Introduction: Jesus Christ had returned home to Capernaum. Upon His arrival, a great crowd gathered which was so dense that no one could get through the doorways of the house where He was. The crowd interfered so badly that Christ and his disciples could not even eat bread. The friends or literally the kinsmen of Jesus were deeply concerned about Him. They had heard how He was expending Himself in the miracles He was performing, the prophetic esteem the people were heaping upon Him, His heated confrontations with the Scribes and Pharisees, and His claims of Messiahship. Seeing that He was so bent on His mission as to take little care for bodily necessities, and not believing as John 7:5 tells us that He was the Messiah, they assumed that He had lost His mind. Too much zeal and piety in their opinion had deranged His mind. Concerned about His welfare they came to take custody of Him. In the crowd were a number of scribes from Jerusalem. They charged Christ with being possessed, indwelled and completely under the control of Beelzebub, the god of filth, a name ascribed to Satan as the prince of unclean spirits. It is at this point that Mary, accompanied by sons she had borne by Joseph, Christ?s half-brothers, came to the outer courtyard of the house in Capernaum. Undoubtedly, Mary had come with a mother?s anxiety about her son?s welfare. She may have felt that He was in danger from the scribes and Pharisees or from a fickle crowd. Unable to pass through the overflowing crowd, they send a message that they desire to speak with Him. Hearing this Christ asks the messenger, ?Who is my mother, or my brethren??
I. In asking this question, Christ was not diminishing the importance of family ties.
A. As a child, Christ submitted to parental authority.
? Luke 2:51 "And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart."
B. Christ taught true respect for mother and father
1. Mark 7:10-13 "For Moses said, ?Honor thy father and thy mother? and, ?Whoever curses father or mother, let him die the death.? But, ye say, ?If a man shall say to his father or mother, It is Corban, that is to say, a gift, by whatsoever you might be profited by me; he shall be free.? And ye suffer him no more to do ought for his father or his mother; Making the word of God of none effect through your tradition, which ye have delivered: and many such like things do ye."
2. Percentage of Americans who think caring for elderly parents is an adult child’s responsibility: 85
Who would consider asking elderly parents no longer able to live alone to move in with them: 85
Percentage of elderly who have never received financial help from their children: 79
C. Christ cared for His mother.
? John 19:26-27 "When Jesus therefore saw his mother, and the disciple standing by, whom he loved, he saith unto his mother, Woman, behold thy son! Then saith he to the disciple, Behold thy mother! And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."
II. In asking this question, Christ states that blood relationships alone do not make a family.
A. True kinship is not just blood relationship.
B. A house is not a home. Wood, bricks, mortar do not make a home. Neither do genes, traits, or lineage make a family.
C. Everyday examples of familial conflict
1. Parent against child.
2. Sister against sister.
3. Brother against brother.
4. Child against parent.
D. John 8:39 "They answered and said unto him, Abraham is our father. Jesus saith unto them, If ye were Abraham’s children, ye would do the works of Abraham."
III. In answering this question, Christ states that there is something thicker than blood.
A. Note how Christ?s answer is recorded by each of the synoptic gospels.
1. Mark 3:35 "For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother."
2. Matthew 12:50 "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."
3. Luke 8:21 "And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it."
B. A Spiritual relationship with God through Christ is thicker than blood.
1. Matthew 12:49, Mark 3:34 (Combining verses) " And he looked round about on them which sat about him and he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!"
2. The disciples had accepted Christ as Lord and Master. They had in their heart and spirit united themselves to Him.
3. They had established a relationship that was a stronger, closer, and more powerful than any blood relationship.
a. The relationship is more caring, more loving, more meaningful, more fulfilling, more secure than any other relationship.
b. John 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, ?If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him."
4. Luke 14:26-27 "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. [27] And whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple."
C. The evidence of a true Spiritual Family relationship is obedience to the will of God.
1. Evidenced by self denial
a. Luke 14:26-27 "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever does not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple."
b. Luke 14:33 "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsakes not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple."
c. Warren Wiersbe - To deny self does not men to deny things. It means to give yourself wholly to Christ and share in His shame and death. To take up a cross does not mean to carry burdens or have problems.
d. Nazi Judge Roland Freisler recognized the claims of Christ when he said, ?We and Christianity are the same in one thing only: We demand the entire person! ?
2. Evidenced by obedience
a. John 15:10 "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father’s commandments, and abide in his love."
b. The receiving of the Word consist of two parts: attention of mind and intention of will.
c. The fruit of the Spirit grows only in the garden of obedience.
3. Evidenced by loyalty
a. John 8:31 "Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;"
b. A missionary once wrote: "Sometimes adversity tempts me to discouragement in the face of seeming failure. But I take courage and press on anew, as I remember that God does not hold me responsible for success, but for faithfulness." Jesus did not say, "Well done, you successful servant." rather He said , "Well done, you good and faithful servant."
4. Evidenced by love for the family of God
a. John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. [35] By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another."
b. Community ... means people who have to learn how to care for each other.
5. Evidenced by fruit
a. John 15:5, 7-8 "I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abides in me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing. [7] If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you. [8] Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples."
b. A W Tozer ? Unused truth becomes as useless as an unused muscle.
