Matthew 12:46-50
The True
Family of Jesus
12:46
While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold,
His mother and brothers were standing outside,
seeking to speak to Him.
47 Someone said to Him,
"Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing
outside seeking to speak to You."
48 But Jesus answered the
one who was telling Him and said, "Who is My mother
and who are My brothers?"
49 And stretching out His
hand toward His disciples, He said, "Behold My
mother and My brothers!
50 "For whoever does the
will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My
brother and sister and mother."
This
is the Word of the Lord ... It is meant to change
the way that we think, and the way that we live.
Commentary
by Bob Pardue
Physical and Spiritual
Relationships
What does relationship mean?
As with any feeling it's difficult to describe.
Dictionary.Com
TM
explains that a relationship is "an emotional or
other connection between people".-- a good
description so we'll leave it at that.
As feeling and loving
creatures of the earth, family ties and
relationships are important to us. Though my father
and mother have passed away I still think of them
and miss them.
But, the love we feel for our
families is a physical relationship. And, I am
certainly not discounting these feelings for our
families but, spiritual relationships are of equal
value, if not more so.
Is Jesus abandoning his
mother and family in these
verses?
Of course not. There are
numerous times throughout his ministry where Jesus
reinforced the importance of honoring the family
and taking care of them. One illustration is that,
even while hanging on the cross, he arranged with
John to care for Mary. In other words, he had
strong emotional ties to his family.
No, what Christ is saying
here is that spiritual relationships are just as
important to us. When we accept Christ as Lord and
Savior we are bound in a spiritual relationship
with other believers and they become our Christian
family. They become our responsibility just as we
are responsible for our earthly family.
The universal church is our
family now. Although we may have differences of
opinion (just as we sometimes argue with siblings),
we should love and support fellow believers as we
would our own brothers and sisters. When either of
our two families are in need, we should be there
for them.
God arranged for us to have
two families; physical and spiritual -- We are
truly blessed!
Love In Christ
- Bob
If you have never made the
commitment to receive the love and life-changing
experience of Jesus Christ, please take a moment to
go
here and take the
first
steps to salvation.
Other
Bible Study Verse For Living ...
Matthew
12:38-45 - Pharisees
Demand Miracles from Christ - Asking for
Signs
-
Do you ever
ask for signs or miracles from God in order to
believe in Him?
Some people
need proof for everything. If we tell something out
of the ordinary, they'll respond with; "Prove it."
Well, becoming a believer in Christ doesn't work
that way. Although we have proof from The Bible,
faith is the final answer.
Resources: Learn
more about Jesus Christ by searching
Bible.Com
and other online Scripture sites.
Bob Pardue is a member of
First
Baptist Church in
Lancaster, SC. He was ordained as deacon at Rich
Hill Baptist in Lancaster.
Verses are from New American Standard
Bible
Comments are welcome. Please email
me with any questions or comments you
may have.
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