Picture the scene with me. Jesus was back in his favorite place the city of Capernaum where he had performed so many of his miracles…where the crowds had been so intense that in one instance, they had torn a hole in a neighbor’s roof to get to him. And now even greater crowds have come, attracted by his subsequent miracles and his words. No man ever spoke the way Jesus did, so they were pressing in on him.

This pressing multitude was a desperate mixture. At the center were the newly chosen apostles, the Twelve, admiringly hanging onto every word that fell from his lips. In contrast to these eager faces, there leered in the press the painted visages of the scribes, also turning over every syllable. They had just accused Jesus of being in league with Satan. Some in the crowd were eager, some ecstatic, some quizzical, some perplexed, and some livid and blasphemous. Every extreme of mankind was on display: from nationalist Zealots to collaborating tax collectors; from ignorant fishermen to trained intellectuals.

On the periphery of the surging throng, standing by nervously, was Jesus’ family. “There came then his brethren and his mother, and standing without, sent unto him, calling him. And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee” (vv. 31, 32). Unknown to the crowd, Jesus’ mother and his younger brothers hoped to lure him away so they could privately take him back to Nazareth where he could be protected from this mania (cf. 3:21). A message was passed from person to person. When it reached Jesus, many of the throng knew the nature of the request and expected Jesus to leave.

What they were not ready for was his startling reply: ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ Then looking around at those who sat there, He gave them a searching look. Matthew adds that he gestured with his hand (12:9). He said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother” (vv. 33-35).

That should give all of us pause to think.