Mark 3:20-35
20 and the crowd came together again, so that they could not even eat. 21 When his family heard it, they went out to restrain him, for people were saying, “He has gone out of his mind.” 22 And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul, and by the ruler of the demons he casts out demons.” 23 And he called them to him, and spoke to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24 If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25 And if a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26 And if Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but his end has come. 27 But no one can enter a strong man’s house and plunder his property without first tying up the strong man; then indeed the house can be plundered.
28 “Truly I tell you, people will be forgiven for their sins and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit can never have forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30 for they had said, “He has an unclean spirit.”
31 Then his mother and his brothers came; and standing outside, they sent to him and called him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, asking for you.” 33 And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking at those who sat around him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
Jesus' family
We remember that Nazareth, Cana, Capernaum, Magdala, Tiberias and other towns mentioned in the Gospel are located in lower Galilee. They are near the famous trade road called the Via Maris, "Way of the Sea" or "Sea Road." It connects Mesopotamia (in Iraq today) with the Nile in Egypt.
The whole district was known as the "Galilee of nations" because it was inhabited by many co-existing races, cultures and religions. The Maccabees, after their victory over the Hellenistic army in 163 BC, had a plan to restore the Jewish faith and its practices in Galilee. They established villages and towns there to serve as a model of attachment and faithfulness to Moses' law, avoiding all kinds of pagan worship and traditions. The families were chosen from among David's dynasty with pure Jewish blood.
Joseph's family, belonging to David's lineage, are among them. They live in the small village of Nazareth, proud of their origin and aware of their mission as guardians of pure Jewish faith and practice.
Only the mother of Jesus and His foster father, St. Joseph, know their son's true identity. Other members of the family, called His brothers and sisters in our scripture translations, are His cousins. (There is no word for cousin in Syriac Aramaic.) They are proud of the miracles and signs He performs, but they become suspicious of His actions that go against public customs and are considered religious prohibitions. These are things like walking long distances and allowing His disciples to pick ears of wheat to rub and eat them on the Sabbath, considering Himself Lord of the Sabbath, performing miracles on the Sabbath day, and, especially at the Synagogue, touching the paralyzed, approaching a possessed, eating with tax collectors, healing the daughter of a Gentile woman, etc...
As a conservative and respectable family, they feel the obligation to stop these acts that contradict the norms. Is He abnormal, rebellious or possessed?
This is why they decide to follow Him to Capernaum and bring Him back home, safe and sound. They are still willing to do that discretely, asking somebody to call him out of the place where he is teaching.
Why does His mother have to come with His other family members?According to Eastern tradition, a mother cares for her children's whole health and safety. Should the cousins harm her Son, she will intervene to protect Him. She remembers what He said to her and to His father when they found Him in the Temple (Luke 2:49). She knows what her Son is doing in His "Father's house!"
Jesus' response in v. 33 doesn't say that He denies belonging to His physical blood-related family. He upgrades it to a higher level, to a spiritual status. "My mother and brothers and sisters are those who do the will of God" v. 35.
Do we care for our family today? Do we take care of their physical, spiritual and mental health? Doing that, how discrete and respectful are we towards them?
We are called to consider those who share our faith and try to do God's will as brothers and sisters, forming one spiritual family.
Lord, accept us as your brothers and sisters, and help us live our family ties according to your will.