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A Larger Family

A Larger Family

Words of Faith 6-5-18

Dr. Jeffrey D. Hoy © 2018

Jeff.Hoy@faithfellowshipweb.com

Faith Fellowship Church - Melbourne, FL

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Luke 8

   [19] Now Jesus' mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. [20] Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you."

   [21] He replied, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

  

       Just a few months ago I was standing in a narrow valley near the northeast edge of the Sea of Galilee. The place is called the "valley of the winds and the doves". I was struck by the unspoiled beauty of the place as our guide described it as the certain path of Jesus' mother and brothers as they came to see Him in Capernaum.

       This was the clear way in from Nazareth through the low steep mountains that surround the Sea of Galilee. I happened to also know that this was the area where resistance fighters called Zealots once rolled boulders down on Roman soldiers marching into the area. This was the ‘way in’ for anyone coming to Capernaum with business.

       So what was the business of Mary and the brothers? These were the younger half-brothers of Jesus. John tells us that these brothers did not believe in Jesus until after the resurrection (7:5). Mark tells us that this visit was to "take charge" of Jesus because they thought He was out of His mind (3:21). They were worried about Jesus and probably fearful of the trouble He was stirring up. This talk of being Messiah was crazy to them. The trip to Capernaum was in some sense what we would call an "intervention."

         But this was not just "crazy talk" to Mary. The angel had told her about the destiny of Jesus. And do you remember Luke 2:34-35? She knew the truth about Jesus. When she and Joseph presented Jesus at the Temple, a rather ominous prophecy was part of the blessing. Simeon the prophet said: "This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too."

     All her life, Mary knew that this time would be coming when things would change and her baby would be at odds with the whole political world. Now Mary could see all of that beginning to come to pass.

     Jesus would cause the rise and fall of many in Israel. He was already becoming a sign that would be spoken against and a sword would one day soon pierce her soul. Every day of her life, in some way, Mary must have both anticipated and dreaded these days when they would come to pass. So it was an important time to come and care for Jesus.

     When Jesus' family arrived, His response sounds very much like a rejection. "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice." It sounds like a rebuff until we realize that Jesus was not telling Mary anything that she did not already know.

     Mary had lived her whole life with the legacy that her family was about something bigger than the children gathered around her. Mary had lived her whole life knowing that this one child she bore was for the salvation of the whole world. In fact, it is not hard for us to imagine that Jesus was saying back to Mary something she had first said to Him. Since He was a baby, Mary had probably told Jesus, "Your destiny is something greater than one human family. Your family is made of those people who will hear the Good News and put it into practice."

     In case we have some idea that Jesus left the thought of His mother behind, and that as an adult he outgrew her, or that Jesus was about the larger family such that there was no real concern for His mother beyond any other mother, we have but to turn ahead to that scene in John 19:26-27. As Jesus was dying, He saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby and he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

     In fact, that scene illustrates the very thing that Jesus was talking about. His family was larger than blood. It was the duty of the eldest to be sure and commend the care of his mother to the brothers should his death precede hers. But they were not around. Had Jesus only depended on His human family they would have let him down. There were no brothers around. James and the others were nowhere to be found but Mary was there. And there was a brother of more than just blood. Jesus had a bigger family. Jesus had John, the beloved.

     Jesus teaches us something about the family of God. It is bigger than flesh and blood.   Jesus gave us the miracle that we can look around a room like this and say "mother behold your son..."   Behold your mother. The point is not at all that we should neglect blood family but how important it is to embrace the larger family of God that is not just flesh and blood.

 

Father God, help me to see my larger family. Help me to see those who are related to me by the Spirit as well as those who are related by birth. Help me to embrace my brothers and sisters in Christ. In Jesus' name.