The wrong picture of Jesus?
Mark 3:31-35
By:Ysrael De la Cruz
You have seen people do weird things that caused you to say, what are they thinking? They are out of their minds! I saw a man jumped into an alligator pool and he would move the alligators to be able to walk through it. When someone does something unusual or out of ordinary, we question their sanity. You’ve seen fans jumping into a baseball field to be tackled and arrested by the police. What were they thinking? We may have done some things that people thought we lost our minds.
During the ministry of Jesus people had different opinions about him. The religious people thought he was possessed by the prince of demons. The crowds thought he was a prophet, a great teacher, a healer. The disciples thought of him as the messiah that was to come into the world. People you meet may have different opinions about you based on what they see or hear about you. Their opinion may change over time, but their opinions do not quite define who you are. Have you ever wondered what Jesus’ family thought of him?
Early in his ministry, Jesus would travel from town to town preaching the good news of God’s kingdom and healing all kinds of diseases and casting out demons. The book of Mark tells us how busy Jesus was and how large the crowd became as his fame continued to increase. He was always surrounded by people everywhere he went. Jesus went to Nazareth his hometown, where he grew up and where his family was. His family went to where he was teaching but they could not enter the house due to the large crowd. They wanted to have a word with Jesus.
Mark 3:31-35
They sent word to Jesus because they could not enter the house he was in due to the crowd.
His mother Mary and his brothers came and stayed outside.
Your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you. They want to have a word with you.
Why were they looking for Jesus? What is it they wanted to talk to him about?

v.20-21 give us the answer as to why the family was after Jesus.
v.20Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat.
v.21And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
Jesu’s family (his mother Mary and his brothers) came to put an end to what he was doing. Notice the text on verse 21, they went to seize him (to take hold of him, take custody of him). Jesus must have lost his mind that he is so caught up serving people that he does not have time to eat. He had to be crazy to let this thing go like this. We must do something since we are family.

You can see from the beginning that Jesus’ family did not quite understand his mission; They did not get the reason he did what he did. They did not understand God’s will for Jesus. If there was ever a person who would understand Jesus, his identity and mission, it would be Mary, his mother. She was given ample evidence of who Jesus was, who he is and who he will be.
Remember Mary, before she got married, an angel visited her with the news she would have a son (one who will rule the nations); she met shepherds who came to visit her and who came to worship the baby Jesus who had been born. Luke 2:19 But Mary treasured up all these things pondering them in her heart.
About two years after Jesus was born, Magi showed up at Mary’s house with treasures of gold, frankincense and myrrh for the child. They said they came to worship the king of the Jews.
Later when Jesus turned twelve, they went to the temple in Jerusalem and on their way back home they realized Jesus was not with them. They returned to Jerusalem and found Jesus debating with the teachers of the law.
Luke 2:49-51
48And when his parents saw him, they were astonished. And his mother said to him, “Son, why have you treated us so? Behold, your father and I have been searching for you in great distress.” 49And he said to them, “Why were you looking for me? Did you not know that I must be in my Father’s house?” 50And they did not understand the saying that he spoke to them. 51And he went down with them and came to Nazareth and was submissive to them. And his mother treasured up all these things in her heart.
Mary should have known what Jesus was all about. She came with Jesus’ brothers to get hold of him and take him home. Jesus’ brothers did not understand him (John reminds us that they did not believe in him as the Messiah). They must have convinced their mother to go with them to speak with Jesus since they thought he had lost his mind. He is surrounded by people and have no time to eat. He lost his mind, and we have to put an end to this.
Jesus did not succumb to their request. He did not have a word with his family. He spoke about his spiritual family.
Mark 3:33
“Who is my mother and my brothers?
Jesus looked at those who sad around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and my sister and my mother.

Those who followed Jesus were doing the will of God; those who believed in him and sat around Jesus to hear his word and learn from him were doing the will of God. At this juncture, Jesus’ mother and brothers were not fulfilling God’s will in what they attempted to do.
Whoever does the will of God is my family. You see in this passage that sometimes your own family may come against your obedience to God. Your own family or close friend may not understand your commitment to God’s mission, and they would try to stop you thinking they are helping you. Jesus’s own family did not understand what he was doing. Jesus did not listen to his family request since their request went against God’s will at this moment. Anyone who would encourage you to do something against God’s will, you must reject.

Jesus said that those who do the will of God are his family.
Everyone can be part of Jesus’ family by believing in him as the Christ. God’s will is that those who believe in Jesus shall not perish but have eternal life. Your faith in Jesus makes you part of God’s family.
You belong to a great family, a heavenly family because of our faith in Jesus.