What Were Jesus' Views on Family?

Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

19 Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. 20 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” 21 He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”

This is an interesting passage that often doesn't get talked about a lot.  It is interesting because it talks about Jesus' family and his relationship with them, which we don't hear much about.  The first person noticeably absent in the story is his father Joseph.  We know only a few details about Joseph.  He was a descendant of the house of David.  He acted in honorably in taking Mary as his wife, when he learned she was pregnant.  He was faithful in taking his family to the Passover in Jerusalem when Jesus was 12.  This the last we hear of Joseph in the bible.  Most conclude that Joseph died before Jesus' public ministry began.  He is not present with Mary at the wedding in Cana in John 2, one of the first public events and signs of Jesus' identity.  

Secondly, he doesn't have just one brother, but he has "brothers".  Some in the Catholic tradition who believe in the perpetual virginity of Mary, would say all of these brothers were half brothers from his father Joseph, who was supposedly previously married.  But most scholars conclude that Mary and Joseph had other children after Jesus was born, so they could be his full brothers, or a combination of both.  

We know that Jesus' mothers and brothers did not always support Jesus' mission and ministry.  In John 7, his brothers tell him to leave Galilee and go to Judea for the festival.  Jesus refuses to do their bidding and John 7:5 says, " For even his own brothers did not believe in him." Then in another scene in Mark 3 as Jesus enters a house to eat with his disciples, and many others follow him in so there is no room to eat.  Mark says, Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21 When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

Maybe this was why Jesus said, "A prophet is not accepted in his hometown."  This is not to say Jesus was not pro-family, but even his family misunderstood him at times and stood in the way of God's plan for him.  We certainly hope that his mom and brothers became believers, as it would be a shame that Jesus' own family were not with him in heaven.  The point in this passage is not for Jesus to dismiss his own family, but to point out who one's true family is.  Jesus says his true family were those who heard of the Word of God and put it into practice.  

As we hear God's Word, especially His Word about salvation by faith in His Son, we become children of God. John calls this being "born again" or "born from above." As we are given the gift of the Holy Spirit, we are united through the Spirit with God the Father and God the Son.  We become part of a new family, which we also call the church, or the body of Christ.  

While we are never called to dishonor our families of origin in any way, some people might grow closer to their brothers and sisters in Christ, than their own family of origin.  Jesus even said members of families might betray each other because of Him. (Matthew 10:35). The best possible situation of course is that your own parents and siblings are part of the family as God, so that you can share in the joy of being united to Christ with them. And this is true in many cases praise God. On the other hand some of the greatest sadness Christians feel is when a father or mother, son or daughter, or sister or brother is either not in Christ, or far from Him.  

Spend time today not only praying for your brothers and sisters in Christ, but also for your own personal family that they may know Christ and share with you the fellowship of the Spirit.