Mark 3 - RELATIVES OF CHRIST

 NUGGETS…from the WORD of GOD

RELATIVES OF CHRIST

“He answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.” —Mark 3:33-35

          

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Jesus’ mother and brothers (note that Mary had other children!) approached the house where He was teaching, looking for him. Why they looked for Him is not stated, but we note in v. 21 that His friends had tried to “lay hold on Him,” saying “He is beside Himself.” (i.e., “out of his mind” - TCNT) Perhaps his family, hearing that charge, desired to withdraw him from his demanding ministry. In any event, their presence was reported to the Savior, and thus the stage was set for the comment which constitutes our Nugget for today.

Clearly, He is implying a relationship with the Son of God that surpasses the biological one and greatly enlarges and defines His “family.” The logical question, which does not appear to have risen on this occasion, is, ‘What is “the will of God?”’ Let us pursue that question today.

The immediate reaction for many will be to conclude that this relationship rests upon works. There is another occasion recorded in the gospels which gave rise to a question on the part of the attending crowd that is intimately related to this, if not synonymous. Instructing another crowd, Jesus exhorted, “Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father sealed. Then said they unto him, What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent [John 6:27-29].”

It is my judgment that “the will of God” and “the work of God,” as referred to here, are essentially the same. And here, clearly, the ground is not “works,” but faith in Christ as the bedrock of “eternal life.” Apart from faith in Him we have no relationship with Him, or with God. Doing “the will of God,” then, flows from faith as evidence of it, which is consistent with the whole teaching of the New Testament. 

“Saving faith” is not a mere passive belief, but a life changing confidence in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ confirmed in the life that follows—committed to “the will of God.” The epistles of the New Testament offer considerable evidence of what this “will of God” includes. 

First, it makes one a servant of Christ, “doing the will of God from the heart. [Eph. 6:6].” That is, sincerity. 

Second, it involves moral purity. “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication [I Thess. 4:3].”

Thirdly, it initiates a life of perennial thanksgiving, seeing God as the Lord of every circumstance. “In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you [I Thess. 5:18].”

Furthermore, it eventuates in perseverence in the faith. “For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise [Heb. 10:36].”

The will of God demands submission to established authority; that is, humility. Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men: As free, and not using your liberty for a cloak of maliciousness, but as the servants of God [I Pete. 2:13-16].”

Again, it develops integrity toward God and man that stimulates consistent “well doing,” as we bear our testimony before the ‘watching world.’ “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ. For it is better, if the will of God be so, that ye suffer for well doing, than for evil doing [I Pet.3:15-17].”

The will of God involves a life that is in contrast to “the will of the Gentiles,” that is, the unsaved world around us, and ready to endure persecution because of it, should it occur. “Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind: for he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin; That he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. For the time past of our life may suffice us to have wrought the will of the Gentiles, when we walked in lasciviousness, lusts, excess of wine, revellings, banquetings, and abominable idolatries: Wherein they think it strange that ye run not with them to the same excess of riot, speaking evil of you:…

Yet if any man suffer as a Christian, let him not be ashamed; but let him glorify God on this behalf. For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?  And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear? Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator [I Pet. 4:1-4, 16-19].”

All of this is followed by the assurance that we, as the relatives of the Savior, will enjoy the fulfillment of His promise of everlasting life. “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever [I John 2:17].”

Salvation requires, not religion, but a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. That relationship is free, but it is not cheap. It calls for the surrender of our wills to His lordship, and for His glory. But it yields eternal benefits far more valuable than “the pleasures of sin,” which are but “for a season.”

“It will be worth it all when we see Jesus.”

—"Pastor" Frasier

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Through the kindness and diligence of a friend, these "Nuggets," including past issues, are now available online at http://pastorfrasier.blogspot.com/

        4/7/12