And his mother and his brothers came, and standing outside they sent to him and called him. And a crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, "Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you." And he answered them, "Who are my mother and my brothers?"
And looking about at those who sat around him, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother." Mark 3:31-35
There are two possibilities to His family visitation. The first possibility is that the family was concerned with Jesus and His working too hard. His only meal earlier in the day was a few heads of grain; a snack (2:23). He then spent the day in the synagogue, healing and teaching and climbed a mountain to disciple His followers (3:1-19) and now once back home, the crowd was so large that He could not even consume bread (20). Perhaps out of concern they were saying, "your working too hard Jesus, retreat with us and take a break."
However, i believe the second possibility to be the more likely of the two. Read v21 again
And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, "He is out of his mind."
Again this could refer to the above thought, that He was out of His mind for working so hard. Or it could mean what it says, that He was out of His mind. We know that His family was not all that believing (john 7:5) and the people of His own home town were offended by His claims (Mark 6:1-5). So it is likely that when His family saw the crowds forming and His popularity growing that they thought He was out of His mind and His non-sense needed to stop.
I admit that either one is likely and neither one is improbable, i don't suppose it matters which one you side with. What matters is Jesus' response to their request.
"For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother." The will of God as mentioned else where in the Bible is our sanctification (which is a 5 dollar word meaning "to be set apart" by theologians it means "set apart from sin and unto God.") and is therefore also our obedience. Obedience to God stirs out of a heart that loves God, it is not a means to gain His divine favor. God's love for us is independent of our actions and deeds; we cannot earn it.
God has forgiven our wrongs, and accepted us as sons and daughters. Ought we not respond out of a heart of gratitude and obey Him who loves us? God is not some cosmic kill joy in our universe. He does not follow the platonian theory that things spiritual (heart, soul...) are good and things material (body, food, etc) are evil. God made all material and spiritual and called it good (gen 1). God wants us to enjoy the goodness of life and all its pleasures to the fullest, but in moderation and within His guidelines. These lines are not to bore us or ruin our fun, but to ensure our time is safe and within His will. Enjoy life, eat drink and be merry, but do it all for the glory of God and be obedient to Him in all your doings.
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 1John 5:3
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