Sermon Central
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Jesus' True Family
Contributed by Kevin L. Jones on Dec 5, 2013 (message contributor)
Summary: In these verses Jesus draws a contrast between His earthly family and His spiritual family.
Jesus’ True Family
I was born into the Jones family; I am also a member of my mother’s family which are Millers. 13 years ago I became a member of two other families. Amber’s Father is a Thompson and Her Mother was a Hayes. Being a part of 4 separate families is a great blessing but it makes for some busy holidays. Saturday marks 16 years ago that I became part of another family. December the 7th 1997 I was born into the Family Of God.
In our selected text for tonight we witness Jesus as He identifies who His true family is. At this point in His ministry Jesus has been teaching in Capernaum.As had become commonplace, there was a great multitude that was following Jesus.
In this multitude were different people with different motives.
Some were looking for a miracle
Some were curious
Some were true followers & disciples
Some were just there to cause trouble
(Note: you will find the same assortment of people in the church today.
The religious leaders had already begun to stir up trouble - v22 ¶And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.
They actually accused Jesus of being in connection with Satan (talk about grasping at straws) There was another group that was present in Capernaum - v21 And when his friends (Literally kinsmen) heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.This is referring to Jesus’ family - v31 states that “there came then his brethren and his mother”. Their purpose for coming to Capernaum was to rescue Jesus. They were concerned about Him.
Verses 31-35 are centered on Jesus and His earthly & spiritual families.In this portion of scripture, Jesus draws a contrast between His physical family and His spiritual family. We have a similar bond here today. We all have our physical (or biological) families. Then we who are born into the family of God are a part of a spiritual family. Let’s join this multitude and listen to Jesus teach about His true family.
I. There Was An Unexpected Interruption - v31 There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him. 32 And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
At this moment, Jesus was teaching the multitude. He had been challenged by the religious leaders and was giving His defense. The religious leaders had proclaimed that Jesus was possessed by Satan. This was their way of explaining Jesus’ power over demons. Jesus asked them “How can Satan cast out Satan?” “A kingdom divided by civil war will collapse.” Jesus taught that “if Satan is divided and fights against himself, how can he stand? He would never survive.” Jesus goes on to say that the only one strong enough to overpower Satan was someone stronger than Satan. - V27 No man can enter into a strong man's house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.
Jesus is taking care of some very important business and right in the middle of His teaching, His family shows up. This arrival causes a great distraction to those who were present. Jesus’ mother and brethren could not get to Him because of the multitude. So, they send word through the crowd that they are here and want Jesus to come to them.
They were not just looking to get a hug and catch up on the latest news from the ministry; there were there to take Him home. Remember - v21 And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself. - They want Jesus come home, so they interrupt His teaching in an attempt to get His attention.They couldn’t get to Jesus so we can imagine that they started at the back of the crowd and had people pass the message along. This caused a great distraction and interrupted the flow of Jesus message.
It is not only the modern day Pharisee that would hinder the cause of Christ or the moving of the Holy Spirit. Many times Jesus is moving but we don’t understand what He is doing. Sometimes it is Jesus’ own family that prevents others from hearing from Jesus. Jesus’ earthy family hindered Him from doing what His Heavenly Father had sent Him to do. Many well meaning Christians have hindered the work of Christ simply because they didn’t understand what He was doing.
There are certain comments that you will hear many times in the church:
