Who Are My Brethren?
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agents of Satan, who would draw the soul away from Christ. So long
as one does this, he can find no hope or pardon, and he will finally lose
all desire to be reconciled to God.
While Jesus was still teaching the people, His disciples brought the
message that His mother and His brothers were without, and desired
to see Him. He knew what was in their hearts, and “He answered and
said unto him that told Him, Who is My mother? and who are My
brethren? And He stretched forth His hand toward His disciples, and
said, Behold My mother and My brethren! For whosoever shall do
the will of My Father which is in heaven, the same is My brother, and
sister, and mother.”
All who would receive Christ by faith were united to Him by a tie
closer than that of human kinship. They would become one with Him,
as He was one with the Father. As a believer and doer of His words,
His mother was more nearly and savingly related to Him than through
her natural relationship. His brothers would receive no benefit from
their connection with Him unless they accepted Him as their personal
Saviour.
What a support Christ would have found in His earthly relatives
if they had believed in Him as one from heaven, and had co-operated
with Him in doing the work of God! Their unbelief cast a shadow over
the earthly life of Jesus. It was a part of the bitterness of that cup of
woe which He drained for us.
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The enmity kindled in the human heart against the gospel was
keenly felt by the Son of God, and it was most painful to Him in
His home; for His own heart was full of kindness and love, and He
appreciated tender regard in the family relation. His brothers desired
that He should concede to their ideas, when such a course would have
been utterly out of harmony with His divine mission. They looked
upon Him as in need of their counsel. They judged Him from their
human point of view, and thought that if He would speak only such
things as would be acceptable to the scribes and Pharisees, He would
avoid the disagreeable controversy that His words aroused. They
thought that He was beside Himself in claiming divine authority, and
in placing Himself before the rabbis as a reprover of their sins. They
knew that the Pharisees were seeking occasion to accuse Him, and
they felt that He had given them sufficient occasion.