Scripture: Mark 3:20-21, 31-35
Sermon Series: Mary, He called her Mother – Sermon 09
Have you ever been misunderstood? Have you had a serious miscommunication? History is filled with them. Some serious, some funny.
One that turned into a blessing happened during the Cold War. Remember the terrible division after World War II of East and West Germany and that despised Berlin Wall (picture). Berlin was the temperature gauge of the Cold War—if you wanted to know how close the world was to total destruction, you just looked to the divided city.
But in 1989, things weren’t looking great for the communists. The Iron Curtain was crumbling. Due to a legal loophole, hordes of East Germans were able to flee into Hungary and cross into West Germany. In response, the communist East German government decided to issue temporary permits through the Anti-Fascist Wall (that was their official name for the Berlin Wall) to appease would-be defectors. Just to be clear, these were intended to be temporary visas for a later, unspecified date. They were only lip service to placate the masses. But they forgot to tell the guy who was to deliver the news on live television.
Gunter Schabowski (picture) was a low-level member of the East German Communist Party, with a drinking problem. He stumbled into the spotlight on November 9, 1989, when he was chosen for the press conference because, as a relatively unknown figure, he carried no baggage. During the press conference, he was either very sleep-deprived or very hungover (or both) and gave a speech that was described as “boring.” But then an Italian journalist asked when the new visas would go into effect. Gunter stammered and sweated before stuttering out, immediately. The room erupted into chaos, and Gunter only dug his grave deeper by saying that everyone who already had a passport qualified for the visa without needing to apply for a new one.
Crowds flocked to the Wall; guards had no idea what to do because of conflicting orders. The barriers came down. The Cold War ended. Even the Berlin Wall came down. All because somebody didn’t properly brief a low-ranking drunk bureaucrat. Now that’s a misunderstanding.
All of us know what it feels like to be misunderstood. Teens misunderstand parents and parents misunderstand teens. Friends sometimes misunderstand their friends. In a marriage a spouse may feel misunderstood.
Do you remember a time when you were misunderstood, and yet you felt very right? Imagine the possibility that at the very moment when you’re misunderstood, you actually are right.
But let’s go further. Every time you’re misunderstood, every time you’re right, there are some who malign you. They call you evil while you’re doing the right thing. How would that kind of perpetual misunderstanding feel?
Ask Jesus. He knows. He was misunderstood by so many. We’re continuing our series on Mary and want to examine a time when Jesus’ family, including His mother, didn’t get Him. It takes a family to misunderstand you.
Jesus is the misunderstood and maligned Messiah. The crowds, the disciples, and His family all misunderstood Him. We’re not surprised when other people don’t get us, but our family, our mother? If anyone understands us, we think it will be our family. It’s not what happened with Jesus.
Maybe that’s you? The ones you’d think who would understand you would be your family, but they don’t. So, I hope this message touches you and brings some healing because Jesus does understand your pain. If you’re taking notes…
1. Jesus experienced family rejection
Mark shares a story about Jesus’s closest people. “Then Jesus went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat. And when His family heard it, they went out to seize Him, for they were saying, ‘He is out of His mind’” (Mark 3:20-21).
The key word we have to wrestle with is the word family. The word literally means those of him. It seems like the meaning is a bit broader than His immediate family, though certainly they were included.
This seems to be Mark’s way of describing Jesus’s people — His squad, His crew. Mark tells us those people, possibly relatives and immediate family, misunderstood His choices so much that they decided they had to do something drastic. They had to seize Jesus.
The word seize is a very strong word. That word was used when Herod seized John the Baptist and threw him into prison. Jesus uses this word at the end of His life when He’s in the Garden and soldiers come to arrest him. The word “seize” is aggressive and serious.
Why did this group come to “seize” Jesus? They thought Jesus was out of His mind. In their opinion, Jesus was nuts. Talk about being misunderstood!
Somehow Jesus’s life of teaching in the synagogue, healing, confrontations with religious leaders, hanging out with questionable people, calling a group of guys to quit their jobs and follow Him, placed questions, serious questions in the minds of His people.
Mark tells us that the straw that broke the camel’s back is when Jesus started skipping meals. The crowds were around so much that Jesus and His followers couldn’t take time to grab lunch. Jesus was ignoring a culturally important time for the sake of the crowds because meals mattered. Who you ate with, eating and being together, was important. But Jesus is living this life where being with people was more important than having lunch. Mark 1:33, the whole city had gathered at the door. God was blessing the ministry of Jesus, and “crowds” were coming to Him.
Popularity seems like it would be great, but it can get old. When Charles Dickens (picture) visited America, he was so frustrated. He couldn’t even drink a glass of water without having a hundred people staring at him.
God was blessing Jesus’ ministry. It’s fulfilling when He blesses our ministries so that many people come and are touched by Him.
In the 1700s, George Whitefield (picture) came to the American colonies to preach. God so blessed his ministry, that 80% of the total population of the colonies heard him preach! Churches couldn’t hold all the people. Many stood outside open doors and windows to listen to him. His last sermon at the Boston Common was attended by 23,000 people, more than the total population of the city of Boston at the time! Wouldn’t it be great if God so blessed our ministry, we had to set up every chair and even have a third service? God can do that! Would you pray that God would do that?
This has always been a confusing passage for me. Why would they think Jesus lost His mind? Apparently, it was one key concern – He wasn’t eating.
Today, we think it’s a good thing if a family member skips a few meals or goes on a diet. But this is a culture that lived hand to mouth, often on the edge of starvation. Not eating wasn’t just a rejection of the culture, it was physically dangerous. Do you remember the music group, The Carpenters? The world was shocked when Karen Carpenter (picture) died of anorexia.
One of my beloved seminary professors was Dr. James Grier (picture). Dr. Grier had a life-changing experience. Missionaries had arranged for him to come to Miramar (Burma) to instruct native pastors. Dr. Grier wanted to minister to these pastors where they were at and what the greatest need was in their ministry. He changed all of his lectures after they answered his question: What’s the greatest need in your church? These Burmese pastors answered, finding food for our people to eat every day.
Missing meals in Jesus’ day was serious. It was a sign of not being in your right mind. Jesus is so absorbed in serving His Father and ministering to the crowds that food loses its importance. A plate is set aside for Him, but He never gets around to it. A call to eat is answered by a wave of His hand. His friends and family began to panic. In a culture where meals were rituals and food was scarce; anyone who won’t eat must be “out of His mind.”
It was embarrassing to have it recorded that Jesus’ mom and brothers tried to stop His work because they thought He was crazy. If someone was making up Jesus’ story, they probably wouldn’t have written this. This is one of those scenes that gives credibility to the gospel writers who were faithful to record what happened even if it was embarrassing.
So, Jesus’ family comes to rescue Jesus from Jesus. According to Mark 6:3 they include Mary, Jesus’ mother, his four half-brothers, James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon and possibly His two half-sisters. They’re so concerned that they travel the 30 miles from Nazareth to Capernaum to seize him. Their plans were to catch Jesus and lock Him in the Nazareth insane asylum.
In their defense Jesus hadn’t done any of miracles in Nazareth. They had no firsthand evidence of His power. Later, when Jesus went to Nazareth, He gave the Sabbath sermon, but the people were so closed to His identity they tried to throw Him off a cliff to kill Him. Jesus was never accepted in His hometown or by His family. Jesus’ brothers did eventually believe in Him. After He was crucified and rose from the dead, they came to faith. The books of James and Jude were written by Jesus’ half-brothers.
What’s shocking is that Mary had been visited by an angel and told about Jesus’ birth and coming greatness. Mary knew Jesus was more. She knew He was from the Lord because of the immaculate conception and visit from the angel. Yet, even with all that we see her trying to stop Jesus from carrying on His ministry and mission.
What’s Mark telling us? He’s pointing out that there are two categories of people, two categories that apply to us today just as much as they did when these events took place. There is no third option. You’re either standing outside in unbelief or inside seated in a circle around Jesus. One or the other.
What’s shocking is that Mark includes Jesus’ own family in the group of outsiders – His own brothers, the ones who really knew Him. I wonder if they recalled stories they heard growing up about the birth of Jesus; of their mother being visited by an angel and realization He was no ordinary child. We don’t know, we do know that at this point His own family stood outside.
What this means is that a relationship with Jesus is not a matter of genetics. You can be a blood relative of Jesus and still be an outsider. You can grow up amid the trappings of Christianity, grow up in a Christian home, attend church regularly, be baptized, give sacrificially, and still be outside. You can think you’re in and still be out. Mark is asking us to consider where we stand, keeping in mind that sometimes those who think that they’re close to Jesus should think again. In reality they’re outside though they think they’re in. Consider this, if Jesus is who He says He is, to not believe is a tragedy.
True story, in 2001 H & R Block (picture) offered walk-in customers a chance to win a drawing for a million dollars. Glen and Gloria Sims of Sewell, New Jersey won the drawing, but they refused to believe the H & R Block rep who phoned them with the good news. They thought it was a scam. After several additional contacts by both mail and phone, the Sims still thought it was all a scam and usually hung up the phone or trashed the special notices. Some weeks later, H & R Block called one more time to let the Sims know the deadline for accepting the million-dollar prize was nearing and the story of their refusal to accept the prize would appear on an upcoming NBC “Today Show.” At that point, Mr. Sims decided to investigate further. A few days later he appeared on the “Today Show” to tell America how he and his wife had finally gone to H & R Block to claim the million-dollar prize. His final words were: From the time this has been going on, H & R Block explained to us they really wanted a happy ending to all this, and they were ecstatic that we finally accepted the prize.
God wants a similar ending as He offers salvation to unbelievers. The Sims were sincere but misguided. It almost cost them a million dollars. You can be sincere but misguided about Jesus, ending up an outsider at a much higher cost. Jesus’ family was in that position in this passage. But before we move to the next passage, let me point out two problems Christ-followers will face.
Your own family may be your worst opponents. Jesus warned, Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household (Matthew 10:34-36). If you experience hostility in your home because of your faith, do you know what that is? It’s fellowshipping in the sufferings of the Lord. If you’ve faced opposition in the home, persecution from your friends and loved ones, you’re one of a privileged number that’s in the great fellowship of suffering saints who’ve suffered at the hands of friends and family.
William Carey (picture), the father of modern missions, during his first years in India was overwhelmed by opposition from his family and friends. Everyone seemed to be against him. His wife, who never wanted to go to India was hostile and eventually sank into insanity. Following Jesus will not be a picnic inside or outside the church.
It’s okay to be a fan, just don’t be a fanatic. Aren’t you glad that football fans are so subdued? (Fans of Chiefs & Eagles). You can be a fan of anything and that’s okay…unless it’s Jesus. You get excited about Jesus; you share your faith. You go to church. You won’t violate biblical ethics and you’ll be called a fanatic. I wonder what would happen to our world. I wonder what would happen to our community if more of us were fanatics for Jesus. It doesn’t mean we have to be wackos, but it does often carry a price. The question is, when you face opposition will you cave? Will you leave your Christianity at home or at church but put on a secular face at work and around non-Christian friends? Are you afraid of abuse from the world on account of your faith or being called a fanatic?
Hitler imprisoned German pastor, Martin Niemoller (picture), for eight years. Hitler realized that if Niemoller, a World War I hero, could be persuaded to join his cause then much opposition would collapse, so he sent a former friend of Niemoller to visit him, a friend who now supported the Nazis. Seeing Niemoller in his cell, the one-time friend is reported as saying, “Martin, Martin! Why are you here?” To which Niemoller responded, “My friend! Why are you not here?” And that’s the problem. Some Christians want respectability in the world more than they want to identify with Christ.
2. Jesus redefined the family.
“And His mother and His brothers came, and standing outside they sent to Him and called Him. And a crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, “Your mother and your brothers are outside, seeking you.” And He answered them, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” And looking about at those who sat around Him, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God, He is My brother and sister and mother” (Mark 2:31-35).
What is doing the will of God? In John 6:40 Jesus said, For this is the will of My Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life. Doing the will of God is committing your life to Christ. It’s believing He’s who He said He is. It’s trusting Jesus as your Savior and Lord. There’s a kinship you’ve received. That’s the will of God.
A biological family traditionally is defined by blood origins and common ancestry. Jesus gave a definition for a new kind of family: God’s family.
If you read this passage and only hear Jesus gently rebuffing His biological family, you’ve missed the point. Jesus used the presence of His natural family to teach us that there’s another family, a much larger family in which you and I can always find acceptance: the family of God.
Some claim every citizen on the face of the planet is a child of God. Some want to claim that every person is part of the family of God. That’s sounds popular; it even sounds politically correct. To say we’re all God’s children is an attractive, tolerant way to speak about people, but it’s not biblical. If everyone is in, why did Jesus come to this planet? Why did He have to die?
The reason we can’t be one big happy family is that we aren’t all children of God. Everyone is a creation of God, but only those who believe in Jesus as their Savior have God as their Father. Jesus said there are two fathers and two families. He told the Pharisees, You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desire (John 8:44).
At the beginning of the church, a strange thing began to happen. Those who followed Jesus began to refer to each other as brother and sister though they weren’t related. Soon most were not of the same race! It was a new group identity, held together by more than common aims, hobbies or ancestry. It’s a forever family held together by trust in Christ, an overwhelming joy in the love of God and freedom bought and paid for by Jesus.
We have almost two billion brothers and sisters around the world. There is great power in numbers. All by ourselves, we’re not much, but when we join with our brothers and sisters, we’re a powerful force. One or two snowflakes don’t cause much damage. When you get millions of snowflakes together, they can shut down an entire city. The same is true of the Church. There is power in numbers.
If you meet a believer from another part of the country or the world, you sense an immediate kinship with him or her. This past week I was struggling with a bad cold. My son, Aaron, shared that with his pastor in Taiwan and his pastor, and my brother in Christ, prayed for me though we hardly speak the same language. When I met Christians in Taiwan, I felt a closer relationship with them than I do with an American who doesn’t follow Jesus.
In 1979, the Pittsburgh Pirates were playing against the Baltimore Orioles in the World Series. The Orioles had the best record in the major leagues and were favored to win. The Pirates were down three games to one. Baltimore needed to win only one more to clinch the series. Pittsburgh had something the Orioles didn’t have. They had a theme song. It was We are Family (picture) recorded by Sister Sledge. They played it throughout the games. We are family. I got all my sisters and me. We are family. Get up everybody and sing. That song united them. They won the next three games in a row to win the World Series. It could be the Church’s theme song. We are family! I got all my sisters and brothers with me. Get up everybody and sing!
Christians must be pro-family but it’s a sin to make the family sacred. Family loyalty must be secondary to God. Our spouses, our children are not to be idols before Jesus Christ. Let me ask you a couple of questions. Did God give you your spouse? Did God give you your children? Absolutely. They’re gifts from God, they must not to be replacements for God.
Last month I read the book of Genesis for my devotions. Remember Isaac was the promised son that Abraham waits decades for. But then God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac. The point is would Abraham have God first or the promised son first. Don’t miss something vital in that account, God ultimately didn’t make Abraham sacrifice his son, but God ultimately sacrificed His Son for us.
I have three children and a dear wife. I’d die for any of them in a New York minute. But in submission to what Jesus is saying here, I know who gave them to me and who must come first. You will never be the spouse or parent you want to be unless Jesus is first and comes before your spouse or child.
When my son, Aaron, had just finished high school, he went on a mission trip to China. For us that was dangerous and a big risk, but we knew that Aaron didn’t belong to us. I remember Aaron asking me, “Dad, what if something happens to me on this trip?” And I responded, “Then I’ll see you in the morning.” You see, I love my son, but I trust Jesus. That’s the point Jesus is making here. He must be the Lord of all, or He is not Lord at all.
At first Jesus’ words here seem unloving. They’re not. They are expressing a greater love. As C. Milo Connick comments on this incident, “The meaning is clear. The supreme relationship is not biological; it is spiritual. The kingdom of God has top priority. All other attachments—even the most intimate and personal—are secondary.” Jesus is teaching that earthly relationships are superseded by spiritual ones.
The family of God consists of people having several things in common. Number one, they have in common an experience, they’ve received Christ. They have a common interest, promoting Jesus Christ. They have a common goal, becoming more like Christ. If you’ve accepted Him, you’re part of His family. There’s a kinship that transcends any family tie. This is stronger because we belong to Him. If we love Jesus, we’ll love each other.
Conclusion
We can understand Mary’s struggle and confusion. No one, including Mary, anticipated the kind of Messiah that was God’s plan and Jesus would be. Jesus proved difficult for her. Mary’s special challenge was to trust that the God who spoke to her before Jesus was born was still at work in Jesus’ ministry and mission. While the vision of the Messiah she’d been given in the Magnificat didn’t seem to fit, it was hers to trust that Jesus was really the Messiah. The next time that we see Mary, she will be standing at the cross watching her Son being tortured. Mary would learn that there was another way to read the Bible’s vision of the Messiah. He must be the suffering Savior before He would be the Sovereign King.
In 1942, when Field Marshall Erwin Rommel (picture) returned from North Africa, he complained to Hitler that British planes were destroying his tanks with American 40-millimeter shells. Hermann Goring (picture) replied, Nothing but latrine rumors. All Americans can make are razor blades and refrigerators.
People have been underestimating Jesus for 2,000 years. The most important question anyone will ever be asked is this: Who is Jesus? Is He really God become man or is He someone else?
In his book Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis (picture) noted that there are only three possibilities when it comes to Jesus. He is truly the Lord, or He is a Liar (working for Satan) or a Lunatic! There are no other options. Jesus claimed to be God, so if Jesus isn’t God, He’s a liar. Worse, He’s a lunatic, He died for a lie. He can’t be a good man as many claim, if He is not Lord. He would be a devil because He let others die for what He knew to be a lie. The only one that lines up is that Jesus is God, that He’s Lord.
Once we answer that question, the next question to be answered is: “What do I do with (or how do I respond to) this Jesus?” You must choose to accept Him or reject Him. That has two outcomes…
What really matters is sitting at the feet of Jesus and doing God’s will. That makes us part of God’s family. This is a challenge for those of us who have grown up in the church. It doesn’t matter if you grew up in a good church or in a good family. You need to decide to commit your life to Him. You need to decide to obey God’s will. Nobody can rest in a biological family relationship or a religious one. Each of us needs to choose to be part of the family of God, to trust Jesus and obey God’s will personally.
We must realize that Jesus gives us a new family. In the first century, many of the people that heard Mark’s Gospel had lost their families. They were ostracized from their biological families because they turned to Jesus.
Mark pointed them to Jesus, who told them that while they may be rejected by their biological families, they were warmly welcomed into a new family called the Church. This new family is known for loving relationships that last not just for 50-70 years but for all eternity. It’s why the Bible tells us to call one another brothers and sisters in Christ.
My friend, have you committed your life to Christ? Are you part of God’s forever family?