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Mark 3:31-35
We have some information about the life of Jesus as a child in Luke 2 and of the preparation for His earthly ministry in Luke 3 which includes the baptism of Jesus in Luke 3:21-22 and the tempting of Jesus by the devil (Luke 4:1-13). His earthly ministry then begins in Luke 4:14. The Bible teaches us in John 7:5 that Jesus’ brothers, early in His earthly ministry, did not believe in Him as the Messiah – the Christ, and in Luke 4:16-30 we learn that Jesus was rejected by the people in Nazareth, where He had lived throughout His childhood.
In Mark 3:31-35 we learn that the mother and brothers of Jesus came to see Him, yet He responds not with excitement to see His earthly family, but as if He has been separated from them. Why is this, we must ask. The Bible teaches us in John 1:10-13, “He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” Jesus is making a statement to show that in being the Son of God, He rightly refers to those who will believe in Him as brothers and sisters. He is making the transition from having an earthly family to having a heavenly family, which will last forever.
This is a promise that for all who will believe in Jesus will become brothers and sisters to Him.
Jesus wanted the people around Him to know that as the Son of God in the flesh, He is the example that we should follow in obedience to our heavenly Father. That obedience is to believe that God sent His only begotten Son to redeem us back to a right state with Him as His eternal children. In this is the right to be considered brothers and sisters to Jesus.
We all have earthly families, but we, along with our earthly families, will perish physically one day. But Jesus wants us all to know that we have an eternal family in heaven that consists of all who will believe in Him as the One who died to pay the price (which is death) for all our sins. When Jesus went to the cross, He went without sin. Death is the penalty for sin, of which Jesus had none, yet He died undeservingly for sin. That’s what makes Jesus the perfect sacrifice for all sin as He went into sin sinless and conquered it once for all who will believe in Him. I encourage you to put your faith in Jesus today and believe in Him. If you will, you too will become a brother/sister of Jesus, and a child of God.
Dear LORD,
Sometimes Your biblical passages are hard for us to realize and understand, such as this passage of Mark 3:31-35 as Jesus seemingly does not recognize His earthly family. Please help us to see that Jesus was teaching us that He came to build a spiritual family for all who will believe in Him. His earthly family would soon come to realize and understand this new family in Christ Jesus, please help us to realize and understand this new family in Christ that we too would become Your children through believing in Him. In Jesus name I pray, amen.