Mark 3:31-35 "The True Family of God"

Introduction:

Remember that Jesus is at His home in Capernaum and His family heard about Him being there and they came to seize Him because they believed Him to be out of His mind.

At least His brothers probably did because they didn’t believe in Him and we know this from John 7:5. We also know from Mark’s gospel in chapter 6 verse 3 the names of Jesus brothers: James, Joses, Judas and Simon and we learn in verse 3 that He had sisters too. The people of Nazareth knew Him and His occupation of being a carpenter and His Mother Mary and His siblings.

But in Mark 3 we are not told if all of His brothers were actually with Mary. We only know it was a plural number of Brothers. And they make an inquiry of their brother from outside the crowed house as they were seeking Him out. Look back at your text to verses 31-32 at the Inquiry of the family:

I. The Inquiry of the Family (31-32).

A. So we see that Jesus is made aware of His Mother and Brothers being outside seeking Him out. And we know from the context that they probably were motivated to keep Him from agitating the political and religious powers of the day. We talked about this a few weeks ago from Mark 3:20-21.

But Jesus doesn’t appear to use their inquiry to go to where they are but instead, He uses it to make a point about the Identity and nature of His true true family. Look back at verses 33-35 of your text:

II. The Identity of the Family (33-35).

A. Jesus makes a contrast between His human and biological family and His spiritual family. And He does this to make a point about the depth and nature of the relationship that is of a spiritual nature.

When He ask the question, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” It is a rhetorical question. If it wasn’t rhetorical the one bringing the message of the family’s inquiry could have easily said they are the ones outside seeking you out. But none of the gospel writers open the door on that possibility at all.

Instead they record that Jesus looks at those around Him in the house and says, “Here are my mother and my brothers!” With this Jesus is making a point of emphasis in context to His Kingdom purpose. Mark has been keeping this before us again and again regarding the Messianic ministry and mission of Jesus.

His purpose is broader and much deeper than just merely a familial relationship connected to physical birth. Jesus is not delusional about who His physical family is but He is making the point that His spiritual family supersedes the physical because it is the emphatic reason and purpose that He came into the world, so that He could ransom a people for God, to be His eternal family.

This spiritual emphasis doesn’t detract from His obligation to His earthly mother, Mary. It is from the Cross that He entrust her into the care of the Apostle John as you can see in John 19:26-27.

And He was concerned about His brothers and their salvation and post resurrection Mary and His brothers are in the Upper Room praying with the disciples in Acts 1:14. James and Jude both write letters as recorded in the New Testament where they refer to themselves as servants of Jesus Christ. Jude calls himself the “brother of James” but in relation to Jesus Christ, a servant.

We know that James became the leader over the Jerusalem church and it is likely that at least some of the brothers of Jesus became missionaries in the early Church as the Apostle Paul make reference to them and their wives traveling with their wives on their missionary journeys.

B. You see Christian it would appear that the brothers of Jesus came to know the relational depth and scope of the Kingdom and how it took precedence over and above the physical aspects of family. That is how the Kingdom operates.

C. Because Jesus said that the identifying characteristic of His family in the Kingdom of God is obedience to the will of God in verse 35. As the eternal and only begotten Son, Christ came to be obedient to the Father. And the plan of redemption was to ransom a people for God to be His eternal children through adoption.

The physical family on earth in the temporal sense is allegorical of a spiritual family in Christ that is eternal. Family relationships on earth are telling us something about the eternal and spiritual nature of family in Christ. The spiritual is not the allegory, the physical family is the allegory.

Christian you may have family members that are unbelievers but you have a deeper and stronger connection spiritually to other believers than you do to them. Simply because if they are outside of Christ this world is the extent of your relationship to them. Of course the best of both worlds is when you have a family member who is a Christian. You are connected together in this world but you will be super-connected in the world to come.

You have heard the saying that, “blood is thicker than water” but in the eternal reality nothing holds us more fast in our relationships than the blood of Christ because it binds us to God in covenant relationship to Him as our Father and to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

But this is not just a theological or theoretical truth proclamation that Jesus is making. There is a practical reality that characterizes the family of God in the Kingdom while they are alive on earth. It is obedience to the will of God. Living in such a way that is reflective of your familial relationship to God through Christ is the fruit of obedience in those who are truly in the family.

When I was in junior high school I had several teachers that I went to church with and they had known me all of my life and were friends of my parents. And I couldn’t get away with anything. And Sandra Mize was always reminding me when I got in trouble that I wasn’t raised that way. Or she would say something like Brett Revlett you were raised better than that.

And she was mostly right, but living like I was raised wasn’t nearly as much fun when you are in junior high.

Christian when you are a disciple of Christ and you have been brought into the Kingdom you are being called to a life of obedience. Your primary identity is in Christ and through Him you have been redeemed by His blood once and for all time. God has initiated this work to bring you into His eternal family as His children.

And this is something that is not just believed but it is lived out in obedience to you heavenly Father. That is the true family of God.

Unbeliever where do you find your identity in this world? You may not even care at this point. But the reality of God and you being His creation begs the question of relationship of an eternal nature.

The fact that you are created with the capability to have relationships in this world points us all to the reality and personable nature of the God who created you. God is 3 in person and therefore He has always been a personable God. Relationship is inherent to His being.

He made you with capacity for relationship as a reflection of Himself. And He made you this way to primarily have relationship with Him in obedience. Believe the gospel!

Conclusion:

Christian, the problem is that it is so easy in this world to live like we are in junior high from a spiritual context. And this illustration has nothing to do with age. I have met junior high kids who had more spiritual maturity reflected in their obedience than someone who has been in church for 30 years.

Spiritual growth is to trade the fleshly appetites of this world for the all satisfying fulfillment of being in Christ. Most of us are on a journey somewhere in between and God is sanctifying our hearts to love Christ more and to love the world less and from that comes an increased desire for obedience.

God is using His word by the Holy Spirit like a junior high teacher that knows you well and the family to which you truly belong to point you to the reality of your true identity. We are in Christ Christian and we find in our weakness the sufficiency of Grace to meet us and to bring the restoration that we need.

Our Father welcomes us home to eat at His table this morning. He sets before us the sufficiency and all satisfying reality of Christ and reminds us of our union to Him and secondarily of our union to one another.

Examine in preparation I Corinthians 11. Let’s pray! Everyone together, No closed communion.