Mark 3:34
Looking at those seated in a circle around Him, He said, "Here are My mother and My brothers!
Looking at those seated in a circle around Him
This phrase captures a moment of Jesus' intentional engagement with His audience. The Greek word for "looking" (περιβλέπω, periblepo) implies a deliberate and discerning gaze. Jesus is not merely glancing; He is observing with purpose. The setting of being "seated in a circle" suggests an intimate and inclusive gathering, reminiscent of early Christian communities that met in homes, fostering a sense of equality and shared purpose. This arrangement symbolizes the breaking down of social hierarchies, emphasizing that all who follow Jesus are equally valued in His spiritual family.

He said
The act of speaking here is significant. In the Gospels, Jesus' words are authoritative and transformative. The Greek verb "said" (λέγω, lego) is often used to introduce teachings or declarations of great importance. This moment is no exception, as Jesus is about to redefine familial relationships in a radical way. His words are not just informative but are meant to challenge and inspire His listeners to understand the deeper spiritual truths of His kingdom.

Here are My mother and My brothers!
This declaration is profound and counter-cultural. In the Jewish context, family ties were paramount, and loyalty to one's biological family was a deeply ingrained value. By stating "Here are My mother and My brothers," Jesus is expanding the definition of family beyond blood relations to include those who do the will of God. The Greek word for "brothers" (ἀδελφοί, adelphoi) can also mean "siblings" or "brethren," indicating a broader spiritual kinship. This redefinition invites believers into a new kind of family, united not by ancestry but by faith and obedience to God. It underscores the inclusivity of the Gospel, where all who follow Christ are welcomed into His family, transcending cultural and social boundaries. This teaching encourages believers to prioritize their spiritual relationships and commitments, reflecting the unity and love that characterize the body of Christ.

Persons / Places / Events
1. Jesus Christ
The central figure in this passage, Jesus is teaching and redefining familial relationships in the context of spiritual kinship.

2. Disciples and Followers
Those seated around Jesus, representing His spiritual family, who are committed to doing the will of God.

3. Mary and Jesus' Brothers
Although not directly mentioned in this verse, they are the biological family of Jesus, referenced in the surrounding context.

4. House
The setting of this event, where Jesus is teaching and surrounded by a crowd.

5. Crowd
The larger group present, illustrating the growing interest in Jesus' teachings and the diverse audience He attracted.
Teaching Points
Redefining Family
Jesus redefines family not by blood but by obedience to God's will. This challenges us to prioritize our spiritual relationships and commitments.

Spiritual Kinship
Our true family consists of those who share our faith and commitment to Christ. This calls us to foster deep, meaningful relationships within the church community.

Obedience to God's Will
Being part of Jesus' family requires active obedience to God's will. This encourages us to seek and follow God's guidance in our daily lives.

Inclusivity in Christ
Jesus' statement is inclusive, inviting all who do God's will to be part of His family. This teaches us to welcome and embrace all believers as brothers and sisters.

Prioritizing Spiritual Relationships
While biological family is important, our spiritual family should hold a significant place in our lives. This prompts us to invest time and energy into our church community.
Bible Study Questions
1. How does Jesus' definition of family in Mark 3:34 challenge our traditional understanding of family relationships?

2. In what ways can we actively participate in the spiritual family of believers as described in this passage?

3. How do the concepts of spiritual kinship and obedience to God's will relate to our daily decision-making?

4. What practical steps can we take to prioritize our spiritual relationships within the church community?

5. How can we apply the principle of inclusivity in Christ to our interactions with fellow believers and those outside the faith?
Connections to Other Scriptures
Matthew 12:46-50
This parallel passage reinforces the idea of spiritual kinship over biological ties.

John 1:12-13
Highlights the concept of becoming children of God through belief in Jesus, emphasizing spiritual rebirth.

Galatians 6:10
Encourages believers to do good to all, especially to those in the family of faith, underscoring the importance of spiritual family.

Romans 8:14-17
Discusses the believers' adoption as God's children, further explaining the spiritual family concept.

Ephesians 2:19
Describes believers as members of God's household, emphasizing unity and belonging in the spiritual family.
RetirementR. Green Mark 3:7-35
Divine RelationshipsJ. Vaughan, M. A.Mark 3:31-35
Doing the Will of GodM. F. Sadler.Mark 3:31-35
Kinship to JesusE. Johnson Mark 3:31-35
Relationship to ChristH. Bonar, D. D.Mark 3:31-35
Spiritual Kinship with ChristG. Petter.Mark 3:31-35
Spiritual RelationshipMark 3:31-35
The Different Phases of the Love of ChristE. F. Goulburn, D. C. L.Mark 3:31-35
The Kinsmen of ChristExpository Discourses.Mark 3:31-35
The Mother and the Brethren of JesusA.F. Muir Mark 3:31-35
The Real RelationshipJ.J. Given Mark 3:31-35
The Result of Relationship with JesusC. M. Southgate.Mark 3:31-35
The Test of RelationshipMark 3:31-35
People
Alphaeus, Andrew, Bartholomew, Beelzebub, Boanerges, Herodians, James, Jesus, John, Judas, Matthew, Peter, Philip, Simon, Thaddaeus, Thomas, Zabdi, Zebedee
Places
Capernaum, Galilee, Idumea, Jerusalem, Jordan River, Judea, Sea of Galilee, Sidon, Tyre
Topics
Behold, Brethren, Brothers, Circle, Circuit, Fixing, Round, Sat, Says, Seated, Sitting
Dictionary of Bible Themes
Mark 3:31-34

     5682   family, significance

Mark 3:31-35

     2535   Christ, family of
     5719   mothers, responsibilities

Mark 3:34-35

     5099   Mary, mother of Christ
     5661   brothers
     7622   disciples, characteristics
     7922   fellowship, with God
     7923   fellowship, in gospel

Library
And Judas Iscariot
AND JUDAS ISCARIOT TEXT: "And Judas Iscariot."--Mark 3:19. There is something about the name of this miserable man which commands our attention at once. There is a sort of fascination about his wickedness, and when we read his story it is difficult to give it up until we have come to its awful end. It is rather significant, it would seem to me, that his name should come last in the list of the Apostles, and the text, "And Judas Iscariot," would suggest to me not only that his name was last, but
J. Wilbur Chapman—And Judas Iscariot

'He is Beside Himself'
'And when His friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself'--Mark iii. 21. There had been great excitement in the little town of Capernaum in consequence of Christ's teachings and miracles. It had been intensified by His infractions of the Rabbinical Sabbath law, and by His appointment of the twelve Apostles. The sacerdotal party in Capernaum apparently communicated with Jerusalem, with the result of bringing a deputation from the Sanhedrim to look into
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ's Relations
'Whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother.'--Mark iii. 35. There was a conspiracy to seize Jesus because He is 'mad,' and Mary was in the plot! I. The example for us. (1) Of how all natural and human ties and affections are to be subordinated to doing God's will. Obedience to Him is the first and main thing to which everything else bows, and which determines everything. If others compete or interfere, reject them. Out of that common obedience new ties
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Anger and Grief of Jesus
He looked round about on them with anger, being grieved for the hardness of their hearts.'--Mark iii. 5. Our Lord goes into the synagogue at Capernaum, where He had already wrought more than one miracle, and there He finds an object for His healing power, in a poor man with a withered hand; and also a little knot of His enemies. The scribes and Pharisees expect Christ to heal the man. So much had they learned of His tenderness and of His power. But their belief that He could work a miracle did not
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Mistakes of Christ's Foes and Friends
'And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth He out devils. 23. And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? 24. And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25. And if a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand. 26. And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27. No man can enter into a strong man's
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Christ's Kindred
'There came then His brethren and His mother, and, standing without, sent unto Him, calling Him. 32. And the multitude sat about Him; and they said unto Him, Behold, Thy mother and Thy brethren without seek for Thee. 33. And He answered them, saying, Who is My mother, or My brethren? 34. And He looked round about on them which sat about Him, and said, Behold My mother and My brethren! 35. For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and mother.'--Mark iii. 31-35.
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

Ambassadors for Christ
'And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodlans against Him, how they might destroy Him. 7. But Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed Him, and from Judaa 8. And from Jerusalem, and from Idumaa beyond Jordan; and they about Tyre and Sidon, a great multitude, when they had heard what great things He did, came unto Him. 9. And He spake to His disciples, that a small ship should wait on Him because of the multitude,
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture

The Necessity of Divine Influences. [*Continued]
Luke xi. 13.--"If ye, then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children; how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him." In expounding the doctrine of these words, in the preceding discourse, the argument for the necessity of Divine influences had reference to the more general aspects of man's character and condition. We were concerned with the origin of seriousness in view of a future life, and the production of a sense of moral corruption and
William G.T. Shedd—Sermons to the Natural Man

Jesus Angry with Hard Hearts
But I must not let imagination mislead me: they did nothing of the kind. Instead of this, they sat watching the Lord Jesus, not to be delighted by an act of his power, but to find somewhat of which they might accuse him. When all came to all, the utmost that they would be able to allege would be that he had healed a withered hand on the Sabbath. Overlooking the commendation due for the miracle of healing, they laid the emphasis upon its being done on the Sabbath; and held up their hands with horror
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 32: 1886

Mutual Help.
(Female Friendly Society.) S. MARK iii. 35. "Whosoever shall do the Will of God, the same is My brother, and My sister, and My mother." There are just two points which I want to put before you to-day. First, what you as Christian women ought to be. Secondly, how you can help each other to be so. On the first point I would ask you to remember the glory and dignity of womanhood. You get this dignity from Jesus Christ, who was born of a woman, and who said, "Whosoever shall do the Will of God, the
H. J. Wilmot-Buxton—The Life of Duty, a Year's Plain Sermons, v. 2

The Eccentricity of Religion
"They said, He is beside Himself,"--MARK iii. 21. THE most pathetic life in the history of the world is the life of the Lord Jesus. Those who study it find out, every day, a fresh sorrow. Before He came it was already foretold that He would be acquainted with grief, but no imagination has ever conceived the darkness of the reality. It began with one of the bitterest kinds of sorrow--the sorrow of an enforced silence. For thirty years He saw, but dared not act. The wrongs He came to redress were there.
Henry Drummond—The Ideal Life

The Hardening Operation of Love.
"Being grieved for the hardness of their heart."--Mark iii. 5. Love may also be reversed. Failing to cherish, to uplift, and to enrich, it consumes and destroys. This is a mystery which man can not fathom. It belongs to the unsearchable depths of the divine Being, of which we do not wish to know more than has been revealed. But this does not alter the fact. No creature can exclude itself from the divine control. No man can say that he has nothing to do with God; that he or any other creature exists
Abraham Kuyper—The Work of the Holy Spirit

Life and Character of John
"Volat avis sine meta, Quo nec votes nec propheta Evolavit altius: Tam implenda quam impleta, Numquam vidit tot secreta Purus homo purius. (Adam of St. Victor.) The Mission of John. Peter, the Jewish apostle of authority, and Paul, the Gentile apostle of freedom, had done their work on earth before the destruction of Jerusalem--had done it for their age and for all ages to come; had done it, and by the influence of their writings are doing it still, in a manner that can never be superseded. Both
Philip Schaff—History of the Christian Church, Volume I

Whether the Sin against the Holy Ghost is the Same as the Sin Committed through Certain Malice?
Objection 1: It would seem that the sin against the Holy Ghost is not the same as the sin committed through certain malice. Because the sin against the Holy Ghost is the sin of blasphemy, according to Mat. 12:32. But not every sin committed through certain malice is a sin of blasphemy: since many other kinds of sin may be committed through certain malice. Therefore the sin against the Holy Ghost is not the same as the sin committed through certain malice. Objection 2: Further, the sin committed through
Saint Thomas Aquinas—Summa Theologica

The Great Schism
If a house be divided against itself.--Mark iii, 25. From such a revival as that of the Great Awakening, parties must of necessity arise. Upon undisciplined fanaticism, the Established church must frown. But when it undertook to discipline large numbers of church members or whole churches, recognizedly within its embracing fold and within their lawful privileges, a great schism resulted, and the schismatics were sufficiently tenacious of their rights to come out victorious in their long contest for
M. Louise Greene, Ph. D.—The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut

The Abrogation of the Saybrook Platform
That house cannot stand.--Mark iii, 25. The times change and we change with them.--Proverb. The omission of all persecuting acts from the revision of the laws in 1750 was evidence that the worst features of the great schism were passing, that public opinion as a whole had grown averse to any great severity toward the Separatists as dissenters. But the continuance in the revised statutes of the Saybrook Platform as the legalized constitution of the "Presbyterian, Congregational or Consociated Church,"
M. Louise Greene, Ph. D.—The Development of Religious Liberty in Connecticut

The Apostle Judas
"And Judas Iscariot, which also betrayed Him." MARK 3:19 (R.V.) THE evidential value of what has been written about the apostles will, to some minds, seem to be overborne by the difficulties which start up at the name of Judas. And yet the fact that Jesus chose him -- that awful fact which has offended many -- is in harmony with all that we see around us, with the prodigious powers bestowed upon Napoleon and Voltaire, bestowed in full knowledge of the dark results, yet given because the issues of
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

The Withered Hand
"And He entered again into the synagogue; and there was a man there which had his hand withered. And they watched Him, whether He would heal him on the sabbath day; that they might accuse Him. And He saith unto the man that had his hand withered, Stand forth. And He saith unto them, Is it lawful on the sabbath day to do good or to do harm? to save a life, or to kill? But they held their peace. And when He had looked round about on them with anger, being grieved at the hardening of their heart, He
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Characteristics of the Twelve
"And He appointed twelve, that they might be with Him, and that He might send them forth to preach, and to have authority to cast out devils: and Simon He surnamed Peter; and James the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James; and them He surnamed Boanerges, which is, Sons of thunder; and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddeaus, and Simon the Cananean, and Judas Iscariot which also betrayed Him." MARK 3:14-19 (R.V.) THE pictures
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

Christ and Beelzebub
"And the multitude cometh together again, so that they could not so much as eat bread. And when his friends heard it, they went out to lay hold on Him: for they said, He is beside Himself. And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and, By the prince of the devils casteth He out the devils. And He called them unto Him, and said unto them in parables, How can Satan cast out Satan? And if a kingdom be divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. And if an house be
G. A. Chadwick—The Gospel of St. Mark

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