Matthew 12:46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him. 48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Sometimes it seems like the recorded encounters of Jesus and Mary are a mini-series on "How to Hurt Your Mom." But we know the character of Christ better, and are asked to look deeper. In the flow of this chapter it has been pointed out that Jesus is Lord of the Sabbath, God's Chosen Servant, upon whom the Spirit rested, and to reject Him was the unpardonable sin. Jesus then called upon them to examine themselves to see which spirit was within them but looking at the fruit that came out of them. Where they responding as the Ninevites did to Jonah, repenting, or just doing some tidying up instead of cleaning house?
It is at this point that Mary and her other sons showed up. In effect, Jesus tells her they are no different than anyone else: they must also receive Him to be member's of God's family. Being a certain woman's child, being of a certain race, growing up in church - none of those things "get you in." We must all respond to the Spirit as He convicts us of Who Christ is and what He has done for us. We need to look not at our pedigree but our produce: is there evidence to convict us as followers of Christ? Such statements are hard but necessary in order for us to take our spiritual lives seriously - even the Mother of Jesus.
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