'Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.'"
(Mark 10:28-30Mark 10:28-30 commentary)
In this passage, Jesus promises great rewards for suffering for His sake, a "hundred times" as much as was lost. But interestingly, Jesus says we will gain a hundred mothers for every mother we lost. How can this be? It seems that believers are supposed to be one another's reward.
When we walk by faith, in radical obedience to Christ, we gain a bond of fellowship that is a great reward, that will greatly benefit us in this life, and will carry over into the life that is to come.
In the broadest spiritual sense, Jesus’s family are as many as those who receive Him by faith:
“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
(John 1:12-13John 1:12-13 commentary)
Being born of God through faith is an act of grace that is a blessing associated with the Gift of Eternal Life.