While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
John 12:46-50
At first read, this passage seems harsh, almost as if Jesus was dishonoring of his family but after taking a closer look one can see what was really happening.
Jesus’ mother and brothers only saw him as a son and a brother. They saw him through their perspective and the world in which they knew and were familiar. Jesus recognized the purpose of his time on earth and his family kept trying to pull him back into their box, into their comfort zone, into what they knew. We see in this passage:
- Jesus was focused on sharing the good news.
- Jesus’s family kept themselves on the outside; they weren’t engaged in the ministry that Jesus was called to do.
- They were attempting to pull Jesus back into their lifestyle.
- Jesus pointed to His disciples who were actively engaged with him in eternal work and declared they were His family.
- Jesus declared that His family were those doing God’s will.
We see the humanity of Jesus’s mother at the onset of his ministry. We often hear of His first miracle of turning water into wine. Strange it seems that this would be his first miracle and as we peruse the story in John chapter two we read the wedding party had ran out of wine and Mary went to Jesus with the dilemma. His response was telling of Mary’s agenda versus Jesus’s.
“Woman, why do you involve me?” Jesus replied. “My hour has not yet come.” John 2:4
She ignored his hesitancy and told the servants to do whatever He told them to do and out of love, He fulfilled her request.
I find these early encounters between Jesus and His mother to be thought-provoking. As a mother myself, I must evaluate – am I cheering on my kids as they live out the mission God has for their life or am I trying to keep them in my box I have created, into a lifestyle that I brings me comfort or into a future that I think best. Godly obedience is a different matter. Of course, as a parent I must continually point my kids into serving the Lord with all of their heart. Mary’s default was to keep Jesus into a lifestyle she knew and was familiar but she was deterring Him from fulfilling the plans God had for Him.
As mothers we must be constantly aware of our agenda. Are we empowering our kids to fulfill God’s plan for their lives or our own plan?
May we not be like Mary in Jesus’s early days and attempt to control our kids in a way that is contrary to God’s ultimate purpose for their lives.
May we continually live …
Rooted In Him,
