Read Mark 3:31-35 [Printed at conclusion of this blog]
You might expect Jesus family members to be his most loyal supporters. There is a Mediaeval saying 'blood is thicker than water,' which is mostly taken to mean that familial bonds are much stronger than bonds of friendship. In fact, this saying has been misunderstood and actually originally meant the exact opposite. The point is, however, that we expect strong family loyalties. I used to encounter this as a real force in my teaching days in Ayrshire. If a fight broke out involving one brother, it was not long before the other brothers were 'jumping in' and supporting their wee brother. Then the parents became involved and it could become really nasty.
There are issues of conflict between Jesus and his brothers and his mother. We have already seen signs of this in the last Day Share where Jesus own family describe him as 'out of his mind' (Mark 3: 20-21). They were resentful that he was concentrating on the crowds of people and was ignoring them. This is the same issue in this passage. The family members arrive and they demand his attention. That is the context for the discussion which Jesus has with the crowds of people who were present. The people had passed on a message to Jesus, "Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you." To this Jesus asked a strange question, " Who are my mother and my brothers?" The answer to this might sound obvious - "Mary, your mother is outside with your brothers?" But Jesus was saying that he was now involved in a new service and its reach was much broader and wider. He was engaged in service for the kingdom of God. He had come to serve and this service involved teaching to the multitude and meeting the spiritual and physical needs of those with whom he came into contact. He defined a whole new relationship for those who were part of this kingdom - Here are my mother and my brothers. He then explained this puzzling remark - Whoever does God's will is my brother and my sister and my mother. Those who have followed Him and have become part of the kingdom of God are part of God's family.
If you are a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, you are part of this new family. You are a child of God. You were previously a child of the devil but by faith you have become a member of God's family. You might be ignored by your neighbours and workmates. Your own family might have disowned you in the same way as the family of Jesus did. But you are part of God's family and this is a wonderful comfort to us.
By the way, there is evidence that by the time of Jesus crucifixion, his mother had clearly demonstrated her loyalty to her firstborn Son. She stood at the cross watching as her own Son was crucified and Jesus made special provision for her. In addition, at least one of Jesus brothers in the flesh became a follower of Jesus and was a stalwart in the church in Jerusalem and wrote a letter which is part of the New Testament (James).
Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. 32A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”
“Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.
Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!35Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.” [Mark 3: 31 - 34 NIV]
Teams of volunteers working together as brothers and sisters at Keswick Convenstion
Mt 13:57 and Mk 6:4 apply. A prophet is never accepted in his own family.