The Family of God Kyle Idleman & Mark Moore
From the very beginning, following Jesus was understood to mean joining a community, becoming part of an interdependent group, entering a new family. It was such an obvious part of following Jesus that it was assumed. Jesus made this family dynamic explicit in one of the most radical statements he ever made. When his mother and brothers came looking for him while he was teaching, someone told him,“ Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
Jesus’ response was shocking:“ Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” Then, pointing to his disciples, he declared,“ Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my
brother and sister and mother”( Matthew 12:46-50).
Jesus wasn’ t being disrespectful or minimizing the value of family. This was his way of announcing that following him creates a new kind of family bond. The community of disciples wasn’ t just an educational arrangement or a temporary association. It was a family, bound together not by blood or law but by shared allegiance to the Father and commitment to Jesus as Messiah.
Throughout the Gospels, we see how Jesus emphasized the communal nature of following him.
44