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46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” 48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.” ~ Matthew 12:46-50
Today, we conclude our study of Matthew 12 where the culture of the Lord Jesus and the culture of the religious leaders of Israel could not have been made clearer. Matthew wrote his gospel account in order to give us a clear picture of the Lord Jesus Christ as the King of Israel. The supernatural world knew His identity, but most of the people of Israel didn't, including His disciples. The theme of relationship verses religion is continued in today's passage. This is why the family of the Lord Jesus was given front and center attention in this narrative. If we do not have a personal relationship with God through the Lord Jesus, we are not in His family.
In v.46-47 of today's passage we read, "46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, 'Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.'"
Matthew informs us at this point in the narrative that the family of the Lord Jesus had arrived to speak with Him. Even though His mother believed in Him as the Messiah, His half brothers and sisters didn't. This explains why they had a hard time understanding Him and His ministry. In fact, they had earlier suggested that He go to Jerusalem to do His ministry because, as they believed, He would have a larger audience. It has never been about numbers with the Lord Jesus. But, this is the type of thing 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.48-50 of today's passage we read, "48 He replied to him, 'Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?' 49 Pointing to his disciples, he said, 'Here are my mother and my brothers. 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.'"
Once 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 He acknowledged them as His family. The Lord Jesus Christ made it clear that His family is made up of those who believe in and are being defined by the God of the Bible. The point He made that day in a profound way was spiritual relationships supersede family relationships. 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 our will is not aligned with the will of God for our lives, we must obey God.
The Lord Jesus was not denying the reality that Mary and his siblings were His family. He was not saying that He didn’t love them. He loved them as evidenced by His redemption of them on the cross. It was not until after the cross and the resurrection that the siblings of the Lord Jesus really believed He was the promised Messiah. In fact, James, one of His half brothers, wrote the epistle of James and became a leader in the church in Jerusalem. To be related to the Lord Jesus is not a physical thing, it’s a spiritual thing.
The evidence of His identity had been piling up, and the people were slow to make the obvious conclusion and to make the subsequent confession that the Lord Jesus is God. This went on until after the resurrection. In fact, when the Lord Jesus came back to Galilee after His resurrection He appeared to more than 500 believers at one time 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 more than 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 key 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. In order for our faith to grow in Him, 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 he 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!'"
Then 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. The key is that we run to Him with our questions. Learning to trust Him, even when we cannot see the outcome of the 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.
