Click here for the Mark 3:31-35 PODCAST
31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to tell him to come out. 32 Many people were sitting around Jesus, and they said to him, “Your mother and brothers are waiting for you outside.” 33 Jesus asked, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 Then he looked at those sitting around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants.” ~ Mark 3:31-35
Today, we conclude our study of Mark 3 where the overriding theme is faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to be our Savior from our sinful condition. Mark wrote this Gospel account in order to give us a clear picture of the Lord Jesus Christ and His ministry. The supernatural world understood His identity, but most of the people didn't have a clear understanding of His identity, not even the disciples. In fact, the first in Mark's Gospel, to give a clear statement of His Messianic identity was the Roman Centurion who at the foot of the cross said, "Truly this was the Son of God."
In v.31-32 of today's passage we read, "1 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to tell him to come out. 32 Many people were sitting around Jesus, and they said to him, “Your mother and brothers are waiting for you outside."
You will remember that earlier in this passage the family of the Lord Jesus thought He was out of His mind due to the fact that the religious leaders accused Him to be demon-possessed and thus tried to dismiss Him and His ministry. The half brothers and sisters of the Lord Jesus were not "born again," thus, they could not understand what the Lord Jesus was doing. This is what our unregenerate default mode does to us: it clouds our ability to recognize God, His work in our lives, and, in this world.
In v.33-35 of today's passage we read, "33 Jesus asked, 'Who are my mother and my brothers?' 34 Then he looked at those sitting around him and said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants.'"
When word was delivered to the Lord Jesus that His family was outside, everybody expected Him immediately to go out and see them. But He didn't. Instead, He looked around at those seated around Him and said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! My true brother and sister and mother are those who do what God wants."
In saying those words, the Lord Jesus made it clear that His family is made up of those who believe in and are being defined by the God of the Bible. This underscores the fact that the Word of God must have the final authority in our lives. It must be the deciding factor in the making of our decisions.
Biblically speaking, there must always be a priority in our lives of spiritual relationships over any other relationships. Not that we should disregard our family, we should honor all. When the will of any human is not aligned with the will of God for our lives, we must obey God.
The evidence of His identity had piled up, and the people were slow to make the obvious conclusion and to make the consequent confession that the Lord Jesus is God. This went on until after the resurrection. You will remember that when He came back to Galilee, after His resurrection, the Lord Jesus appeared to 500 believers in Galilee. And when the Holy Spirit came in the upper room in Jerusalem, about month later, there were only 120 gathered there. The resurrected Christ was seen by 500 after His resurrection and only 120 were there in that upper room in Jerusalem when the Holy Spirit came.
While on this earth, the Lord Jesus provided a lot of evidence for us to conclude His identity correctly. But, seeing is not always believing. The real world is an unseen world, a world that we can only access by the means of our faith, the Word of God, prayer and the Holy Spirit. It is a must that we are defined by the thoughts and culture of God as found in His Word.
A part of the process of learning to view all things through the lens of the eternal is growing in our faith in the God of the Bible. And, in order for our faith in Him to grow, we must entertain the questions that are created by our doubts. One of the twelve disciples, Thomas, was skeptical about the resurrection of the Lord Jesus and wanted proof in order to believe.
In John 20:27 we read, "Then Jesus said to Thomas, Put your finger here and look at My hands. Reach out your hand and put it into My side. Stop doubting and believe.” Thomas replied, "My Lord and my God!"
In John 20:29 we read. "Jesus said to him, 'Because you have seen Me, you have believed; blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.'"
Our faith demands that we believe without seeing. When we are to be sure of what we cannot see, there is little room for asking for proof! But, God reveals Himself to us best as we go through the hardest of moments wherein we learn the correct questions to ask of Him. Learning to trust Him, even when we cannot see the outcome of any situation, is what enables us to see Him best, with our hearts. This, in large part, is a must for the development of knowing Him and making Him known.
