A New Kind of Family

The Gospel of Mark  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  42:16
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Introduction:
If you have your Bibles let me invite you to open with me to the book of Mark. We will begin reading with verse 31 and we will read just through verse 35.
The Gospel of Mark often uses literary devices to make theological points.
Mark has arranged his gospel thematically in such a way that it unfolds for us who Jesus is and what Jesus came to do.
One of the literary devices that Mark uses to make his theological points is the device of sandwiching.
He places one unique story in the middle of two similar stories to make one distinct theological point.
Earlier, I referenced how the whole book of Mark is a sandwich.
At the beginning of Jesus’ ministry, Jesus is baptized, the very heavens themselves tear open and God the Father declares Jesus to be his beloved Son.
At the end of the book at Jesus’ death, the veil is torn open in the temple, and the Roman soldier declares that truly Jesus is the Son of God.
Everything in the middle of these two similar events declares that same identity. Jesus is the Son of God.
Now here in chapter 3, we have a smaller sandwiching of material.
In verse 21, Jesus’ family seeks to seize him and they accuse him of being “out of his mind”
In verses 22-30, Jesus’ opponents accuse him of being demonic.
And now in verse 31, Some members of Jesus’ family are again seeking him.
So the sandwich structure goes like this:
Jesus’ blood relatives seek him out
Jesus’ biggest enemies accuse him
Jesus’ blood relatives seek him out
And I think the big point really comes to a head here in this paragraph beginning with verse 31.
So lets read verses 31-35 and then pray for understanding.
Mark 3:31–35 ESV
31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” 33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
Lets Pray
Mark 3:31 ESV
31 And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him.
The seen changes from the accusations of Jesus’ enemies last week, and now we find Jesus sitting in a house with a crowd of people.
This crowd seems to be portrayed in a positive light.
They are not clamoring for miracles, rather they are seated around Jesus listening to his teaching.
But, none-the-less it is a large group of people packed into the house… and Jesus’ own mother and his brothers are standing outside the house crowded out so that they can’t seem to squeeze threw to get to Jesus.
So instead of squeezing threw, they try to send a message through the crowd that they are outside.
I imagine it playing out like that old phone call game where you have to pass a message from person to person.
Jesus is teaching… and from outside, his family passes a message, that works from the back of the crowd in through the door and finally to Jesus.
Mark 3:32 ESV
32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.”
Now, Jesus could have of course gotten up and urged everyone to make a way for his family to come inside.
He could have pushed his way through the crowd to get outside to his family...
He could have sent a message back to them to come back later or to meet him by the lake that evening....
But Jesus doesn’t do any of that, rather he sees the moment as a teaching opportunity for everyone in the room.
Jesus often seizes the moment like this.
He uses situations and circumstances.
Throughout his ministry, he uses fig trees, or fishing, or farming, or bread, or the work of shepherding, and he draws from these real world experiences and realities to disciple those around him.
So Jesus responds to the request with a rhetorical question designed to make a theological point.
Mark 3:33 ESV
33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”
I can imagine the puzzled looks on the peoples faces as Jesus asks the question...
Umm, well Jesus, isn’t your mother’s name Mary?
Don’t you have a brother named James and so on?
What do you mean “Who are my mother and my brothers?”.... Are you OK? A little dehydrated or something Jesus?
Jesus continues
Mark 3:34–35 ESV
34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
Now.... I don’t think the point of this story is that Jesus was rejecting his blood family.... rather… I think the point of the story is that Jesus Came to Start a New Kind of Family

Truth #1 Jesus Came to Start a New Kind of Family

Earlier in this chapter we saw Jesus selection of the 12 apostles as a very intentional move on his part.
The people of God in the Old Testament began with the 12 great-grandsons of Abraham who became the 12 tribes of Israel.
Jesus selected 12 apostles as a signal to the watching world which said.... “I am here to build the new covenant people of God.”
And here with Jesus’ words he signals to everyone that he has come to start a new kind of family unit.
This family will not be built from one physical bloodline.
This family will not have in common one ethnicity, one culture, one country…, but this family… will have in common their one relationship to Jesus and to His Heavenly Father.
In this sandwiching of three stories…
It is not Jesus’ blood relatives that are identified as Jesus’ Family...
It is not the Pharisees and the Scribes who boasted in their religion that are identified as Jesus’ Family...
No… Jesus simplifies it all in verse 35..
Mark 3:35 ESV
35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
Now, I know that the passage for this morning is not as complicated as some of the texts we have worked through over the past couple of weeks....
The sentences that are used and the argument that is made is a rather simple one… but sometimes its the simple things in the Scriptures that are the most profound and the most difficult to appreciate.
Jesus is certainly signaling to his readers here that his ministry will be one through which a new kind of family-like community is formed…
He is building his church, which will function like a spiritual family, but what are the implications of all this for the people of God?
So lets just take it slow this morning and consider a few phrases from this claim.
Jesus looks around the room and he says...., “here are my mother and brothers”
In other words… here are my family in the truest sense of the word....
Now, its an odd claim and a nice gesture at best if Jesus was just like any other man
.... but the Gospel of Mark has not led us to believe that Jesus is just like any other man. He is unique…
Lets reflect on who Jesus really is.
Mark 1:1 (ESV)
1 The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God.
Mark 1:11 (ESV)
11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”
In the truest and most profound sense of the word, Jesus is the Son of God the Father.
According to the teaching of the Bible… God’s very existence from eternity past has been a relationship within himself to himself.
God has always existed as God the Father, and God the Son, and God the Spirit…
The fullness of God is trinity.... He is three divine persons in relationship with themselves in one big being who is God...
The very nature of God is beyond our comprehension.
He is eternal, he is uncreated, he is all-sustaining, all knowing, he is omnipresent, he is a triune being who existed in relationship with himself even before any thing was created out of nothing.
When God created… he created human beings to reflect his image and to enjoy relationship with him
but humanity sinned against God and marred the image of God and brought on himself the wrath of God...
But When Jesus was born… God the Son took on human flesh.... God became a man.... and he lived as a man
and he lived a life that perfectly reflected the image that Adam was supposed to reflect…
He lived a life that was perfectly pleasing to God the Father.
And Jesus’ aim in coming… was to in human flesh do what humanity couldn’t do…
and then take the punishment on himself that humanity deserved to take…
so that humans could again be blessed as sons and daughters of God without having to suffer the wrath they deserved.
So this is what Jesus really came to do… He was the divine son of God who came to make your adoption possible.
He came to pay the penalty for your sins… so that you could become a part of the family.
He came to represent you before the Father so that you might enjoy all the benefits that Jesus has been enjoying as the Father’s Son from eternity past.
He came so that you might experience all the blessings of being a part of the family of God rather than remaining an enemy of God.
By virtue of believing upon Jesus and following Jesus… we become children of the same Heavenly Father… and this means infinitely more than you can ever imagine.
I just want you to listen to how the New Testament speaks of our becoming a part of the family of God in Christ.
I want to read for you the longest sentence in the New Testament… This is a sentence we will be studying at youth camp this week… so it was on my mind but it speaks so much into what I want you to see this morning..
As I read, notice how Paul speaks of this adoption and all the blessings that come with it.
Notice how many times Paul uses the words “In Christ” to qualify these blessings.... You have to come into this family by virtue of your faith IN JESUS CHRIST and what he came to do for sinful humans.
Listen and follow along as I read.
Ephesians 1:3–12 ESV
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, 4 even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, 8 which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight 9 making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ 10 as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth. 11 In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will, 12 so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of his glory.
When Jesus says… “here are my mother, and my brothers” I don’t think anyone in the room grasped the depths of that statement yet.
If we are invited into the family of Jesus Christ…
we are invited into a glorious adoption that includes every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places and an inheritance which Paul says we have to pray for the miracle of grasping.
Ephesians 1:18–19 ESV
18 having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19 and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might
We are adopted children....
We had no inheritance before Christ…
the only thing we earned was our own judgment according to our own sins…
But God sent Jesus to represent us, to pay the price for us, and to welcome us into the family.... with all of its benefits.

Truth #1 Jesus Came to Start a New Kind of Family

But there is more to be learned from Jesus’ statement here.
He is also modeling for his followers the kind of perspective that this new kind of family must embrace.
Both first century Roman culture and Jewish culture were highly communal...
The sense of identity that came with being a part of a certain family were supremely important.
Family is important to us as 21st century Americans…, but individualism has changed the fabric of our thinking even when it comes to our blood family...
There was a loyalty and an identification with blood family in the first century that far surpasses anything we experience in today's culture...
yet here is Jesus… who seems to break away from their cultural norms to say that he came to establish a new family and a new identity which supersedes even blood family.

Truth #2 The New Family Shares a New Primary Identity

Jesus consistently shocked his hearers, by suggesting that loyalty to Jesus and his mission should now supersede even loyalty to one’s own family.
Mark 3:33–34 ESV
33 And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!
Again, Jesus is not necessarily saying his family on the outside of the home are not true followers of him…,
but he is saying that there is a new family structure which now takes priority even over the commitment to blood relatives.
This is something he says implicitly here…, but its something he says explicitly later in the gospel of Mark..
Mark 10:28–30 ESV
28 Peter began to say to him, “See, we have left everything and followed you.” 29 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 lands, for my sake and for the gospel, 30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
We have to pause here and remember the audience for the gospel of Mark...
This book was written during a time that families were disowning their own brothers and sisters and sons and daughters because of their faith in Jesus Christ.
This book was written during a time of Christian persecution to some who had no doubt felt as if they lost their family when they came to put faith in Jesus.
yet here from the lips of Jesus himself… he promises them that it will be worth it… and that they have a new family now.
Coming to Jesus means now finding your identity in him more precious, and more life-shaping then any other group, sub group, culture, race, political party, interest, or family in this world.
If you find yourself more outspoken, more loyal, more consumed, more passionate about identifying yourself with anything more than Jesus and being a part of the family of God… then you just might be out of step with what the Gospel is supposed to mean for your life.
Luke 14:25–27 ESV
25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. 27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.
Does Jesus teach to hate our family or to treat them with contempt… absolutely not..
Does he teach us to follow Jesus in every way even if it costs us our relationship with our very own family… yes he does.
If you are a christian here today… you have more in common with the other Christians in this room, then you do your closest blood relative who is not a Christian.
This is because your primary sense of identity has shifted to revolve around Jesus and his mission.
Every human being is trying to find self-worth...
Every human being is trying to find a way to identify themselves....
Every human being is trying to find purpose and a place to fit in...
But the Bible says…, that this search will prove to be fruitless, lest they find a home in the family of God through faith in Christ Jesus.

Truth #2 The New Family Shares a New Primary Identity

but there is more to it than just belonging to the family and receiving the blessings of the family...
We are invited to take part in the family business.
In participation with the brothers and sisters we are invited to take part in the Father’s plan for us.
Jesus gives one indicator for how you can tell whether someone is a part of the family or whether someone is not part of the family.
And its so interesting to me how simple Jesus makes this in this moment.
Mark 3:35 ESV
35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

Truth #3 The New Family is Marked by Obedience to the Father

You can tell that I am my Dad’s son by looking at us and by spending a couple hours with us.
Spend a little time and you will see similar smiles, similar personalities, and similar mannerisms.
You can tell that I am my Dad’s son by old pictures, by my birth certificate, by my own admission...
but how do you tell whether someone is a child of God?
You can’t tell it by looking at their outward appearance.
You can’t necessarily tell if they are speaking the truth when they tell you they are a child of God?
Most people would verbally say they are part of the family of God… most people wouldn’t want to claim that they are a child of the devil or a child of wrath.
But according to Jesus… you can tell whether someone is a part of the family of God by whether or not they obey the Father.
Listen to me… I know that this may seem elementary to many of you...
but we must not take for granted what we have been called to do as God’s people...
We have been called to love God by obeying God.
We have been called to submit ourselves under the sovereign, wise, rule of God as he has revealed it in his word for our good...
Obedience is essential to the Christian life.
There are ditches on each side of the road when it comes to the conversation about obedience...
On the one side… we must be weary of ever communicating that someone becomes a Christian and earns God’s grace because of their obedience...
We cannot earn anything from God.
He gifts salvation to us by his grace alone… the Bible is crystal clear.
Ephesians 2:8–9 ESV
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Any theology that teaches that salvation can be gained or lost by what you do or do not do is not the biblical doctrine of salvation…
Jesus came because salvation by our obedience was impossible.
Only Jesus could be perfectly obedient on our behalf… and then take the punishment for our disobedience.
so we do not want to fall into the ditch on this side of the road which communicates salvation by obedience....
But there is another ditch on the other side of the road…
on this side of the road is the faulty belief that salvation does not have to lead to obedience.
Over on this side of the road people say that Jesus can be your savior but not really your Lord.
you can believe in Jesus without really following Jesus..
or you can be a Christian, but simply reject the commands of God’s word.
To that position the apostle Paul speaks in Romans 6
Romans 6:1–4 ESV
1 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.
In other words, something happens to us upon faith in Christ so profound that its as if our old identity and way of life dies…, and a new identity and way of life is brought to life.
And this new identity and way of life prioritizes obedience to our heavenly father.
Its just what we desire to do as children of God.
So Jesus, not falling into either side of the ditch is not afraid to say with confidence and clarity.
Mark 3:35 ESV
35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
If you want to discern whether someone is truly a part of the family of God or not… check their obedience.
Do they care about obedience?
Or do they consider obedience to be a nice option some of the time?
Is their life characterized by an imperfect striving for obedience?
Or is their life characterized by a hardened indifference to their disobedience?
If you live in a constant hardened indifference to your own disobedience with no desire to repent…
then I question your salvation because Jesus tells me over and over again to question your salvation.
Matthew 7:15–17 ESV
15 “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing but inwardly are ravenous wolves. 16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? 17 So, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the diseased tree bears bad fruit.
1 John 3:9–10 ESV
9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.
Children of God make obedience to their father a priority.
Or as Jesus says it so very clearly…
Mark 3:35 ESV
35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
Well what is the will of God?
So many spend so much time seeking some secret will of God...
But the most important aspects of obedience have nothing to do with some secret will of God…
The most important aspects of obedience usually do not have anything to do with whether you take this job or that, or make this move or that, or marry this girl or that girl...
The most important aspects of obedience have everything to do with the very clearly revealed will of God in his Word.
God’s Word speaks clearly to so much… and as God’s children we submit ourselves to an unwavering striving for obedience to God’s Word.
Now… right now.... there will be a temptation to deflect this verse to someone else that you think needs it more..
Right now.... there is a tendency in many of you that hears the words… “whoever does the will of God”…
And you automatically assume that you are doing the will of God right now in your life because of some standard you have set for yourself....
But I want all of us to pause this morning and I want to allow God to search our hearts...
In what ways is God calling you to obedience this morning… where you are knowingly and willfully choosing disobedience?
This is how we are going to end the sermon…
I want you to ask God to reveal to you right now how you need to pursue obedience to his will in the days to come.
Is their a particular sin you need to repent of?
Is their a particular something you keep entertaining in your life that you absolutely know is holding you back from faithfully serving the Lord but you are stubbornly holding on to it and refusing to let it go?
Listen to this exhortation from ephesians
Ephesians 5:3–11 ESV
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them; 8 for at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light 9 (for the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true), 10 and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. 11 Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.
What darkness has God called you to flee?
What light has God called you to walk in?
Has God called you to have a hard conversation you are refusing to have?
Has God called you to give a percentage of your income that you refuse to give out of either laziness or greed?
Has God called you to break off an unhealthy relationship?
Has God called you to pursue deeper accountability? To join this church?
To start making disciples? To commit to corporate prayer?
Are you refusing to be baptized as a believing adult though Jesus clearly commanded it in his word for every follower of Jesus?
Are you still drinking, though you know it can destroy you and your family?
Are you harboring bitterness and unforgiveness though Christ commanded you to forgive as Christ forgave?
Listen.... Jesus came to invite you into a whole new family with a brand new identity and a new resolve to obey your heavenly Father...
Every one of the sins I just listed are totally and entirely forgiven in Christ.
but Christ intended not only to forgive us of those sins…, but to free us from those sins as we grow in maturity in the family of God.
Lets be who Christ called us to be this morning, by repenting and believing more and more with every passing day.
Lets go into a quiet time of reflection and prayer… and then we will sin these words together.
Take my life and let it be consecrated to Thee Take my moments and my days, let them flow in ceaseless praise Take my hands and let them move at the impulse of Thy love Take my feet and let them be swift and beautiful for Thee
Take my voice and let me sing always, only for my King Take my lips and let them be filled with messages from Thee Take my silver and my gold, not a might would I withhold Take my intellect and use every power as You choose
Here am I, all of me, take my life, it's all for Thee
Lets Pray
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