Mark 3:31-35

D. THE HOUSEHOLD OF CHRIST 3:31-35

TEXT 3:31-35

And there come his mother and his brethren; and, standing without, they sent unto him, calling him. And a multitude was sitting about him; and they say unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, and saith, Who is my mother and my brethren? And looking round on them which sat round about him, he saith, Behold, my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

THOUGHT QUESTIONS 3:31-35

151.

Are we to associate this incident with the one in Mark 3:21? If so how?

152.

How many half-brothers did Jesus have? (Cf. Matthew 13:56; Mark 6:3)

153.

Why had His mother and brothers come?

154.

Did Mary or the brothers speak to Jesus personally?

155.

What was the purpose behind the reply of Jesus?

156.

Did Jesus ignore the request of His mother? What impression did this make upon the multitude?; upon His mother?; upon His brothers?

COMMENT

TIMEAutumn A.D. 28.
PLACEAt home in Capernaum or on hill outside the city.

PARALLEL ACCOUNTSMatthew 12:46-50; Luke 8:19-21.

OUTLINE1. The arrival from Nazareth of His mother and brothers, Mark 3:31. Mark 3:2. The message relayed to Jesus, Mark 3:32. Mark 3:3. The response of Jesus to the visit, Mark 3:33-35.

ANALYSIS 3:31-35

I.

THE ARRIVAL FROM NAZARETH OF HIS MOTHER AND BROTHERS, Mark 3:31.

1.

They stood without the door of the house.

2.

They requested an audience with Him.

II.

THE MESSAGE RELAYED TO JESUS, Mark 3:32.

1.

Word sent in to the house from the family to the multitude.

2.

Someone told Jesusprobably one of His apostles.

III.

THE RESPONSE OF JESUS TO THE VISIT, Mark 3:33-35.

1.

Answered with a question.

2.

He was now speaking with His family.

3.

Their needs were met in doing the will of God.

EXPLANATORY NOTES 3:31-35

I.

THE ARRIVAL FROM NAZARETH OF HIS MOTHER AND BROTHERS, Mark 3:31.

Mark 3:31-32. They had come to take him. (See note on Mark 3:21). Mark has meanwhile described the scene in which they found him and the conversation in which he was engaged. He graphically shows them coming, standing without, and sending their message in through the crowd which they could not penetrate.

II.

THE MESSAGE RELAYED TO JESUS, Mark 3:32.

A multitude sat about him. Not the multitude. Some manuscripts (and Tischendorf, not the revisers) read, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren and thy sisters without are seeking thee. The sisters are mentioned at Mark 6:3, but we know nothing of their names or history. His mother, coming as his mother, would doubtless have been welcomed; but an intrusive coming of his kindred to interfere with his work was quite another matter. Now that he was fully about his Father's business, it was even more necessary than at the beginning of his work (John 2:4) that his mother should leave him to his Father's guidance. The moment, too, was a solemn one; he had just been speaking of the deadly opposition between the two kingdoms, and was in a frame of mind to prize most highly those who were with him and were not scattering abroad. Any attempt to scatter abroad, to weaken his work, would then be especially painful to his soul, and the more if it came from those who ought to know him well. Yet in their coming, (at least, we may be sure, in his mother'S) there was kindness, but kindness how ignorant and mistaken! With what faults of friends he had to bear, as well as with evil in enemies! Not without pain, however, can he have given to his mother this rebuff. It was necessary; but he was a genuine son, and had a son's grateful and loyal heart toward his mother. His dying act of care for her (John 19:26) was a more congenial act to his heart.

III.

THE RESPONSE OF JESUS TO THE VISIT, Mark 3:33-35.

Mark 3:33-35. Who is my mother, or my brethren? As if he did not know any from without who might appeal to him in that name.He looked round about on them which sat about him. Literally, in a circle about him. A graphic touch of Mark, to which Matthew adds another Stretching out his hand toward his disciples, The gesture impressed one beholder, the look another. Very full of tenderness and solemnity must the look have been, accompanying such words, for here is the adoption of the obedient.Behold (these are) my mother, and my brethren! for whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and my mother. In Luke, My mother and my brethren are these, who hear and do the word of God. Compare Every one that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them (Matthew 7:24). The center of his true kindred is not the mother, the brother, or the sisters, but the Father. This, he says, is the only center; there is no true unity with him except through spiritual harmony with the will of God: Whoever would be a brother to me must be a child to him. Without this even natural kinship is as nothing. This, he also says, is the real centerthe center of an actual unity; whoever is doing the will of God is united to Jesus by a tie stronger than any tie of flesh and blood: Whoever is my Father's own is my own, one of my true kindred, in the closest bonds. Does he not even imply that the relation is as close and tender on one side as on the other?toward the true brother, sister, and mother as toward the Heavenly Father? Do not God and they that do the will of God thus come into one family for Jesus, in which one and the same love reaches out in both directions? He said elsewhere, As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you; and this is almost saying, As I love my Father, so do I love you. Does this passage make God (or the doing of the will of God) the way to Christ, rather than Christ the way to God? Yes, in a sense. Whoever comes to Christ does the will of God in doing so, and it is in (not by the merit of) the doing of what God appoints that Christ accepts him. In all this Jesus did not disown the ties of kindred or put any slight upon them; rather did he show how highly he esteemed them. What must the natural relations be to him if he can make them the illustration of his relations both to God who sent him and to the people whom he saves?Notice that the two misstatements respecting Jesus, He is beside himself and He hath Beelzebul, are morally very far apart, One was a misunderstanding of his workan ignorant, mistaken misrepresentation in which there was at least room for the anxiety of affection, and in which he was regarded as unfortunate. It implied spiritual ignorance, but not malignity. The other was a malignant refusal to see good in him, and a spontaneous judgment that his highest good was highest evil. The one corresponds to speaking a word against the Son of man; while the other at least approaches the unpardonable sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.It is a satisfaction to find that after the resurrection of Jesus, Mary, the mother of the Lord, and his brethren were with the apostles in the upper room, where they waited for the fulfillment of Jesus-' promise (Acts 1:14). (W. N. Clarke)

FACT QUESTIONS 3:31-35

182.

Who probably instigated the visit of the family?

183.

Read Mark 6:3 and John 19:26 and notice the expression son of Mary as in contrast to the way the brothers are mentioned.

184.

Why did Jesus commit the care of his mother to John if He had brothers?

185.

Is there any contradiction in the accounts concerning the message of Mary and His brothersCf. Matthew 12:47; Luke 8:20; Mark 3:31.

186.

What type of rebuke did Jesus give to His relatives? Show how this was needed.

187.

Why look round about Him and stretch forth His hand?

188.

Please explain how doing the will of God makes us brothers and sisters to Christ.

SUMMARY 2:13:35

There are three facts set forth in the preceding section, which have an important bearing on the claims of Jesus. The first is the fact that he had authority to forgive sins. This was demonstrated in the case of the paralytic (Mark 2:1-12), and it is the one fact which proves Jesus adapted to the highest demands of human salvation. Sins being forgiven, all other blessings follow as a consequence.

In the second place, it is shown that his conduct as a man was irreproachable. He was attacked in reference to the company he kept (Mark 2:13-17); in reference to his neglect of fasting (Mark 2:18-22); and in reference to Sabbath-keeping (Mark 2:23-28; Mark 3:1-6); but in all these matters he vindicated his conduct, and put his accusers to shame. That they made no more serious attacks on his conduct, proves that they could not, and that in morals he was irreproachable.

In the third place, it was demonstrated by his discussion with the Jerusalem scribes, that the power by which he cast out demons, and, a fortiori, the power by which his other miracles were wrought, was not, as they alleged, satanic, but divine. Finally, his answer to the people, in reference to the call of his mother and his brothers, is in perfect keeping with the character and position which the text assigns him. It is a singular infatuation which has led the Roman Catholic Church to attribute to Jesus even in heaven, a subserviency to his mother which he so expressly repudiated while on earth. (J. W. McGarvey).