Opposition From Within the Family (Matthew 12:46-50).

Introduction

When you were young did you ever go somewhere where your parents didn’t want you to go or do something they didn’t want you to do. I certainly did. Or did you ever do something and not want your younger sibling to tag along with you.As a younger sibling to an older brother it was my common experience to be on the other end of this . It was my fist example of experiencing opposition from within my own family.

As we get a little older it can get more serious, maybe some girls wanted to pierce their ears before their parents wanted it or maybe some wanted to get a tattoo or something like that which your parents were opposed to. But what about when someone becomes a believer in Jesus Christ. If you’re a member of a family that does not believe in Jesus Christ that can be a real problem.  What do you do when that happens? What happens when those closest to you are against you because you are a believer? 

I want to tell you a story today of that kind of thing that happened for no less than Jesus Christ himself, and he has something very powerful and potent to say about this and it doesn’t just apply to those who have received opposition from their family there is a lesson here for all of us as far as I’m concerned. One of the most important lessons in scripture, in fact. So, listen with me as I read Matthew chapter 12: 46-50.

I.             Jesus’ Mother and Brothers

46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to 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.”

(Matthew 12: 46-50)

Now if you’ve been following me as we’ve been going to the gospel of Matthew you know that we’ve come through chapter 12 and I slowed down a little bit for us to cover in a little more detail what’s happened here. The one word that marks this chapter out is opposition, because it describes for us the opposition that Jesus first received from the religious leaders of his day and it ends now with opposition from his own family. Verse 46 and 47 describe this opposition from the family and verses 48-50 describes what he taught his disciples about it. He took his opposition and he used it as an opportunity to teach a powerful lesson.  

It should be noted that they came to where he was  while he was still talking to the crowd, now listen carefully, his mother and his brothers stood outside seeking to speak with him. Now his mother’s is there and that is Mary and then it says his brother now you wouldn’t think that’s a problem, but it can be those who believe in the perpetual virginity of Mary who say that she remained the virgin even after Jesus was born and they come to this passage and they have a bit of a problem because it says he had brothers meaning that after he was born that Joseph and Mary had other children. 

Bible experts who have studied this text closely say that you can make this word brother mean anything else other than brother. So this is apparently a reference to technically his half-brothers who were born to Joseph and Mary after Jesus was born. At any rate it just says they came to speak with him and one of his followers comes and says to him, your brother are standing outside seeking to speak with you”, or somebody went in and told him they are outside. Your mother and your half-brothers and they want to talk with you. If you just look at this it doesn’t seem to be anything going on other than they want to talk to him, however there’s more than meets the eye going on here for we know from some other passages that a lot more is going on.

John chapter seven tells us that his brothers did not believe in him, yet later after his resurrection they came around but at this point in the life of Christ these brothers aren’t buying the fact that he’s the Messiah. There’s more the parallel passage to this is in Mark chapter which says this.

Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat.When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind.”

(Mark 3: 20-21)

Think about this for a moment, Jesus is walking around working miracles saying I’m the Messiah talking with great authority the crowds are awestruck at what he said and his own family said we got to lay hold of this guy, he’s out of his mind. Here all Matthew says is we want to speak with you, but we’re given the details and other passages that what they wanted to say is come and take him home. Some people today have the call of God made upon their lives and their friends and  families thinks they are crazy. They want to join a Bible teaching church and they call it a cult and it can get a whole lot worse. Some people get disown by their families and some go so far as to disinherit them. If that’s ever happened to you or if it ever does, I want to just make one simple small word of comfort, Jesus understands that, for that is what happened to him also.

That is part of what this passage is about, Jesus understands what it’s like to have your family opposed you. The book of Hebrews reminds us that in we have one who can sympathize with our weaknesses because in all points he was tempted as we are yet remained without sin. Jesus Christ was tempted with every conceivable kind of temptation he experienced every hurt and pain we might experience yet remained without sin. He understands anything we are going through because he went through it also. But Hebrews also reminds us in chapter 4 verse 15 where it says.

“He’s been there so he can sympathize with you, so therefore let us come boldly to the throne of grace that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

(Matthew 4: 15-16).

Remember because he went through the same things, we go through he understands, he sympathizes, and you can go to him for the wisdom the mercy and the grace that you need to get through this very difficult experience even opposition from your own family.

But notice here in Matthew that when Jesus faced such a thing he took that opportunity to teach a spiritual lesson. So, let’s look at the second part of this passage he says in verse 48, next time.

II.            Who Are Our Real Families?

“Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to 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.”

(Matthew 48b-50)

He uses the opportunity to teach a spiritual truth actually, he’s honouring them by using them of as the measure of what a relationship ought to be like. That’s the point of the question he then answers his own question he says in verse 49, “here are my mother and my brothers, but he’s not pointing to his biological mother or his half-brother. 

The text says he points his hand toward his deceitful and said here are my real family telling us that a relationship with Jesus Christ is not based on physical heritage it’s not based on your family tree and that message would have been particularly important in Christ day because the Pharisees felt that since they were the physical descendants of Abraham they were going to heaven it was solely based on the fact that they were children of Abraham. What Jesus is saying here is whether or not you are my brother is not based on physical relationship or your physical heritage it is a spiritual thing. 

That same point is made by the apostle John in the first chapter of his gospel you know the verse you’ve heard it many times but as many as received him to them gave you the power to become the sons of God even to them that believe on his name. How do you become a child of God? Answer, by faith. We sometimes ignore is the next verse because is says those who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God.

Writing elsewhere John also says, “but as many as received him to them gave you the power to become the sons of God not of blood”, meaning the bloodline the physical limit. So, Jesus is saying these disciples are mine spiritual brother and then he adds to this by saying whoever does the will of my father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. That almost sounds like you got to do the will of God in order to be a child of God there’s a sense in which that’s true if you understand that the will of God to become a child of God and to trust Jesus Christ.

I just quoted the verse that says that John 1:12 but as many as received him that then gave you the authority to become a child of God” and then he explains it is granted to everyone that believe on his name. It is even clearer a few chapters later we’re in John chapter six we are told.

And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me but raise them up at the last day. For my father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

(John 6: 39-40)

In other words, the will of God is that you first accept his son that makes you a brother or sister with everyone else who has done that, that makes you someone who has the most intimate relationship with other. It’s spiritual and it begins with faith but that’s only the beginning.

III.           Faith, Hope and Love.

In John chapter 13 Jesus said,

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

(John 13: 34-35)

The nearest and dearest relationships in life by nature now will have a spiritual aspect to them. It is those who’ve done the will of God by trusting Jesus Christ and those who are doing the will of God by loving one another with whom we can have the most intimate and supportive relationships. I’m going to say it really simply, Christianity, real Christianity, comes down to three words, ready for this, faith, love and hope. But to quote Jesus himself, the greatest of these is love.

Why? Well faith takes care of my past. I look back and see that Jesus Christ died for my sins and arose from the dead and I trust in him as my saviour and all my sins are taken away then I can begin to live a life of faith. The Christian life is a walk of faith for your entire life. If I live by faith which and walk by faith in the present, then we have another word for that process which is living in hope, but a sure and certain hope. I’ve now taken care of the past and I’m in the present. But now I’m talking about things that I am I to d in the future and that is love. We who trust and hope now have to love one another, this is the greatest gift. 

I Corinthians Ch 13 but it says you can have all possessions and yet have not love. If you don’t have love you have nothing. Someone came to Jesus and said what’s the greatest commandment and he said, to love God and love one another. Jesus said a new commandment I gave you this the one thing, you love one another. The reason love is the greatest is when I get to heaven love will still persist. When we get to heaven, we don’t need faith anymore, for our eyes will see the salvation of the Lord.  We don’t need hope, because we have received what we were promised. The greatest is love because love will persist throughout eternity, we’re still going to have to love one another.

What Jesus did here was not say anything against the family, he used it as an opportunity to teach that the closest relationship we can ever experience is in life is with those who also love the Lord and try and do the will of God in their lives. The most important intimate satisfying significant relationship in life are spiritual they are with him, and when you find that within a married relationship, or in the family you have the opportunity to have the highest possible experience of living in love of God. If you’re not experiencing that within you family now, because you spouse or your children have not found the love of god in their lives, then we are not called to leave them behind, because that would be a rejection of our faith and what we are called to hope for. But we are to strive to love them unconditionally like God loved us before we new or cared about him. We are called to hope for that we might one day experience the fullness of this live by seeing our loved ones come to the Lord also. Outsides are meant to look at the church family and say, wow, those people love each other. Church is meant to be a family unfortunately many are nothing more than a collection of individuals they aren’t related to each other. 

Too often the just a collection of people who have similar traditions and preferences. We all have to decide to do we want to be part of a collection of individuals, or do we want to be a chef be careful you know what you’re that means you going to want to love and support one another. We need to get to business doing what two says learning to work together fellowshipping together breaking bread together praying together.

The church is a family but so many people today have grown up in dysfunctional families they don’t know how to function in a church, so we’ve made the church dysfunctional like the bunch of dysfunctional people we are. I’m not judging people are churches that just the reality of living in a fallen world in the 21st century. Which is why it is best to base how we do church on the family yes but the kind of functional family revealed here by Jesus in the New Testament. So, we ought to do what God says we’re supposed to do and we’re going to do we don’t care what everybody else does.

I once spoke to an ex-services guy, a military man and he said church never gave him what he experienced in his family. I still miss is the fellowship that I used to have with all the guys, I remember how we used to sit around and let our hair down I can’t find anything like that for Christians I no longer have a place to admit my faults and talk about my battles where someone won’t preach at me and frown or judge me.  We were an accepting and inclusive fellowship we were unshockable you can tell people secrets and they usually didn’t tell others.

Christ wants his church to be unshockable a fellowship where people can come in and say I’m at the end of my tether, or even I’m beat. Alcoholics Anonymous often has this quality, maybe because it roots lie in a church of a previous age.  We need to ask ourselves some tough questions, like what would we do or say if a  woman discovers that her husband was a practicing homosexual, where in the church can she find help. How do we react when someone tells us their daughter is pregnant, or has run away from home for the third time.

Who do you tell when you have lost your job or more difficult when you have lost your job and you know it was your fault  Or when your wife or husband is an alcoholic or something horrible comes back from the  biopsy result. Who do we speak to when we are told we have cancer and the prognosis isn't good. Or when someone has a breakdown or suffers from a serious mental health condition.#

Sometime the church can be the most severe condemning judgmental group of people on the face of planet, when we are just meant to be family. And we all do it in the name of Jesus Christ, good and bad. Sometimes we don’t even know we’re doing the bad stuff, but I don’t want any of us to be part of the bad stuff, I want us to be be family loving and supporting each other with the good stuff of, faith, hope and most importantly love, because that is what family do, and that is what the family of God should do…. Amen.