WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.500 He introduced this story of Jesus's family back in verses 20 and 21, and we were told there that 00:00:08.500 --> 00:00:15.140 as they had heard what was going on in the Lord's ministry, the things about the dangerous crowds 00:00:15.140 --> 00:00:21.679 that were pressing against him, the murderous plots of the Pharisees and the scribes, and then 00:00:21.679 --> 00:00:26.320 even the physical depletion that he was dealing with. He couldn't even eat a meal in some 00:00:26.320 --> 00:00:33.439 circumstances because of the crowd and the busyness of the ministry that they became concerned, 00:00:33.439 --> 00:00:40.100 and so they set out for Capernaum, and we were told in verse 21 that the purpose of going to 00:00:40.100 --> 00:00:48.500 Capernaum was that they might seize him. They may stop him from what he was doing. Now Mark paused 00:00:48.500 --> 00:00:55.920 momentarily as we studied last week to record for us an exchange between Jesus and a group of 00:00:55.920 --> 00:01:04.480 scribes that had come to Capernaum from Jerusalem specifically to examine Jesus and to give 00:01:04.480 --> 00:01:13.260 the Jerusalem's position officially to the people that were following Jesus, and then he returns to 00:01:13.260 --> 00:01:21.480 this issue of Jesus's family here in verse 31. Now if this was a screenplay, at this point we would feel 00:01:21.480 --> 00:01:28.579 the tension building in the story. We've first been introduced to Mary and the brothers, as we'll get 00:01:28.579 --> 00:01:34.939 to here in just a moment, and they are concerned, and we see all of the problems that are facing Jesus 00:01:34.939 --> 00:01:39.600 at all in this moment, and the tension is building, and now we're just wondering what's going to happen 00:01:39.600 --> 00:01:45.439 when they actually get to Capernaum. What are they actually going to do? How are they actually going to go 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:52.140 about stopping him and hindering him? And I imagine that what actually ended up taking place once they 00:01:52.140 --> 00:02:01.400 got there, as we just read, came as quite a shock to not only Jesus's family, but also to the people 00:02:01.400 --> 00:02:08.340 that were gathered with him here in the house in Capernaum. Now this is a genuinely shocking story 00:02:08.340 --> 00:02:15.080 as we go through it, and we see the statements particularly that Jesus is making, but the shock of it 00:02:15.080 --> 00:02:22.180 is somewhat lost, or at least easily lost, in our culture today, isn't it? We don't quite view the family 00:02:22.180 --> 00:02:28.060 the way that the family would have been imbued in Jesus's day. In fact, the biblical view of the family 00:02:28.060 --> 00:02:36.520 has been devalued to the extent that some groups would even claim that it's offensive or even dangerous, 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:42.920 the what we would call the nuclear family or the biblical family, that it's even a dangerous thing 00:02:42.920 --> 00:02:50.960 to propose or to enforce in our society. The most prevalent worldview of our day champions the 00:02:50.960 --> 00:02:57.000 individual above everything else, right? There may be some secularists that would come to this passage, 00:02:57.000 --> 00:03:02.600 and they might even applaud Jesus for these statements here, not because they believe him to be 00:03:02.599 --> 00:03:11.539 on a divine mission as the son of God, but because they would think that he is, that every person, 00:03:11.659 --> 00:03:19.280 every individual is free to do whatever they want without the oppressive restraint of family 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:24.319 expectations. That's the culture in which we live now, isn't it? At least in Western society, 00:03:24.379 --> 00:03:30.299 that's where we live. The self is the thing that's most important. What I want for me and what I want to do 00:03:30.300 --> 00:03:34.800 for me is what's most important, and it doesn't matter any other structures that are in my life. 00:03:35.160 --> 00:03:43.280 I am the priority, what would be. And so some of the shock of this might would be lost a little bit 00:03:43.280 --> 00:03:48.060 on our culture, but that's why it would be helpful for us, I think, here at the beginning to just do 00:03:48.060 --> 00:03:53.580 kind of a bird's eye view of what the Bible says about the family. And that'll help us understand a 00:03:53.580 --> 00:03:59.820 little bit more of not only what Jesus is saying in this passage, but also what he isn't saying in this 00:03:59.819 --> 00:04:03.620 passage as well. So let's do that. If you want to keep notes of this, this is just kind of a marginal 00:04:03.620 --> 00:04:07.560 thing. I'm just going to note these things, and then we're going to move on from it, okay? 00:04:07.900 --> 00:04:13.000 Well, just a few things about the family. One, the family is a part of the creative order. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:19.120 It's a part of the creative order. If you go back to Genesis chapter 1 and 2, and you read about God's 00:04:19.120 --> 00:04:25.819 creation, and you read about what his purpose was in that, you'll find that he instituted the family 00:04:25.819 --> 00:04:33.759 at the very beginning of human existence. You'll remember he first created Adam, and then he 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:40.740 created Eve, his wife, as to be a helper that is suitable for him, as the language reads there. 00:04:41.180 --> 00:04:50.420 And then he instructed them to have children, to work, and to populate the earth. Now, all of this was 00:04:50.420 --> 00:04:59.259 done in the creation account before Adam and Eve sinned. God sees the family as a primary way that 00:04:59.259 --> 00:05:06.920 we reflect his own glory. And I'll just read to you, Genesis 1, 27. So God created man in his own image. 00:05:07.540 --> 00:05:15.740 In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. And God blessed them. And he said, 00:05:15.740 --> 00:05:22.480 be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the earth, and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:27.079 and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves on the earth. So the family 00:05:27.079 --> 00:05:33.980 is a part of the creative order. Second thing is this. God's desire for honor within the family 00:05:33.980 --> 00:05:41.579 is codified in the Old Testament. He gave us all kinds of laws, or he gave his people all kinds of laws 00:05:41.579 --> 00:05:48.399 in the Old Testament about the way that the family is to function, and how they are to reflect his 00:05:48.399 --> 00:05:54.800 glory. So that the view that we carry for the family, and for those within our family, 00:05:55.039 --> 00:06:03.659 is actually an issue of morality. We know that primarily because of in his big 10, the 10 commandments 00:06:03.659 --> 00:06:10.399 in Exodus 20, he gives two specific commandments that relate directly to the family. The first one's in 00:06:10.399 --> 00:06:17.179 verse 12, he says that we are to honor our father and our mothers. And then in verse 14, just two 00:06:17.179 --> 00:06:25.819 verses later, he says, thou shalt not commit adultery. Laws that specifically related to life within 00:06:25.819 --> 00:06:32.599 the home, life within the family. So God not only created the family, but then he made it a moral 00:06:32.599 --> 00:06:37.239 issue that if we don't view it, and if we don't function within it the way that he has determined, 00:06:37.240 --> 00:06:42.460 then we actually are living in sin. There's plenty of references for that in the Old Testament, 00:06:42.759 --> 00:06:49.120 but we'll leave it there for now. The third thing is this, God designed the home to be the headquarters 00:06:49.120 --> 00:06:58.680 for Christian discipleship. God's truth was transmitted through the home for thousands of years before he 00:06:58.680 --> 00:07:05.060 ever gave us his written word. Have you ever considered that? God specifically charged his people 00:07:05.060 --> 00:07:11.660 in Deuteronomy chapter six to keep his word and his laws the priority of the home. Let me just read it 00:07:11.660 --> 00:07:17.120 to you. Deuteronomy chapter six. These words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall 00:07:17.120 --> 00:07:24.279 teach them diligently to your children, shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the 00:07:24.279 --> 00:07:30.680 way, when you lie down, when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand. They shall be as frontlets 00:07:30.680 --> 00:07:36.040 between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorpost of your house and on your gates. That's a 00:07:36.040 --> 00:07:43.759 pretty strong command. It's an explicit command that we have a responsibility in our families to actually 00:07:43.759 --> 00:07:49.100 perpetuate truth. And of course, thankfully, the Lord has given us his written word. And of course, 00:07:49.139 --> 00:07:54.439 we rely on that. That's the truth that we're now transmitting. We keep the word of God, the focus of 00:07:54.439 --> 00:08:01.360 our homes. That's what God intended the family to be, a place of discipleship. And then we see that in 00:08:01.360 --> 00:08:10.379 the New Testament, there is all kinds of instruction about God's desire for the family. Jesus and the 00:08:10.379 --> 00:08:20.220 apostles all told extensively about the home and what life was to be like in the home. They provided 00:08:20.220 --> 00:08:28.980 instruction about marriage, instruction about divorce. They provided instruction about parenting, 00:08:29.980 --> 00:08:36.300 widowhood, obedience to our parents, sexual fidelity, and much more than that. 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:41.840 You read through the New Testament, you'll see this over and over and over. Let me just give you one 00:08:41.840 --> 00:08:48.300 example in Colossians 3 verses 18 to 21. Paul just kind of summarizes, he gets everybody in these three 00:08:48.299 --> 00:08:54.620 verses. Wives, submit to your husbands as it is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives 00:08:54.620 --> 00:09:01.519 and do not be harsh with them. Children, obey your parents in everything for this pleases the Lord. 00:09:02.399 --> 00:09:09.039 Fathers, don't provoke your children lest they become discouraged. The Bible is just full of instruction. 00:09:09.299 --> 00:09:16.879 It's full of God's desire for the home and for the family. It's over and over and over, 00:09:16.879 --> 00:09:24.259 and it goes all the way back to the very first chapter of scripture. That God cares about the family 00:09:24.259 --> 00:09:35.679 and he cares how we view the family and he cares how we function as families. But despite all of that, 00:09:35.679 --> 00:09:47.539 listen, the family is still not the highest relationship in our lives. It's not how God intended it to be. 00:09:49.219 --> 00:09:55.359 With all the instruction he gives, all the stuff about marriage, all the stuff about parenting, 00:09:55.359 --> 00:10:05.559 it is still not the primary relationship in our lives. God's purpose in designing the family as 00:10:05.559 --> 00:10:14.479 he has done is not about social order. It's about pointing us to a greater relationship with him 00:10:14.479 --> 00:10:24.579 and an eternal spiritual family of believers. As much as we love our families, they're temporal, 00:10:24.939 --> 00:10:32.379 not eternal, but they serve a purpose to point us toward a more extraordinary, 00:10:32.379 --> 00:10:40.639 lasting relationship that we can have with God and other believers. And our earthly families are to 00:10:40.639 --> 00:10:44.740 serve that function. You say, well, what in the world does this have to do with Mark chapter three? 00:10:45.720 --> 00:10:52.279 Well, it helps us to understand the point that Jesus is making. And it helps us to understand the 00:10:52.279 --> 00:10:57.279 point that Jesus isn't making. Jesus isn't cutting off his family in this passage. That's not what's 00:10:57.279 --> 00:11:06.500 happening here. He's teaching an essential truth about the gospel. He's giving the priority of relationship 00:11:06.500 --> 00:11:16.720 that as important as the family is, there is still greater a relationship and purpose that we have in 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:24.259 relationship with God. And the Bible constantly holds these two things in tension. It holds in tension, 00:11:24.259 --> 00:11:30.319 the physical and the spiritual realities of life. And that's exactly what Jesus is doing here in this passage. 00:11:30.519 --> 00:11:35.399 And so let's get into it and see what it has to teach us this morning. If you're keeping notes, write this down 00:11:35.399 --> 00:11:43.700 maybe first. His family on the outside. His family on the outside. Look with me at verse 31. 00:11:44.259 --> 00:11:50.439 And his mother and his brothers came and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. 00:11:50.440 --> 00:11:56.340 And a crowd was sitting around him and they said to him, your mother and your brothers are outside 00:11:56.340 --> 00:12:06.100 seeking you. Now, we already know that some of Jesus's family was traveling to Capernaum. But verse 31 is 00:12:06.100 --> 00:12:13.780 where we find out exactly who is in the group. Mark says that it's Mary, Jesus's mother, and then some of 00:12:13.780 --> 00:12:20.360 Jesus's brothers as well, which we find listed in other passages in the New Testament. Now, 00:12:20.360 --> 00:12:26.779 for why they were traveling to Capernaum, we have to go back to verse 21, which tells us that some of 00:12:26.779 --> 00:12:35.680 them thought that Jesus had lost his mind and they intended to seize him. Now, remember that word is more 00:12:35.680 --> 00:12:42.419 than just stopping. It's more than just making a statement. They were physically going to restrain 00:12:42.419 --> 00:12:48.519 him. That was their desire to physically restrain him, to stop him from what he was doing. And they 00:12:48.519 --> 00:12:53.639 believed themselves to be on this sort of rescue mission. It wasn't that they were antagonistic 00:12:53.639 --> 00:12:58.500 against Jesus. They loved him. This was actually, they were being compelled out of their love for 00:12:58.500 --> 00:13:02.179 him. They thought he was in danger. They thought this was a problem. They thought he had lost his 00:13:02.179 --> 00:13:07.860 mind. They felt like they needed to rescue him. And so they headed to Capernaum to do what they 00:13:07.860 --> 00:13:16.759 thought was right. Now, Mary's involvement in this whole scenario is not very clear in the passage. 00:13:17.419 --> 00:13:24.340 But one thing we do know, no one understood Jesus's nature and purpose better than Mary. 00:13:24.340 --> 00:13:31.740 You can look back at Luke chapter one and Luke chapter two at the birth narrative of Jesus. 00:13:32.360 --> 00:13:39.100 And we see that this angel comes and actually reveals to Mary what was going to take place 00:13:39.100 --> 00:13:43.519 with this child. Of course, she didn't know the fullness of what it was, but she knew. And if you 00:13:43.519 --> 00:13:48.280 get into the end of chapter one, you see what we call Mary's Magnificat. You see very clearly, 00:13:48.280 --> 00:13:52.019 she understood there was something very significant. This child was from God. 00:13:52.019 --> 00:13:59.360 This child was God. And this child had a specific purpose in the redemption plan. Okay, she understood 00:13:59.360 --> 00:14:05.159 that. Nobody understood that better than Mary. And over and over in the childhood passages of Jesus, 00:14:05.159 --> 00:14:10.460 we see her pondering these things in her heart and holding them in her heart and considering what was 00:14:10.460 --> 00:14:16.379 going on. So what she was doing in this particular passage, we're not exactly sure. It's possible that 00:14:16.379 --> 00:14:20.480 she was accompanying the group to make sure that Jesus's brothers didn't do anything foolish. 00:14:20.480 --> 00:14:29.000 Perhaps that's what she was doing. It's also possible that as a loving mother, she had also grown very 00:14:29.000 --> 00:14:38.200 concerned for her son and was perhaps involved in some way about stopping him at least momentarily. 00:14:39.080 --> 00:14:45.580 Either way, something significant about Mary's presence is necessary for us to understand. 00:14:45.580 --> 00:14:56.540 Her presence reminds us that even Mary had to come to the same point of faith in Jesus as every other 00:14:56.540 --> 00:15:06.920 person. She had to. At some point, Mary was going to have to stop seeing Jesus as her son and start 00:15:06.920 --> 00:15:14.200 following him as her Lord and Savior. And when that moment took place, we don't know for sure. But what we do 00:15:14.200 --> 00:15:20.060 know is that faith was just as necessary for her salvation as it is for you and me. And that's 00:15:20.060 --> 00:15:26.300 important. Well, when the family arrived at the house, they stood outside, we're told, and they called 00:15:26.300 --> 00:15:33.180 for Jesus to come out. And they must have been persistent in doing this because everybody around 00:15:33.180 --> 00:15:38.080 Jesus became aware. In fact, somebody actually ended up interrupting Jesus because he was obviously 00:15:38.080 --> 00:15:43.860 ignoring what was going on. Somebody interrupted Jesus just to make sure he could hear that his family 00:15:43.860 --> 00:15:49.620 was outside calling to him. And perhaps they were sending messages in that were being passed along 00:15:49.620 --> 00:15:56.360 to Jesus. There was an expectation, not only on their part, but also on the part of the crowd, 00:15:56.360 --> 00:16:02.860 that he would stop everything he was doing in order to answer their call. And of course, 00:16:02.860 --> 00:16:09.060 everyone would have been surprised at the way that Jesus responded. And we start to see something 00:16:09.060 --> 00:16:16.200 emerge here now in Mark's gospel. It's a pattern. It's a pattern of making a distinction between 00:16:16.200 --> 00:16:25.340 insiders and outsiders. Those on the inside being those who have come into a spiritual relationship with 00:16:25.340 --> 00:16:30.500 Jesus Christ. And then those on the outside who may have had a close physical relationship, but did not 00:16:30.500 --> 00:16:37.120 know him as Lord. Mark's beginning to have a pattern of showing this. Who's on the outside? 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:45.480 Well, surprisingly, it's Jesus's family, his mother and his brothers, and maybe his sisters as the way 00:16:45.480 --> 00:16:52.720 that he responded. They're on the outside. Well, who's on the inside? Well, it wasn't the crowd that he was 00:16:52.720 --> 00:17:00.340 referencing. Matthew tells us that he gestures over to his disciples as the insiders. Jesus was 00:17:00.340 --> 00:17:07.779 drawing a distinction. Mark was showing a pattern of noting this distinction through his book. 00:17:08.420 --> 00:17:13.579 Now, universalists will say that we are all the children of God. Therefore, every person is an 00:17:13.579 --> 00:17:23.240 insider. Many religions will say that true insiders demonstrate the greatest sense of piety and commitment 00:17:23.240 --> 00:17:30.579 to their religious observance. Some live as if their lineage or their nationality is what gives them 00:17:30.579 --> 00:17:36.660 status that they need with God. But Jesus, in his pattern, said that all three of those perspectives 00:17:36.660 --> 00:17:46.559 were actually what made them outsiders. And as we noted last week, closeness to Jesus is no substitute 00:17:46.559 --> 00:17:55.500 for following him as Savior and Lord. When it comes to your relationship to the family of God, 00:17:55.500 --> 00:18:04.279 are you an insider or an outsider? And if you believe yourself to be an insider, what is it that makes 00:18:04.279 --> 00:18:13.000 you think that's true? Jesus proves that neither family ties nor religious zeal can make us right with 00:18:13.000 --> 00:18:22.119 God. Before we move on, we need to consider why Mark is presenting Jesus's family as outsiders. And the answer 00:18:22.119 --> 00:18:28.359 to that lies within the reason that they came to Capernaum. Though they may have been very well 00:18:28.359 --> 00:18:38.220 intentioned, his family's attempt to stop him was actually quite wicked. We might even say that it was 00:18:38.220 --> 00:18:52.299 satanic. Their love for him compelled them to be concerned for his physical well-being. But their unbelief 00:18:52.299 --> 00:19:05.140 actually stood in the way of his purpose in the Father's will. Nothing is more evil than standing in the way 00:19:05.140 --> 00:19:13.580 or opposing the will of God. Jesus made this clear in an interaction with Peter. We'll get to it eventually 00:19:13.580 --> 00:19:19.700 in Mark chapter 8. You'll remember that Jesus, after Peter had just made this great confession that you 00:19:19.700 --> 00:19:27.200 are the Christ, Jesus says that's true. And he begins to tell them about his crucifixion and resurrection. 00:19:27.400 --> 00:19:31.160 He said that he had to go to Jerusalem and there he had to suffer and he had to be put to death. 00:19:31.160 --> 00:19:35.980 But then three days later, he would raise from the dead. And then the passage says that Peter 00:19:35.980 --> 00:19:43.460 pulls him to the side. Now picture this. This is the Lord and he has just made a statement. And now one 00:19:43.460 --> 00:19:51.060 of his followers takes the mastery of him in a sense and pulls him over to the side and it says that Peter 00:19:51.060 --> 00:19:58.860 rebuked him. And what was it that Jesus did? Jesus turns his back to Peter and he looks at the rest of the 00:19:58.859 --> 00:20:09.019 disciples and he says, get behind me. What? Satan. It was Peter, Satan? No. But what he was doing in 00:20:09.019 --> 00:20:15.879 that moment, his mindset in that moment was a satanic mindset as it was with Jesus's family. They were 00:20:15.879 --> 00:20:19.959 well-intentioned just as Peter was. He didn't want his Savior to die. He didn't want his Lord to die. 00:20:21.059 --> 00:20:28.259 Neither did Mary and Jesus's brothers want something bad to happen. What they failed to notice because of 00:20:28.259 --> 00:20:35.259 their unbelief is that Jesus was on a divine mission from the father and what they were doing was 00:20:35.259 --> 00:20:46.980 standing in the way of their own redemption. And Jesus had to confront it. To avert him from his mission 00:20:46.980 --> 00:20:55.700 is fundamentally satanic by Christ's own testimony. And our point of application there 00:20:55.700 --> 00:21:03.080 is to realize that sometimes our family can actually be the most significant hindrance to us knowing and 00:21:03.080 --> 00:21:13.960 following Christ. Sometimes the pressure of an unbelieving family or family member can prevent us from 00:21:13.960 --> 00:21:23.640 actually following the Lord in faith. It's also true that family can become an idol 00:21:23.640 --> 00:21:32.500 that stands in the way of faithfulness to God's purpose and will. While our families are of great 00:21:32.500 --> 00:21:41.759 importance, they cannot have priority over the will of God. Jesus said as much in Matthew chapter 10. 00:21:42.300 --> 00:21:46.780 He said that he did not come to bring peace but a sword. What he was talking about is this division that 00:21:46.780 --> 00:21:53.360 would inevitably come in some families. And he says the truth of the gospel is that anyone who loves 00:21:53.359 --> 00:21:58.659 mother and father more than me is not worthy of me. And anyone who loves son and daughter more than me 00:21:58.659 --> 00:22:06.619 Jesus said is not worthy of me. And sometimes our family can actually be the thing that keeps us away 00:22:06.619 --> 00:22:11.759 from the Lord. So we see his family on the outside. Then we see his family on the inside. 00:22:12.219 --> 00:22:15.219 His family on the inside. Look with me at verse 33. 00:22:15.220 --> 00:22:23.460 And he answered them, who are my mother and my brothers? And looking about at those who sat around 00:22:23.460 --> 00:22:30.960 him, he said, here are my mother and my brothers. Now his response here is emphatic. 00:22:32.360 --> 00:22:35.539 Did you notice there's an exclamation point at the end of this sentence? 00:22:36.279 --> 00:22:42.279 Here are my mother and my brothers. That's actually quite uncommon in the scriptures to be punctuated in 00:22:42.279 --> 00:22:46.859 that way. For a sentence to be punctuated in that way. And it was emphatic what he was saying. 00:22:46.920 --> 00:22:54.399 There was force behind this communication that Jesus was speaking. Now had they utilized tape 00:22:54.399 --> 00:22:57.599 recorders in those days, this would have been an interesting conversation to hear. 00:22:58.700 --> 00:23:05.279 Is it that Jesus is just passionately teaching a point in this moment? Or is he making sure that 00:23:05.279 --> 00:23:14.920 his family can hear what he says? Because they're on the outside. Here is my mother and my brothers. 00:23:15.579 --> 00:23:27.500 What? Can you imagine how crushing that must have been to Mary and to his brothers? 00:23:27.500 --> 00:23:41.319 Here they were coming to help him. They loved him. They cared about him. And they try to get him to 00:23:41.319 --> 00:23:49.559 come outside so they can help him. And he says, here is my mother and my brothers. Perhaps Mary's mind 00:23:49.559 --> 00:23:57.339 immediately goes back to all those childhood things. The angel. The birth in Bethlehem. The sojourning in 00:23:57.339 --> 00:24:05.659 Egypt. The time watching him learn the trade of Joseph as a builder, as a carpenter, a stone mason, 00:24:05.759 --> 00:24:09.299 whatever it was that he would have been doing in those times. Maybe she thought back to the time 00:24:09.299 --> 00:24:14.099 when he was 12 and they went to Jerusalem and Jesus stayed around. It says she pondered those things in 00:24:14.099 --> 00:24:18.539 her heart after that scenario was over. All these things flood her mind. And then just the crushing 00:24:18.539 --> 00:24:26.740 nature of hear him seemingly sever his ties with her. The same perhaps could be said of his brothers. 00:24:27.339 --> 00:24:32.500 And we need to understand here what Jesus was saying and what he wasn't saying. 00:24:34.079 --> 00:24:41.879 It was a provocative statement, but he did not intend any measure of disrespect or spite. 00:24:43.259 --> 00:24:50.720 Jesus actually loved his family. Even at the point of death on the cross, we see him showing great care 00:24:50.720 --> 00:24:59.700 and concern for his mother. You remember in John chapter 19, Jesus is about to die. He's on the cross 00:24:59.700 --> 00:25:05.579 and he sees Mary and John, one of his disciples. And he says, Mary, behold your son. And then he looks 00:25:05.579 --> 00:25:10.940 at John and he says, he says, John, behold your mother. He went, that was an act of care. That was 00:25:10.940 --> 00:25:15.920 concern. He loved his family. He loved his brothers. That's, that's not what he's saying here. 00:25:15.920 --> 00:25:22.019 Neither would Jesus have violated the scriptures. He wasn't dishonoring them. That wasn't what was 00:25:22.019 --> 00:25:28.740 taking place. He even taught about the necessity of honoring parents when he confronted the Pharisees in 00:25:28.740 --> 00:25:37.440 Mark chapter seven. Jesus was using this interruption to teach a significant truth about the gospel. 00:25:37.440 --> 00:25:45.580 He wasn't severing his ties with his family. He was making the point that the only relationship 00:25:45.580 --> 00:25:51.720 to him that is significant in eternity is spiritual, not physical. 00:25:54.900 --> 00:26:05.580 This would have come as a challenge to his family and to his followers. If Jesus's mother and brothers 00:26:05.579 --> 00:26:13.699 were not saved because of their relationship to him, what did that mean for everybody else? 00:26:16.099 --> 00:26:21.460 Jesus wasn't being disrespectful. He was actually stating an essential truth 00:26:21.460 --> 00:26:32.619 that salvation only comes through faith in him. It does not come through relationship to him physically. 00:26:32.619 --> 00:26:39.839 It does not come through our families. Salvation does not come through an affiliation. Salvation comes 00:26:39.839 --> 00:26:43.719 by faith, by grace alone. 00:26:45.599 --> 00:26:53.799 Sinclair Ferguson said, Jesus was essentially asking, is your relationship to me natural or spiritual? 00:26:53.799 --> 00:27:03.899 Does it depend merely on the quote accident of birth and upbringing or on your knowledge of who I am 00:27:03.899 --> 00:27:09.139 and your personal commitment to me? How would you answer that question? 00:27:11.200 --> 00:27:17.599 Do you claim Christianity because you happen to be born into a Christian environment? 00:27:17.599 --> 00:27:25.279 Or is it because you genuinely believe in Jesus and commit your life to him? 00:27:26.319 --> 00:27:29.139 Are you a Christian because your parents are Christians? 00:27:30.240 --> 00:27:36.299 Are you a Christian because you're an American and that's just what historically we've mostly been? 00:27:37.199 --> 00:27:41.079 Are you a Christian because you happen to be brought up in a Christian environment? 00:27:41.079 --> 00:27:46.059 Are you actually a Christian because you genuinely believe and follow Jesus? 00:27:46.419 --> 00:27:48.119 That's essentially the question. 00:27:48.460 --> 00:27:50.439 None of those other things matter, Jesus says. 00:27:50.639 --> 00:27:53.699 What matters is your spiritual relationship to me. 00:27:53.819 --> 00:27:58.720 Is your relationship to me natural, merely through upbringing and through affiliation, 00:27:58.720 --> 00:28:00.059 or is it actually spiritual? 00:28:00.279 --> 00:28:01.779 You've actually come to faith in me. 00:28:02.059 --> 00:28:04.379 You are actually genuinely following me as Lord. 00:28:04.380 --> 00:28:12.700 And the answer to that question will actually determine whether or not you're on the inside or on the outside. 00:28:13.480 --> 00:28:15.140 So we see his family on the outside. 00:28:15.320 --> 00:28:16.800 We see his family on the inside. 00:28:16.980 --> 00:28:21.680 And then thirdly, we see how we can move from the outside to the inside. 00:28:22.120 --> 00:28:24.200 Moving from the outside to the inside. 00:28:24.300 --> 00:28:25.220 Look at verse 35. 00:28:25.220 --> 00:28:33.600 For whosoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother. 00:28:34.380 --> 00:28:40.960 Whosoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother. 00:28:42.040 --> 00:28:46.320 And this final verse brings a lot of clarity to the circumstance, doesn't it? 00:28:48.900 --> 00:28:53.760 Everybody there would have understood now, okay, this is a lesson that he's teaching. 00:28:54.720 --> 00:28:56.300 He's not severing ties. 00:28:57.560 --> 00:29:01.240 Mary and his brothers would have had to recognize once he made this statement, okay, 00:29:02.040 --> 00:29:04.040 what's he saying? 00:29:04.380 --> 00:29:05.860 This was a challenge. 00:29:06.740 --> 00:29:11.120 This was about how you move from the outside to the inside. 00:29:12.520 --> 00:29:14.460 Clearly, he wasn't abandoning his family. 00:29:15.300 --> 00:29:18.780 He wasn't showing anger at them. 00:29:18.779 --> 00:29:24.480 In fact, a similar statement to this is made by Jesus in Luke 11. 00:29:24.559 --> 00:29:27.079 In fact, if you want to write that reference down, you can look at it later. 00:29:27.500 --> 00:29:29.519 Luke 11, 27 and 28. 00:29:30.019 --> 00:29:33.279 It's not the same circumstance, but it is a similar statement. 00:29:33.680 --> 00:29:34.379 Here's what it says. 00:29:34.380 --> 00:29:48.800 What is Jesus saying? 00:29:48.799 --> 00:29:53.899 Blessed rather, rather being an important word in this sentence. 00:29:54.279 --> 00:29:59.079 Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it. 00:30:00.519 --> 00:30:01.799 What is Jesus saying? 00:30:01.799 --> 00:30:13.639 More blessed than Mary, my mother, is the person who will believe me and follow me and obey the word of God. 00:30:13.640 --> 00:30:19.220 The true family of Jesus consists of the people who do the will of God. 00:30:20.380 --> 00:30:23.100 And they do that by obeying the word of God. 00:30:23.720 --> 00:30:25.840 But what exactly did Jesus mean by that? 00:30:26.560 --> 00:30:32.259 I mean, surely he wasn't descending into this works-based system that he's been preaching against up to this point, right? 00:30:32.259 --> 00:30:36.879 Because it kind of sounds like we got to go to the Bible and we got to see all the things we're supposed to do. 00:30:37.059 --> 00:30:41.720 And then once we do those things, then we get accepted into Christ's family. 00:30:41.759 --> 00:30:43.019 But that's not what he's saying at all. 00:30:44.160 --> 00:30:45.700 Of course, that's not what he's saying. 00:30:46.440 --> 00:30:50.240 Otherwise, there would have been no point for him to come and die. 00:30:51.440 --> 00:30:56.900 He was referring to the message he had been preaching since chapter one, which is this. 00:30:57.579 --> 00:30:58.740 The time is fulfilled. 00:30:59.539 --> 00:31:01.660 The kingdom of God is at hand. 00:31:02.580 --> 00:31:05.300 Repent and believe the gospel. 00:31:07.060 --> 00:31:09.300 Repent and believe the gospel. 00:31:09.440 --> 00:31:10.560 What's the will of the Father? 00:31:11.000 --> 00:31:12.820 Repent and believe the gospel. 00:31:13.480 --> 00:31:14.300 What's the gospel? 00:31:14.519 --> 00:31:20.519 The gospel is that Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God and the Messiah. 00:31:20.940 --> 00:31:23.340 That his death took your place. 00:31:23.900 --> 00:31:26.300 That his death pays for your sin. 00:31:26.299 --> 00:31:31.839 And that if you will come to faith in him, he will give you life. 00:31:31.839 --> 00:31:36.980 Jesus said it more directly in John chapter six. 00:31:36.980 --> 00:31:38.980 He said, for this is the will of the Father. 00:31:38.980 --> 00:31:44.680 That everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life. 00:31:44.759 --> 00:31:46.140 Well, what's the will of the Father? 00:31:46.360 --> 00:31:47.360 What's the will of God? 00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:49.839 That we look on the Son and believe. 00:31:50.200 --> 00:31:51.380 What did Jesus say? 00:31:51.740 --> 00:31:52.940 Repent and believe. 00:31:53.079 --> 00:31:54.900 You want to move from the outside to the inside? 00:31:54.900 --> 00:31:56.680 It's not about joining a church. 00:31:57.460 --> 00:32:01.040 It's not about going to a certain amount of worship services or masses. 00:32:01.320 --> 00:32:04.200 It's not about giving a certain contribution to the work. 00:32:04.360 --> 00:32:07.680 It's not about getting your life cleaned up and getting rid of the drug addictions 00:32:07.680 --> 00:32:10.100 and the alcohol addictions and the pornography addictions 00:32:10.100 --> 00:32:11.320 and the cheating on your spouse. 00:32:11.460 --> 00:32:13.420 It's not about stopping telling the lies. 00:32:13.519 --> 00:32:16.480 It's not about getting rid of all the things that you're doing wrong. 00:32:16.519 --> 00:32:18.300 It's not about anything that you do. 00:32:18.480 --> 00:32:22.480 It's about seeing who Christ is and trusting him as Savior 00:32:22.480 --> 00:32:24.400 and following him as Lord. 00:32:24.819 --> 00:32:26.120 That's the will of the Father. 00:32:26.400 --> 00:32:29.420 That's how you move from the outside to the inside. 00:32:29.579 --> 00:32:31.660 It didn't matter that they were his family. 00:32:32.200 --> 00:32:34.860 It ultimately didn't matter. 00:32:35.960 --> 00:32:40.259 What mattered is would Mary follow him as Lord? 00:32:41.220 --> 00:32:43.920 Would James follow him as Lord? 00:32:44.440 --> 00:32:47.360 Would Jude follow him as Lord? 00:32:47.700 --> 00:32:49.759 And the rest of the crowd was the same thing. 00:32:49.759 --> 00:32:53.319 It doesn't matter to me how enthusiastic you are about my ministry. 00:32:53.500 --> 00:32:56.079 My question is, do you believe me? 00:32:56.720 --> 00:32:59.660 And will you follow me as Lord? 00:33:02.220 --> 00:33:05.140 You can't become an insider through religious commitment. 00:33:06.960 --> 00:33:12.299 You won't be given eternal life for being either an Israelite or an American. 00:33:12.299 --> 00:33:18.740 And just because you've taken the label of Christianity doesn't actually make you a Christian. 00:33:18.740 --> 00:33:30.460 James Edwards said, anyone, anyone can be an insider who sits at Jesus' feet and does the will of his Father. 00:33:30.940 --> 00:33:34.720 And no one can be an insider who does not. 00:33:36.880 --> 00:33:42.319 Anyone can be an insider who sits at the feet of Jesus and does the will of his Father. 00:33:42.319 --> 00:33:45.779 And no one can be an insider who does not. 00:33:47.099 --> 00:33:52.240 But Jesus' statement wasn't just a correction about confusion and salvation. 00:33:53.220 --> 00:33:58.500 It's actually an encouragement here for all who are prepared to follow him. 00:33:58.500 --> 00:34:09.480 Those who do the will of God, he says, are my brother and my sister and my mother. 00:34:11.059 --> 00:34:16.559 And if we are his brothers and sisters, then we are heirs with him. 00:34:17.639 --> 00:34:18.440 Heirs of what? 00:34:19.400 --> 00:34:20.500 Eternal life. 00:34:20.500 --> 00:34:24.099 Titus chapter 3. 00:34:25.099 --> 00:34:30.920 But when the goodness and loving kindness of God our Savior appeared, he saved us. 00:34:31.539 --> 00:34:37.219 Not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy. 00:34:38.219 --> 00:34:41.960 By the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Spirit, 00:34:42.219 --> 00:34:45.739 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. 00:34:45.739 --> 00:34:55.059 So that being justified by his grace, we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 00:34:57.759 --> 00:34:59.339 How awesome is that? 00:35:01.179 --> 00:35:04.239 Join heirs with Jesus as we quoted last week that hymn. 00:35:04.619 --> 00:35:06.179 As we travel this sod. 00:35:06.279 --> 00:35:07.339 That's what we are. 00:35:08.759 --> 00:35:10.419 There's an encouragement here. 00:35:13.619 --> 00:35:14.739 And what is it? 00:35:15.739 --> 00:35:17.859 This inheritance include. 00:35:19.359 --> 00:35:20.919 It's not just eternal life. 00:35:22.059 --> 00:35:24.819 We actually gain a family that's eternal as well. 00:35:26.619 --> 00:35:28.419 You say, I don't really have much of a family. 00:35:31.000 --> 00:35:33.859 You went through all that stuff at the beginning about what the family's supposed to be. 00:35:33.899 --> 00:35:34.699 I don't really have a family. 00:35:35.500 --> 00:35:36.599 What does that mean for me? 00:35:38.819 --> 00:35:40.399 You may not have a father now. 00:35:41.559 --> 00:35:44.759 But in Christ, you gain a heavenly father. 00:35:45.739 --> 00:35:47.279 Not just for now. 00:35:48.159 --> 00:35:48.679 Forever. 00:35:50.619 --> 00:35:51.939 You say, I don't have any siblings. 00:35:53.699 --> 00:35:58.979 There's this wondrous thing that happens in salvation when God brings us into his church. 00:35:59.939 --> 00:36:01.659 And what do we gain in the church? 00:36:02.799 --> 00:36:03.719 Lots of brothers. 00:36:04.579 --> 00:36:05.279 Lots of sisters. 00:36:06.119 --> 00:36:07.179 Lots of crazy uncles. 00:36:08.000 --> 00:36:08.519 Right, Marty? 00:36:08.519 --> 00:36:14.439 You say, I don't have any children. 00:36:14.440 --> 00:36:17.380 You can have mine. 00:36:20.200 --> 00:36:21.420 You know what my kids need? 00:36:23.079 --> 00:36:24.940 They need to be discipled by their church. 00:36:24.940 --> 00:36:30.659 You say, if I follow Christ, I'm going to lose everything. 00:36:30.760 --> 00:36:32.420 My family won't want anything to do with me anymore. 00:36:32.559 --> 00:36:35.260 But what you gain is so much greater. 00:36:35.659 --> 00:36:36.300 That's hard to hear. 00:36:36.579 --> 00:36:37.340 It's easy to say. 00:36:37.519 --> 00:36:38.159 It's hard to hear. 00:36:38.159 --> 00:36:41.199 But Jesus said as much. 00:36:41.199 --> 00:36:43.859 Mark chapter 10. 00:36:43.860 --> 00:36:45.180 Jesus said, 00:36:46.180 --> 00:37:03.120 Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time. 00:37:03.119 --> 00:37:04.579 In this time, what do you mean? 00:37:04.880 --> 00:37:08.699 The church that will not receive a hundredfold now in this time. 00:37:08.960 --> 00:37:15.319 Houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecutions as well. 00:37:15.460 --> 00:37:18.079 And in the age to come, eternal life. 00:37:18.480 --> 00:37:19.920 You know what the problem with that is? 00:37:20.319 --> 00:37:21.960 The church doesn't always live as the church. 00:37:21.960 --> 00:37:30.280 You know, Jesus said when we come into the church, we get houses and we get brothers and we get sisters and we get all of this stuff, children and lands. 00:37:30.539 --> 00:37:33.619 But so many of us, we're in our own little cocoon and we don't want to share. 00:37:34.460 --> 00:37:35.280 We don't want to share. 00:37:37.860 --> 00:37:39.639 We don't want to be involved with everybody else. 00:37:39.679 --> 00:37:40.780 But that's what the church is. 00:37:41.920 --> 00:37:47.079 Not only is that what the church is, that's the blessing of what God created the church to be. 00:37:47.800 --> 00:37:48.800 So be it. 00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:57.760 Not only do you gain it in the gospel, but we need to perpetually live it as believers afterwards and fulfill the will of the Father. 00:38:00.180 --> 00:38:03.700 We don't know what happened after Jesus taught this lesson. 00:38:04.140 --> 00:38:05.960 It's difficult not to wonder, right? 00:38:06.019 --> 00:38:11.080 Like you want to kind of see what did Mary and the brothers say? 00:38:12.920 --> 00:38:16.539 We know that Mary was indeed a faithful follower of Jesus. 00:38:16.539 --> 00:38:18.200 She did follow him as Lord. 00:38:18.800 --> 00:38:19.940 That we know that. 00:38:20.019 --> 00:38:21.740 We know that that is true of her. 00:38:23.220 --> 00:38:25.660 His brothers, on the other hand, didn't. 00:38:26.760 --> 00:38:30.180 They actually continued in unbelief until after his resurrection. 00:38:30.420 --> 00:38:36.920 And it was only after his resurrection that we see that they came to faith and actually believed him and followed him. 00:38:37.380 --> 00:38:39.100 And then God used two of them. 00:38:39.640 --> 00:38:42.920 One was James and the other was Jude or Judas. 00:38:42.920 --> 00:38:49.019 God used those two men to actually write each a letter in the New Testament. 00:38:49.780 --> 00:38:53.720 And I think that the introductions to their books, their letters are interesting. 00:38:53.880 --> 00:38:54.880 I just want to read them to you. 00:38:55.139 --> 00:38:57.039 James chapter 1 and verse 1 says this. 00:38:58.000 --> 00:39:05.400 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ, to the 12 tribes in the dispersion, greetings. 00:39:06.440 --> 00:39:07.860 Jude introduces his this way. 00:39:07.980 --> 00:39:08.700 Jude 1 and 2. 00:39:08.699 --> 00:39:18.259 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and brother of James, to those who are called beloved in God the Father and kept for Jesus Christ. 00:39:18.480 --> 00:39:21.279 May mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you. 00:39:21.280 --> 00:39:26.820 Now Mark 3, both of these men were probably present. 00:39:28.920 --> 00:39:36.460 And they would have thought at that point that their earthly relationship to Jesus qualified them for entrance into the family of God. 00:39:36.460 --> 00:39:40.580 That coupled with their nationalistic affiliation and being Jews. 00:39:41.980 --> 00:39:47.740 But did you notice in those introductions that neither of them mentioned that relationship? 00:39:47.739 --> 00:39:53.459 Neither of them said, James, the brother of Jesus. 00:39:54.199 --> 00:39:57.779 He didn't say, Jude, the brother of Jesus. 00:39:59.019 --> 00:40:09.159 Because after their salvation, they no longer thought of themselves as Jesus' brothers, but as Jesus' servants. 00:40:10.159 --> 00:40:11.500 What was it James said? 00:40:11.500 --> 00:40:16.719 James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. 00:40:16.780 --> 00:40:17.780 The word there is doulos. 00:40:17.860 --> 00:40:18.980 It actually means slave. 00:40:19.599 --> 00:40:21.619 James, the slave of Jesus. 00:40:22.699 --> 00:40:27.179 Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ. 00:40:28.599 --> 00:40:29.980 This is so great. 00:40:30.239 --> 00:40:37.059 Because it tells us, it tells us what changes in an individual when they move from the outside to the inside. 00:40:37.059 --> 00:40:41.460 They weren't counting on their blood relationship with Jesus anymore. 00:40:43.239 --> 00:40:44.599 He was their Lord now. 00:40:47.519 --> 00:40:50.920 It didn't matter to them anymore about being his brother. 00:40:52.340 --> 00:40:53.400 They were his servant. 00:40:53.719 --> 00:40:54.759 That's what they wanted to be. 00:40:55.739 --> 00:40:57.519 And so it is with all those who know Christ. 00:40:58.239 --> 00:41:00.559 We rejoice in being heirs together with him. 00:41:00.699 --> 00:41:01.480 Of course we do. 00:41:01.559 --> 00:41:02.019 We need to. 00:41:02.019 --> 00:41:05.900 But we'd prefer to be known as his servants. 00:41:06.780 --> 00:41:08.000 And he is our Lord.