Reaching Your Family: Luke 8:19-21
“19) And His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd. 20) And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.” 21) But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”” Luke‬ ‭8‬:‭19‬-‭21‬ ‭
At first glance, it appears that Jesus was being rude to His natural family. But that is not the case. At this point according to the other gospels, His family was opposing Him rather than embracing Him and His ministry. (John 7:3-5) They were siding with His critics that He had gone too far.
Jesus was merely sending the message that His walk with God and His calling was His top priority. He was devoted to the family of God.
Many followers of Jesus are opposed and even ostracized by their natural families because of the gospel. Some face persecution or even martyrdom.
The family of God needs to fill the void. Those who hear the word of God and do it need to walk together. They have a unique bond in the Spirit. They can become closer than natural families.
But it must be stressed that Jesus did not burn bridges with His natural family. His mother followed Him right to the cross. His step brother’s James and Jude emerged as leaders in the early church.
This underlines an important point, family members must respond to the gospel for themselves and be born-again. Not even His own family could skip this step. They each in turn eventually embraced Jesus as the Messiah.
This is actually an amazing testament of the dignity, genuineness and consistency of Jesus Christ. Family members are often our greatest critics, but even they were won over to the true identity of Jesus Christ. This may have been His most difficult sell. This point alone causes me to marvel!
Daily Bible Commentary By Terry Baxter: Cofounder of GoServ GlobalSent

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