Mark 3:31--35
³¹Then 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."
³³"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked.
³⁴Then 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." (NIV)

I've often wondered what it would be like to be the mother or sister of Jesus. How special it would have been to be part of a family with the Son of God! But it wasn't till after Jesus resurrection that the siblings really understood what Jesus' mission was (most scholars agree that the books of James and Jude were written by Jesus' half-brothers, sons of Joseph and Mary). At this point in Scripture (see also Matthew 12:46-50 and Luke 8:19-21), his family members may have been searching for him, trying to understand his ministry and perhaps feared for him because of the opposition of the Pharisees.

Again and again in the gospels, Jesus is misunderstood, or at least not fully comprehended. The disciples are continually asking questions, asking him to explain things that they did not understand, especially when he began to tell them of his upcoming death and resurrection.

His family, even though they lived with Jesus, probably didn't understand everything either--because the Holy Spirit had not been given to the believers yet. (this happened in Acts 2, after Jesus' resurrection). So, even though his family had special ties to him, Jesus recognized that those who followed and believed in him were his true brothers and sisters.

How blessed we are to have the Holy Spirit and the Scriptures so that we can do his will. We know so much more than those who lived with him did, so we need not be envious of them.

Thank you Lord, that though I did not live at the time you were on earth, I have been blessed with Scripture, the Holy Spirit and the rich tradition of other believers who have gone on before me. Help me to be among those who do your will. Amen.

- posted by Suzi @ 7:02 AM