Matthew 12:38-50

“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 12:49–50, NKJV)

We cannot really fault Jesus’ family from wanting to see Him and talk with Him. Earlier, when Jesus and His disciples were so busy ministering to others that they had no time to eat, His own people (friends and neighbors) tried to lay hold of Him because they thought He was out of His mind (Mark 3:21). They probably reported these things to Mary and her other sons. Mary believed in Jesus and was concerned for His welfare, but Jesus’ brothers did not yet believe in Him (John 7:5). When Jesus was told that His mother and brothers were standing outside, He said, “Who is my mother and who are my brothers?” Then Jesus stretched out His hand toward His followers and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother, sister, and mother.”

Jesus made it clear that He would let nothing distract Him from completing the work the Father had given Him. And those who were devoted to doing the Father’s will were His true family. I wonder how this affected Mary and Jesus’ brothers. Did they feel disrespected or hurt? Did they conclude with the others that Jesus was out of His mind? We don’t know how they responded, but Jesus showed that spiritual bonds supersede biological bonds. This did not mean that Jesus did not love or respect His family. He did. But He could not let them pull Him away from His calling. Loving and serving God must be supreme. Jesus obeyed the demands He put on others.

“He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.” (Matthew 10:37, NKJV)

When we choose to follow Jesus, our family members may not understand. We must still love them. We must still honor our parents (which means giving them weight). But we must not obey them over obeying God; we must not love them more than we love Christ.

Have you ever had family members oppose you in your Christian walk? How did it make you feel? What does the Lord want you to do about it?