The Family of God – Mark 3:31-35

Sermon Video

Maybe you’ve heard someone say something like this: “We’re all God’s children.” Is this statement true? In out text today, Jesus helps us to answer that question.

Sermon Text: Mark 3:20-21, 31-35

The first thing we see is that the family of God is not defined by physical relationships.

The family of God is not defined by physical relationships (31-33)

³¹ And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. ³² And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” ³³ And he answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 

Jesus’s family had come down to Capernaum to take him back with them to Nazareth, because they thought he was crazy (vv. 20-21). Jesus’ family had heard the reports about him and they were sure that he desperately needed help. He simply was not living a normal life, so they traveled some thirty miles from Nazareth to came to Capernaum to “seize him” (v. 21).

It certainly did not help that the scribes were going around calling Jesus demon-possessed (vv. 22, 30). If you had heard that one of your family members was demon-possessed, you would try to find him and take him home to get some help.

Notice that the text says that Jesus’ brothers came to get him. Perhaps you have heard of the Roman Catholic teaching that Mary remained a virgin after giving birth to Jesus. Well, this Scripture clearly refutes this teaching.

The word “brothers” that is used here is used throughout Mark to mean siblings from the same parents. Elsewhere, Scripture refers to Jesus’ four half-brothers: James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas as well as his sisters (Matthew 13:55-56).^[1]R.C. Sproul, Mark, 59.

Notice how Jesus responds to the crowd after they tell them his mother and brothers are seeking him. Jesus says, “Who are my mother and my brothers?”

Jesus’ answer would have shocked those who were listening, because in biblical times a person’s family primarily determined identity and social standing. Here, Jesus teaches those gathered that a person’s commitment to God should take priority over every other relationship.

Jesus fleshes out this idea in other verses as well:

Matt 10:34-39

34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. 36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

Luke 14:25-26

25 Now great crowds accompanied him, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Jesus is not saying that we should not love our families, but he is saying that our love for him should be our number one priority. To give an illustration, consider marriage.

Genesis 2:24

Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh.

I speak from experience – when a man gets married, he doesn’t cease to love his father and mother. But, his wife and subsequent children are his new priority.

Similarly, when you come to know Jesus, you don’t cease to love your family, but you should be committed to Jesus above any other relationship.

When you come to know Jesus, you don’t cease to love your family, but you should be committed to Jesus above any other relationship.

Below are some real-life examples of loving Jesus above your family:

• Muslims or Hindus converting to Christ
• Missionaries who serve on the field away from their families for the purpose of propagating the gospel to those who have never heard
• Separating from a family business if your family members want to break the law and/or breach Scriptural ethics
• Women who stay at home with their children despite criticism from loved ones who think they are “wasting” their college eduction
• Calling your children and grandchildren to repentance when he or she is living in sexual immorality (fornication, adultery, homosexuality, transgenderism)

So, the family of God is not defined by physical relationships.

We should not assume that because we grew up in church and that some of our family is Christian that we are right with God.

During Jesus’s ministry, the Pharisees believed that they were right with God because of their family tree. They believed that because they had descended from Abraham that they were okay (Matt 3:8; John 8:33ff).

I want to offer you some warnings:

• Do not assume you have peace with God because you grew up in church.
• Do not assume you have peace with God because you come to church from time to time.
• Do not assume you have peace with God because you have Christian parents.

The way that you have peace with God is to repent of your sins, trust in the life, death, burial, and resurrection of Christ, and submit to his lordship.

Thus, the family of God is not defined by physical relationships or family lineage.

Second, the family of God is not made up of those who are merely acquainted with Jesus.

The family of God is not made up of those who are merely acquainted with Jesus (34)

³⁴ And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 

In v. 33, Jesus asked his audience, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” In v. 34, he answers his own question. He says, “Here are my mother and my brothers!”

The text seems to indicate that Jesus looked around at some in the room and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers.”

I believe that Jesus pointed to his disciples. He pointed to those in the room whom he knew were truly His and he distinguished them from among the rest of the crowd, which probably consisted of scribes, Pharisees, and the crowds from earlier in Mark 3:7-12 and Mark 3:20 that were coming to him for healings and exorcisms.

In Jesus’s day, there were many that were interested in Jesus. Some truly wanted to follow him. Others sought Jesus for his miracles and what he could give them. The religious leaders, when they saw that they couldn’t contain him, sought to destroy him.

Today, there are many people who have heard of Jesus and are acquainted with him. They know he is the Son of God. They know he died on the cross for the sins of the world. They know that going to church is a good thing. They hope that they will avoid hell because of what Jesus accomplished on the cross. They are acquainted with Jesus.

Let me give you a warning. It is not enough to be acquainted with Jesus. It is not enough to know some facts about Jesus. As I mentioned earlier, you must surrender your life to Him. If you are to spend eternity with God, Jesus cannot merely be your acquaintance; He must be your king!

If you are to spend eternity with God, Jesus cannot merely be your acquaintance; He must be your king!

Jesus, while pointing out those who were truly his, elaborates on his point for the audience.

Look at v. 35 –  For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”

So far we’ve seen that the family of God is not defined by physical relationships or family lineage.

We’ve seen that the family of God is not made up of those who are merely acquainted with Jesus.

In v. 35, we see who is in the family of God.

The family of God consists of those who do the will of God (35)

The family of God consists of those who do the will of God. To do the will of God is to obey God’s Word and to keep Jesus’ commandments.

Luke 6:46

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?

John 14:15

If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

1 John 2:3-6

And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

James, the half-brother of Jesus, warned that if we only hear the word and do not obey it, then we are deceived (Jam 1:22).

Let me be clear. I’m not advocating a works-based salvation. We know from Ephesians 2:8-9 that salvation is a gift of God.

Doing the will of God, or being obedient to God’s commands, is not what saves us. Rather, it is evidence that we have come to genuinely know Christ.

Doing the will of God, or being obedient to God’s commands, is not what saves us. Rather, it is evidence that we have come to genuinely know Christ.

Said another way, the fruit of good works has the roots of genuine conversion to Christ.

Conclusion

As I wrap up this morning I hope this message causes each one of us to pause and to consider the priority of family. You may have heard this saying – “Family is everything.” Biblically, this isn’t true. As Christians, we should say, “Jesus is everything.”

You probably love your family and want to give them a good life here on earth. This is a good thing. However, your main objective should be to point them to Christ.

We must love and obey Jesus first. If we are going to love our physical family well, then that starts by loving Christ and making the family of God a priority.

There are a lot of people who believe that they are a part of the family of God because of their parents and grandparents were Christians.

Today, there are many people who have heard of Jesus and are acquainted with him.

• They know he is the Son of God.
• They know he died on the cross for the sins of the world.
• They know that going to church is a good thing.
• They may even be more moral than they used to be.

Those who are truly part of the family of God have come to faith in Jesus Christ. This, in turn, leads to obedience to the will of God.

Is that you this morning?

Have you come to saving faith in Jesus Christ? Gospel.

Are you growing in affection and love for him?

Are you growing in obedience to God’s commands?

Are you seeking to point others to Christ?

Is your relationship with Christ the defining relationship in your life, above even family?

If so, then you can be confident that you are part of the family of God. If not, why don’t you turn from your sin and give your life to Christ?