Mark 3:31-35

Mark 3:31-35  Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived.  Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him.  A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”  “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.  Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!  Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” 

The above verses clearly illustrate you can know Jesus but not really know him for who He is: the Son of God.  At this time Mary and Jesus' siblings knew Jesus more as a person in their family than anything else.  Up to his time of ministry, Jesus' role in life was primarily as Mary's beloved son and as his siblings elder brother.  For sure, they probably thought of him as rather eccentric, maybe too religious, perhaps as too much of a free spirit, doing as He wished; but they did not have an awareness of him being the only begotten Son of God with a work to do for his heavenly Father.  Jesus had given indications of who He really was earlier when He stayed in Jerusalem as a young boy teaching in the synagogue; and as with his unique birth, Mary pondered those things but had a very difficult time wrapping her mind around the identity of this person she had birthed and raised in her home.  How could she and his siblings truly comprehend the scope of Jesus' eternal existence?  How could they fully believe He was more than just a human, even with knowing He possessed extraordinary wisdom and unexplainable powers to heal?   Jesus had lived with them for thirty years as a normally functioning biological entity, a member of the family, a mere person such as they were.  He ate, drank, slept, worked with them, just like any other human being.  How could they now view him any differently?  Even Jesus said, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house.  And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.  (Matthew 13:57-58)  Jesus understood that a lack of faith would blind the eyes of those who had walked the closest with him as He grew to manhood.

Paul wrote:  Wherefore henceforth know we no man after the flesh: yea, though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more.  Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.  (2 Corinthians 5:16-17)  Jesus was looking for people who would have new eyes, spiritual eyes, to see him as He was.  Just as we see Christ anew, we know each other who are in Christ by faith, and not by sight.  Various times in the Bible we read: The just shall live by faith.  Jesus' mother and his siblings knew him by sight:  They lived with him, talked with him, ate with him; knew his face but not his eternal purpose.  We who are IN CHRIST know him purely by faith.  We do not consider him as a good man with some supernatural powers and great wisdom.  We consider him our God and our Lord.  He is not a means to an end to give us what we want and make our lives easier and more perfect here on Earth.  No, we serve him wholeheartedly as God, for He deserves our total allegiance.  For sure, Jesus is not for us just a man who could perform marvelous acts.  He is Savior, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.  We know him and worship him by faith, not by sight.  But today, many want to know Jesus as one who can create for them a better life in the flesh.  Wanting a good life is not a bad thing, but as Jesus told the Samaritan woman: Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.  God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in spirit and in truth.  (John 4:23-24)  Through Christ's death and resurrection, He has made us eternal beings, free from sin and death, that we might serve and worship him here on Earth and live with him forever as God's beloved children.  Jesus paved the way for us to be sons and daughters in the family of God; therefore, we know him as the Son of God and Lord of All.  

In today's verses, we see Jesus saying, Who are my mother and my brothers?  He indicates He is no longer bound by natural birth connections.  His family is the family of God: Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.  His intimate relatives are those who live by faith and not by sight, those who die daily and live to please their heavenly Father.  We don't measure our spirituality by what we get from Jesus; we measure it by our belief in who He is and in how willing we are to yield ourselves to him and to serve him.  Jesus clearly said, Not everyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?"  Then I will tell them plainly, "I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!"  Therefore everyone who hears these words of mine and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  (Matthew 7:21-24)  In our everyday lives, we face many demands upon our time, and we allow many of life's allures to distract us from Christ's call.  We often become so busy with work and leisure activities in our spare time that we lose track of who we are and our purpose for living.  Paul compared the body of Christ to the natural body and he said, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.  (Romans 12:5)  When we fail to do our part, the whole body suffers--Christ suffers.  We are his family, the family of God.  May we do the work of our elder brother and our heavenly Father today.  We encourage you with these words: Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.  Be devoted to one another in brotherly love.  Honor one another above yourselves.  Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.  Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.  Share with God’s people who are in need.  Practice hospitality.  (Romans 12:9-13)