Life of Christ 67
Jesus has had a long day. In our vernacular we would say a stressful one. It opened with a confrontation
with the Pharisees over the healing of the blind, dumb, possessed man. It
continued when the Pharisees, unforgivably, accused Him of doing His miracles
because He was possessed by Satan. After tangling with them over that, they
then asked Him to do another miracle. He rightly refused, and explained that
Israel was in worse shape now by rejecting Him than it used to be during its
periodic struggles with idolatry.
Now, still in the middle
of a great crowd of people, someone interrupts Him to say that His family has
arrived and wants to speak with Him. Jesus, seemingly harshly, refuses to see
them, and says that those around Him with the desire to do God's will are those
whom He considers as His family (Mark 3.31-35).
Before I discuss what I
believe Jesus is saying here let me first briefly discuss what He isn't saying.
I do that because this passage has been the root of a great amount of
misunderstanding, and thus misapplication. First, Jesus isn't dishonoring His
mother. We know this because Jesus was the Living Word, and the Living Word
wouldn't and couldn't violate the written Word. We also see, more practically,
that He was repeatedly careful to ensure that His mother was tenderly cared
for, both at the beginning of His ministry, and at the end.
Secondly, this isn't
Jesus calling for a complete separation between the Christian and his unsaved
family members. Again, we see this when we compare scripture with scripture.
For instance, Peter instructs saved wives not to leave their unsaved husbands,
but to live with them in genuine holiness so that they will be drawn to Christ
(I Peter 3.1). There is a natural state of relationship, born in blood,
cemented by many mutual experiences, and preserved in gratitude, that should
always mark the loving Christian and his earthly family, saved or lost.
I have seen this passage
used by some deceitful or inept religious leaders in an attempt to cut off all
communication between saved and lost family members. In so teaching, they do an
injustice to the example of Christ (His own brothers didn't believe on Him at
this point yet He continued to talk to them [John 7.3]), and the larger context
of our family relationships as explained in Scripture.
Well, if it isn't Jesus
dishonoring His mother, or calling on Christians to ignore their lost family
members what is it then? I believe He is teaching us that the closest earthly
relationships we have, as His people, are others of His people.
I've always been very
close to my family, whether the one in which I grew up or the one that God has
blessed me with now as a husband and father. I'm a domestic creature at heart.
I never went through a rebellious phase. I was never disowned by my parents.
Yet. My sisters and brother and I are all on good speaking terms. But the simple
truth is that those with whom I am closest on this earth are the believers with
whom I regularly assemble at the corner of Lavergne and George in Chicago,
Illinois.
The word 'family' is
used one times in the King James Version New Testament (Ephesians 3.15), and
the context isn't of one's parents or siblings, but rather of God's people's
relationship to one another. Jesus, interrupted during ministry by His probably
sincere yet wrong-headed earthly family, looked around at those who had given
themselves to do the will of God and said, 'This is my family.'
I feel so sad for people
who come to Christ but don't come to church. They miss out on such a huge
blessing. God didn't design the church to replace our families, but He did
design it to be a family. And I find great blessing in the family of God.
How about you?
If you would like to listen to the audio version of this blog you can find it here on our church website. Just press 'launch media player' and choose We Preach Christ 38 'The Blessing of the Family of God'.
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