Those who hear the word of God and
put it into practice are God’s family.
“Now Jesus’ mother and his brothers came to him, but they were unable to get near him because of the crowd. Someone told him, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” He replied, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and put it into practice”’ (Luke 8:19–21).
I desire to receive the lesson given through meditating on the passage that says:
(1) I would like to meditate on today’s passage, Luke 8:19–21, by comparing it with Matthew 12:46–50 and Mark 3:31–35.
(a) First, today’s passage, Luke 8:19, says: “Now Jesus’ mother and his brothers came to him, but they were unable to get near him because of the crowd.” Matthew 12:46 says: “While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.” Mark 3:31 says: “Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him.”
(i) When we look at these three verses, we see that while Jesus was still speaking to the crowd (Mt. 12:46), his mother and brothers came to see him, but because of the crowd they were unable to meet him (Lk. 8:19). Therefore, Jesus’ mother and brothers sent someone to call him (Mk. 3:31).
· A question we can ask here is: “Why did Jesus’ mother and brothers come to see him?” If we look only at the context of Luke 8:19, we cannot find an answer to this question. However, when we examine the contexts of Matthew 12:46 and Mark 3:31, we can find some clues.
- In the context of Matthew 12:46 and Mark 3:31, the Pharisees (Mt. 12:24) and the scribes (Mk. 3:22) said that Jesus was driving out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons (Mt. 12:24; Mk. 3:22). And in Mark 3:21 it says: “When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’” That is, according to Mark, the reason Jesus’ mother and relatives came to see him was because they had heard the rumor that Jesus was out of his mind and were worried, so they intended to take him away (Hochma).
n In other words, Jesus’ close family—including his younger brothers James, John, Simon, and Judas, who are referred to as his “relatives”—heard the rumor that Jesus was insane [“The expression ‘out of his mind’ was commonly used in Jewish society at the time to mean being possessed by a demon, and it indicates that Jesus’ behavior appeared abnormal or beyond common sense”], and they intended to seize him and forcibly take him back to Nazareth (Internet).
(ii) As I meditate on Mark 3:21 and the interpretation given in the Hochma Commentary, I think that from the standpoint of Jesus’ mother and relatives, it was quite understandable and reasonable that they would come to find Jesus out of concern after hearing the rumor that he was out of his mind.
· In my own case, at the end of the second semester of my freshman year in college, I received grace at a college retreat of Victory Presbyterian Church and decided to obey the Lord’s calling. When I said that after graduating from college I would go to seminary to become a pastor, my mother opposed it somewhat because she was worried that I would suffer and have a hard life.
- This reminded me of what Jesus said to Peter: “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns” (Mt. 16:23). When Jesus began to explain that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life, Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Lord, this must never happen to you! Such a thing must never happen” (vv. 21–22).
Peter had earlier declared loudly, “Even if I have to die with you, I will never disown you,” but within that bold declaration there may also have been the assumption that Jesus would never actually die on the cross, and therefore Peter himself would not have to die either. In the end, Peter boldly proclaimed with his words (his lips), “I am ready to give my life for you” (Jn. 13:37), but in reality, his heart was not yet prepared to give his life for Jesus (cf. Lk. 22:33).
These are the words of Jesus: “Anyone who comes to me and does not love me more than his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—cannot be my disciple” (Lk. 14:26).
(b) Second, today’s passage, Luke 8:20, says the following: “Someone told Him, ‘Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.’” Matthew 12:47 says: “Someone said to Jesus, ‘Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.’” Mark 3:32 says: “The crowd was sitting around Jesus, and they said to Him, ‘Look, your mother and your brothers and your sisters are outside looking for you.’”
(i) Here, “someone” (Lk. 8:20) or “a person” (Mt. 12:47) was probably the person whom Jesus’ mother and brothers had sent (Mk. 3:31). That person went to Jesus, who was surrounded by people (“the crowd”) (cf. Mk. 3:32), and said, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, looking for you / wanting to see you / wanting to speak to you.”
· The house where Jesus was staying was so full of people that there was no room to enter or even any space left. The crowds, together with the disciples, were sitting densely packed around Jesus at the center. Therefore, Jesus’ mother and brothers, who were outside the house, seem to have sent one person to Jesus; that person pushed through the crowd, entered the house, and delivered the message to Jesus.
(ii) As I meditate on this passage, I am reminded of the biblical story in which four friends carried their paralyzed friend on a mat, intending to bring him before Jesus, who healed diseases by the power of God. But because there were so many people, they could not enter the house, so they removed part of the roof, made an opening, and lowered the paralyzed man on his mat down in front of Jesus (Lk. 5:17–26). At that time, when Jesus saw their faith, instead of saying to the paralyzed man, “Get up and walk,” He said, “Your sins are forgiven” (v. 20).
· I was also reminded of the lyrics of the new hymn, “When You Come Before Jesus”:
Verse 1: When you come before Jesus, all your sins are forgiven; held in the Lord’s arms, you will rest in peace.
Verse 2: When you come before Jesus and receive His grace, your heart will overflow with joy, and you will live forever.
Verse 3: When you stand before Jesus, clothed in white garments, you will live forever in your bright and shining home.
Refrain: If we trust only in our Lord, we will all receive salvation, and surely receive the crown of eternal life and blessing.
(c) Third, today’s passage, Luke 8:21, says the following: “But He answered and said, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.’” Matthew 12:48–50 says: “But He replied to the one who was speaking to Him, ‘Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?’ And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.’” Mark 3:33–35 says: “He answered them, ‘Who are My mother and My brothers?’ And looking around at those who were sitting in a circle around Him, He said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! Whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.’”
(i) When we look at these three passages, Jesus asks, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” (Mt. 12:48; Mk. 3:33). Then, looking at those who were sitting around Him (Mk. 3:34) and stretching out His hand toward the disciples (Mt. 12:49), He said: “My mother and My brothers are those who hear the word of God (Lk. 8:21), who do the will of My Father in heaven (Mt. 12:50), who do the will of God (v. 50; Mk. 3:35)—these people are My mother and My brothers” (Lk. 8:21).
· When His physical mother and brothers came to see Him, Jesus declared that those who hear the word of God and obey it are His brothers, sisters, and mother, thereby teaching the importance of the spiritual community. This is a core message that teaches that spiritual bonds and a life that follows God’s will are more important than physical family relationships (Internet).
- What is important is to act according to what one has heard in the word of God—that is, to submit oneself completely to God’s will (Mt. 12:50; Mk. 3:35). Only through this does one truly become Jesus’ family and, in the truest sense, a child of God (Hochma).
n “Key Points of Interpretation:
The limits of the physical family: Jesus was not denying or rejecting His blood relatives—His mother and brothers—but rather teaching the meaning of a spiritual family that is greater than physical kinship.
The will of God: To do the will of God” means to hear God’s word, obey it, and live a life of loving one’s neighbor.
A new community: Through these words, Jesus showed that He was forming a community of faith that transcends blood relationships—namely, the family of God. …
In conclusion, these passages teach that the spiritual family formed through a relationship with God is of utmost importance, and that a life that puts the Word into practice is the evidence of a true community of faith” (Internet).
(ii) Below is a short devotional reflection I wrote on October 27, 2021, under the title “Those Who Only Speak, and Those Who Put into Practice?”: “Just as a tree is known by its fruit, Christians are known by what they put into practice. A person who only says with their lips, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and hears the Lord’s words but does not put them into practice is like someone who builds a house on bare ground without a foundation. When a flood comes rushing in, such a house soon collapses and is completely destroyed. But the one who hears the Lord’s words and puts them into practice is like someone who digs deep and lays the foundation on the rock. Even when a flood comes and muddy water crashes violently against that house, it does not collapse because it was built firmly and well” (Lk. 6:44, 46–49).
· Below is a short devotional reflection I wrote on October 22, 2024, under the title “We Must Become People Who Hear and Put the Word of God into Practice”: “We must become people who hear the word of God and put it into practice. We must become wise people who build their house on the rock, which does not collapse even when rain falls, floods come, and winds blow and beat against it. We must become people who carry out the will of God the Father who is in heaven. Therefore, all of us must enter the kingdom of heaven” (cf. Mt. 7:21, 24–25).
- Below is the conclusion of a short devotional reflection I wrote on October 14, 2010, under the title “A Community of Love”: “I pray that the Victory Community established by the Lord may become a community that loves the Lord—who is the head of the church—with sincere and genuine love, and that the brothers and sisters may also love one another. Believing that we are one spiritual family in the Lord, may the Lord establish us as a community that strives first to love and respect one another. Even amid tribulation, may the Lord establish us as a Victory Community that looks to the Lord, who is our hope, with faith, praying together in unity, persevering, and rejoicing. As we put into practice a life of sharing and supplying one another’s needs, may the Lord establish our church as a loving community that is eager to show hospitality. And above all, I earnestly pray that the Lord will establish us as a community of love in which the entire church family diligently and zealously serves the Lord together.”