It was in 2014-2015 when I was helping lead a young adult Biblestudy at First Baptist of New Port Richey. When I first met this person I am aboutto mention, we talked for about an hour in the church parking lot. I promise youthat this romantic story is not about when I met Lasita but when I met my bestfriend, John Cooper. He knows that date and time you could even ask him. John ismore than a best friend. He is my brother and is family to me. He is not flesh andblood, nor do we have the same mother.

We are closer than blood because the blood of Christ bonds us. We may have manythings in common and similar interests, but Christ unites us. He has been closer tome than my sisters because he has encouraged, prayed, and spurred me on out ofthe depths of my sin, sorrow, loneliness, and depression and has pointed me to theone who makes me whole, who is Christ. There is another person in here that I cansay just the same: who is my brother, and that is Anthony Del Valle, and I praiseGod for both of them. I could take it further with Adam and the other elders. Butmy point is that we all have someone closer to us than our flesh and blood andpeople we consider family. We all have a flesh-and-blood family, but there arethose we consider to be a true family. Today, we will examine a gospel encounterabout who Jesus defines as a true family.

And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him andcalled him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, Yourmother and your brothers are outside, seeking you. 33 And he answered them, Whoare 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 (Mk 3:3135).

Context: Mark describes earlier a chaotic scene where Jesus is forced to preachand heal from a boat near the shore to keep the crowds under control. Themultitudes seek Jesus because of his miracle-working power, while the scribes andPharisees hate Jesus and are plotting against him because of these same miracles.While demons immediately recognize Jesus as the Son of God, neither the largecrowds nor the Pharisees understand that Jesus is the Messiah and the Son of God.The religious authorities conclude Satan possesses him. His family assumes he haslost his sanity. Verses 31-35 are thematically connected to vs. 20- 21. The religiousleaders have accused Jesus of being an agent of Satan (vs. 22-30). His family, sadto say, accuses him of being deranged and in need of forced confinement (v. 21). Itis in this context Jesus makes clear who is family and who is not, who is inside andwho is outside. It is here where we begin our gospel encounter.

Mark 3:31-32 Jesus Family Outside

Mark 3:31-32:

And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside theysent to him and called him. 32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said tohim, Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.

Mark resumes the account, which was broken off in verse 21. The scene takesplace with Jesus at a house most likely Peters, surrounded by those listening to Histeaching. As the text points out, a crowd was sitting around him. Those sittingaround tell him, Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you. So,word is passed, from person to person through the crowd because Jesus motherand brothers couldnt get in. Standing outside, they send someone in to call him.Mary is there. Jesus brothers are there. Joseph isnt mentioned, most likelybecause he is deceased. Why is Jesus family outside seeking him?

They are there to intervene. Notice they are standing on the outside while othersare on the inside. Why is this significant? The reason is that, at this point in thestory, they are acting like outsiders. He knows their intention to take Him awayover the fact He is causing a public spectacle or in some sort of an attempt tosave Him from the crowds. In either event, Jesus blood relatives were notwilling that He should address or stay with the crowd following Him, the very onesJesus referred to as His mother and brothers. They are on a rescue mission tosave Jesus from the ultimate rescue mission. They are saying that he is out of hismind because their minds are not set on the things of God (Matt. 16:23). Thoughthey do not want Him to die they do not understand that it is the will of God thatHe dies (ODonnell, 2024, p.173).

They think He is out of His mind; I can relate; I used to think my parents weredorks before I knew Christ. I remember making fun of them behind their backbecause they were wearing matching shirts from the church they attended. I waslike, what losers? How Ironic that now I wear a SonRise T-shirt everywhere I go,and when I walk into church and see Adam wearing the same shirt, I say excitedlyno way, you too, then, awkward bro hug, and then lets get a picture! You see, wehave family members who look at us a certain way and do not understand why wefollow and submit to Christ; however, we pray for them that God will save them.Jesus family would eventually repent and believe. James, one of Jesus brothers,who was trying to get Jesus away from the crowds because he thought he wascrazy would eventually become a follower of Jesus and end up not only writing thebook of James but also pastor the church in Jerusalem and be killed for followingChrist. We know that later, Jesus family repents, believes, and becomes disciplesof Him. This is encouraging for us who have friends and family that may call uscrazy. Our families may not understand our willingness to live a life in submissionto Christ. Though our family may be on the outside looking at us and consideringus a fool to follow Christ, we can know that Christ empathizes with us and willshow us that those who are obedient are His true family. Though some of us heremight be the only Christians in our family, know that we are not alone. If yourfamily doesnt appreciate your faith, take heart. Jesus faced the same thing in Hisfamily. Be faithful in obedience and faithful in proclaiming the gospel. We havelooked at Jesus family outside. Now, lets look at the next point, Jesus familyinside.

Mark 3: 33-34 Jesus Family Inside

Mark 3: 33-34,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 motherand my brothers!

Notice Jesus asks a rhetorical question. What do you mean, Who is my mother orbrothers?

Jesus is not aloof from his mother or brothers, nor is He crazy. Jesus drew a sharpdistinction, using a metaphor of family. Jesus was asking a question to get thepeople to start thinking. To start thinking about which relationships are mostimportant. He wanted them to change their focus from the physical to the spiritual.

In verse 34 He begins to look around the room. Jesus looked to his disciples, thosesitting at His feet learning from Him. He is looking at the family that are insidewith Him. He was not disowning His physical family in this passage but showingthat believing in Him is the criteria for entrance into His spiritual family andkingdom, no matter what blood runs in a persons veins.

Notice that Jesus choosing of the crowds over His blood relatives foreshadowedthe fact that most of His kinsmen in Israel would not believe in him and would nottherefore be His brethren, while Gentiles would be saved through Him andwould become His brethren (Romans 8:29). It is a pronouncement of judgmentupon unbelieving Israel. In other words, Jesus would be rejected by His own.Recall John 1:11-13, which says of Jesus: He came to his own, and his ownpeople did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in hisname, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not ofblood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.Though Jesus statement is shocking, its important to understand that within theJewish culture, this was a significant statement. The crowd would have gasped andsaid, What did He just say?! Jesus lived in a culture that prized family above justabout everything else. Some Jewish teachers even claimed that honoring onesfather and mother was the most important of the Ten Commandments. Thus, whenJesus mother and brothers came to visit Him while He was speaking, no doubtthose who had gathered around Jesus would have expected him to welcome hisfamily. However, he was not going to abandon the work entrusted to him becausehis family was seeking to take him home because they thought he was crazy. Hewould not make obedience to the fifth commandment an excuse for disobeying thefirst commandment. He turns his family interrupting into an opportunity to askthose listening to reflect on a far more important spiritual question, Who is in thefamily of God?

Jesus is making a clear distinction of who truly belongs to the family of God. WhatHes saying is that there is something that runs deeper and is actually moremeaningful and significant than just flesh and blood. Hes saying, theres a newfamily, a spiritual family that surpasses the earthly family. And hes saying, noteveryone is a part of this new family of God. This is Jesus family inside, Hereare my mother and my brothers! Jesus prioritized the relationship of those whobelieve over those who do not. Jesus is teaching here that there is a family thatis more united, He knows the family is no less fallen than other humaninstitutions. He knows that marriages end in divorce, that parents are cruel tochildren. He did not come to praise the family but to redeem it. Even a godlessfamily can bring joy to its members, but the highest glory and pleasure for thefamily come when the family puts God first (Doriani, 2008, p. 539).Jesus was not suggesting we, as believers, should abandon our families in order toserve God. He commands us to put Gods will above everything else in lifeincluding our family. It is Gods will for us to care for our families and provide fortheir needs; however, in Christ, we gain a new family that lasts forever. To them,we commit our all. Continuing in our gospel encounter, lets look at the next point.

Mark 3: 35 Jesuss True Family

Mark 3: 35,35 For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister andmother

What Jesus is saying here is, those who trust me and obey me are my true family.The fruit of salvation is demonstrated by obedience. John 8:31,

If you abide in myword, you are truly my disciples. Jesus said over and over that obedience is themark. You can look at it in John 12, John 14, John 15, Whoever has mycommandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me willbe loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him (Jn.14:21). Jesus was pointing to the disciples as those who are his true family. Theydropped everything to follow and obey Him. In doing so, they become Jesus truefamily since even His own brothers do not understand the nature of his mission andwill not believe that He is the Son of God until after the resurrection. Jesusredefined the sense of family that literal kinship pales in comparison to spiritualkinship based on obedience to God.

The fruit of being in Jesus true family is obedience. We are in the true family if wekeep His commands. John writes, And by this we know that we have come toknow him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says I know him but doesnot keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoeverkeeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may knowthat we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same wayin which he walked (1 Jn. 2:36).

I want to clarify that this is not teaching salvation by works. That would contradictthe rest of the New Testament. When He says, Whoever does the will of God, heis my brother and sister and mother, he is pointing to the evidence his familymembers show that theyre in his family. He does not say, Whoever does the willof the Father can enter my family. We do not become the brothers and sisters ofChrist by our obedience. Rather, we identify ourselves as the brothers and sistersof Christ by our obedience (Doriani, 2008, p. 538).

Those who do Gods will reveal themselves to be in Gods family. Obedience toGod isnt legalism. Its evidence that we actually belong to God. Its also a sign oflove. Jesus says, If you love me, you will keep my commandments (Jn.14:15). Loving Jesus means obeying Jesus. It means doing the things that Hesrevealed in His Word. Things like loving our enemies and our neighbors, servingone another, walking in purity, living generously, walking in humility, and makingdisciples.

In other words, through the Spirit, we are brought into Christs family and unitedwith Christ; our new disposition is to obey Jesus. This is evidence that you belongto him. As you walk with him, the fruit of the Spirit will develop in your life: Thefruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. (Gal. 5:22-23). By hisblood, Jesus made a new family. If you belong to Jesus, you belong to Jesuss truefamily. Our relationship with other Christians is a more fundamental part of ouridentity than our relationships with our physical families. Our blood-bought kin iscloser to us than our kin by blood. Beloved by faith, Jesus is composing one body.There is no bond of relationship more holy and united than the spiritual. Look at itthis way: its a consummation of Gods reconciliation; He is renewing Adamsfallen race by making sinners into holy and heavenly sons of God. All who believein Christ have received the Spirit of adoption as sons. We are heirs with Him.

This changes everything about what it means to be in a family. For those withhealthy, close families it lifts their eyes to an even greater reality. For those whosefamilies are utterly dysfunctional, who are lonely, abandoned, orphaned, ordivorced, it is a warm invitation to a real family. In Gods family, we share Christsfamilial rights and standing in the eyes of God, and that means we will inherit theglory and riches of the heavenly kingdom.

Near the end of his famous work, Confessions, St. Augustine records the last daysof his mother Monicas life. By that time, Monicas fervent prayers had beenrealized and her son was not only a Christian but a fervent defender of theorthodox faith. Augustine recalls a moment standing with his mother at a window,conversing very pleasantly about their present situation and the future,specifically, the eternal life of the saints. The image is beautiful: a mother whowill soon pass away comforted by her loving son and two saints contemplating thejoy of heaven, which will soon be attained by one of them. Augustine writes, Weopened wide the mouth of our heart, thirsting for those supernal streams of thyfountain, the fountain of life which is with thee, that we might be sprinkled withits waters according to our capacity and might in some measure weigh the truth ofso profound a mystery. (Confessions, Book Nine). They both stood there,realizing they were more kindred than ever before.

Application

1st Examine your life for places where you put family or other things above Christand His love. Ask for forgiveness and strength to enable you to do his will. Yourchildren need to know the importance of this spiritual family outside of their clubsand sports teams. The church is a family that will be there for them in their faithjourney and who will love them for longer than a season.

2nd This does not mean we abandon or forsake our family, yet if they do not knowChrist, we invite them to be a part of the family of Christ through the gospel. Wemust be faithful

How do you become a part of the family of God? You must repent of your sins andbelieve in Jesus and His atoning work for sin on the cross, raised with resurrectionpower to provide everlasting life you believe by faith. You see the Son of Godbecame the Son of man that the Sons of men might become Sons of God. If youwant to hear more about Christ and His gospel, there are people in this room whowould love to talk with you more.

3rd The church is our true family. Faith is what makes a true family. Familymembers of Gods house should gather regularly to listen, sing, and pray the Wordas a family. Christians need to do life together. This is why church membership isimportant. We are not bound together by superficial things but by gloriousrealities that we cherish together on our pilgrimage to the celestial city.