They said what??!!

A verse in the Bible surprised me this week.  I actually had to read it over a few times to make sure it was really there.  I know I probably shouldn't be surprised but it says in Mark 3:21 that Jesus' family went out to seize him for they were saying, 

"He is out of his mind."  

Were they embarrassed?  Ashamed?  They were obviously questioning his sanity.  And what was he doing at the time when they felt the need to go and get him out of the situation he was in?  Verse 20 says "Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat."  His family had heard this and went out to seize him.  They went out to seize Jesus!  Maybe they would've said "You're coming with us, this is nonsense!"  But they would not have the opportunity.  They could not get to him because of the crowd who had heard about all that he was doing and now gathered around him to see it for themselves.  

But that wasn't the only opposition he faced.  Many religious leaders were not at all supportive of his ministry, in fact, they tried to destroy it and discredit it.  They accused him of freeing people from demonic oppression by the power of Satan himself.  Think about anything you have ever done to serve God for his glory and imagine being accused of this.  He was pouring himself out to people, expending his energy with love and compassion, healing them physically and spiritually and he gets accused of being in league with the devil.  Isn't Jesus such an amazing example to us of not getting discouraged in the work of the ministry?

Which leads me to another thought.  As I think about his family, particularly his brothers, I think of them growing up at home with Jesus.  They saw his testimony in action day in and day out.  They saw that he never sinned like they did.  Their mother probably told them about his miraculous birth.  Yet it says in John 7:5 that not even his brothers believed in him.  Well, there you have it.  Obviously growing up in Christian home does not automatically make you a Christian.  And not only had they grown up with him, but they were already seeing his miraculous works at this point.  Yet they did not believe.  

So when they came (as it says in Mark 3:31) and they sent to him and called him, he knew what they were seeking to do.  And he proceeds to tell the crowd that those who are closest to him...those who are a part of his eternal family...are those who do the will of God.

Please, if you are reading this and you are resting on your religious laurels and becoming complacent or if you think that you have a right standing with God because of your religious upbringing, do not be deceived.  God is not impressed with your past.  He cares about your present and your future too.  Do you truly know his Son Jesus?  Do you desire to do his will?

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 3:31-34