In Mark 3 v 31-35 Jesus says Who are my mother and my brothers. He sounds dismissive of his family but is he just trying to say that all are family?

Question

It is the start of Jesus ministry and clearly Jesus family have not yet become his followers in the same way as his new disciples. However he has obviously made an impact on his local community by healing people and by his preaching.

On this occasion the scribes have claimed that he has cast out demons and so must himself be possessed by Beelzebub. Not surprisingly his family are worried about Jesus and arrive on the scene and when told that they are outside Jesus appears to be dismissive of them by asking "Who are my mother and my brothers?"

I am not convinced that he means it as dismissive as he goes on to say "Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother" I think he is just trying to point out that if we are all believers then we are all members of the one family and we are all brothers and sisters.

I would appreciate some comments.

Answer 1

Some light is shed on this issue if we read the text a few lines earlier.

Mark 3 NIV

20 Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

Not all translators agree that the people described here are members of Jesus' family. They could be his relatives or his associates. Assuming they were either family or relatives, this provides important context. His relatives - possibly his immediate family - believed him to be out of his mind and came to take charge of him. In other words, they were attempting to interrupt his ministry (some translators say "seize him" or "take custody" of him). A few lines later his mother and brothers are standing outside trying to speak to him and he makes his famous comment, asking "who are my mother and my brothers?" One way to look at this is that his relatives or friends let his immediate family know of their concern. Another is that his relatives/friends in vs. 21 included his mother and his brothers.

Is Jesus dismissing his family here, saying that his true family are his disciples, and implying that his physical family were not doing the will of God? The plain sense of text would indicate that the answer is yes. At least in this particular moment, Jesus' mother and brothers were not doing the will of God. Standing outside, they were part of the group of relatives/friends who wanted to take charge of Jesus, fearing that he had lost his mind. So he remained among his disciples and declined to talk to them.

Answer 2

The text of Mark 3:31-35 is:

31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came and stood outside. They sent someone in to summon Him, 32 and a crowd was sitting around Him. “Look,” He was told, “Your mother and brothers are outside, asking for You.”

33 But Jesus replied, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34 Looking at those seated in a circle around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”

Some see in this Jesus' family trying to bask in Jesus' growing fame and adulation by claiming familial ties. However, this cannot be confirmed completely.

However, I think the primary lesson from Jesus, on this occasion, was the following:

• That Jesus' disciples were as precious to Him as his biological family.
• All Jesus' disciples share the privilege of being closely connected to Him as if they were biological family. The NT regularly speaks of Jesus as our "brother", Heb 2:11-13, 17, Ps 22:22, Isa 8:17, 18, Matt 12:48, 49, John 20:17, Rom 8:29
• biological family members could sometimes be a hindrance to spiritual progress. Thus, Jesus taught that our spiritual family must take precedence over our biological family, Luke 14:26, Matt 19:29, Mark 10:30
• the method by which a person/disciple is adopted into the family of Jesus and to be able to call Jesus "my brother", is to do "the will of God". Luke 8:21, Mark 13:35, Matt 12:50.

Having said that, Jesus did not ignore His biological family. On the cross, during his dying hours, He still thought of His mother and provided for her, John 19:26, 27.

Matthew Henry says this:

Mark 3:31-35 It is a great comfort to all true Christians, that they are dearer to Christ than mother, brother, or sister as such, merely as relations in the flesh would have been, even had they been holy. Blessed be God, this great and gracious privilege is ours even now; for though Christ's bodily presence cannot be enjoyed by us, his spiritual presence is not denied us.