WHILE Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and His brothers appeared outside, wishing to speak with Him. [Someone told Him, "Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, asking to speak with You."] But He said in reply to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother? Who are My brothers?" And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, "Here are My mother and My brothers. For whoever does the will of My heavenly Father is My brother, and sister, and mother."
The WORD Today
In Hebrew, the term brother applied not only to children of the same parents but also to other relatives (Gen 14:16, 29:15; Lev 10:4). Four of Jesus’ brothers are mentioned by name, one of whom is James (Mt 13:55; Mk 6:3; Acts 12:17; Gal 1:19). He is not to be confused with the son of Zebedee. Although Paul considers him one of the apostles, he is not one of the Twelve.
Jesus’ brothers refer to a number of relatives and some townspeople who do not believe in Him (Jn 7:3-5) because they have known Him since His childhood years. Mark implies that they fear for his sanity (3:21), emphasizing the tradition that they do not believe in his mission. Matthew deals more with the privilege of being part of Jesus’ family of disciples (v 50). Jesus’ words raise to the intimacy of kinship all who hearken to His teachings and do the Father’s will.
SOURCE: "366 Days with the Lord," ST PAULS, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 895-9701; Fax 895-7328; E-mail: publishing@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.
