Luke 8:19-21 (3)
Notes
Transcript
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-If you would, please turn to Luke 8.
We’re going to be looking at verses 19-21 this morning.
While you’re turning, let me remind you of...
…what we’ve been looking at for the last 3 weeks:
Jesus Giving the Parable of the Sower
(Explain)
Jesus giving the reason for beginning to speak in parables.
The Inevitability of God’s Word in revealing what is hidden, and...
...The Duty of All who receive that precious light!
-Now, at first glance...
…today’s text may appear to be unconnected.
But, by the end, we’ll see...
…that is NOT the case at all.
Let’s begin reading in verse 19:
Luke 8:19–21 (ESV)
19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, but they could not reach him because of the crowd.
20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.”
21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
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Pray
-As is often the case in Luke’s writing...
…he begins his description of this event...
…NOT with an indication of chronological sequence...
…but with a simple conjunction that...
…connects the two sections...
Logically
Thematically.
Some translators try to avoid that confusion by using the words:
“And”
“Now”
…Instead of:
“Then”
What that tells us is that Luke is placing it here...
…to further iterate what we’ve looked at for three weeks already:
The Necessity of responding properly to the Word of God!
-That being said, Matthew’s account DOES specify the chronology.
He notes that this event DID take place...
…on the same day that Jesus gave the Parable of the Sower.
So, do bear that context in mind.
-Now, there is an important difference in the setting of the two events...
…that we need to be aware of...
…and that is, that, the preaching of the Parable took place:
Outside
To a large crowd
From a boat...
...While, This event takes place, as Jesus is teaching inside a house.
That context is going to be important to keep in mind.
-Well alright, let’s see what happened.
Luke 8:19 (ESV)
19 Then his mother and his brothers came to him, . . .
Now, already we need to slow down and take notice of something.
It’s not something that would seem important...
...to folks of our theological persuasion...
…but it is something that is a stumbling block for:
Over a billion people living on earth today...
And...
Has been a blind spot for men such as:
Luther
Calvin
Zwingly...
…in years past.
-I take the time to point it out today, for three reasons:
To equip you (the Saints) for the work of ministry
To warn you of false teaching
To stress to you the necessity of:
The Supremacy of Scripture
The Sufficiency of Scripture...
…Even over and above the opinions of even the best of men!
-That’s a lot of buildup, isn’t it?
So, What is this great issue in our text?
It’s the fact that Jesus is said to have “brothers”
Why is that an issue?
Because the Catholic Church...
(along with many early Reformers)
…Affirmed a doctrine known as:
“The Perpetual Virginity of Mary”
To understand what that means...
…just consider that the meaning of the word “perpetual:”
“Never ending”
The NET Notes summarize:
The issue of whether Jesus had brothers (siblings) has had a long history in the church. Epiphanius, in the 4th century, argued that Mary was a perpetual virgin and had no offspring other than Jesus. — NET Notes
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There are two major problems with this that I can see.
It is part of a larger body of beliefs that give an idolatrous, worshipful veneration to Mary.
It’s patently false and UN-biblical!
It would be one thing if it only appeared here...
But, there are similar affirmations throughout the NT.
For example, the people from Jesus’ hometown said:
Matthew 13:55–56 (ESV)
55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?
56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”
Some may say, “Well, those folks were wrong!”
Well, John said under inspiration:
John 2:12 (ESV)
12 After this he went down to Capernaum, with his mother and his brothers and his disciples...
Notice: Distinguishing them from his disciples
Also, Luke recorded:
Acts 1:14 (ESV)
14 All these with one accord were devoting themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and his brothers.
Paul wrote:
1 Corinthians 9:5 (ESV)
5 Do we not have the right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the brothers of the Lord and Cephas?
(Which also refutes Priestly Celibacy)
Galatians 1:19 (ESV)
19 But I saw none of the other apostles except James the Lord’s brother.
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This is by no means an exhaustive list!
-Do they have an explanation?
Yep!
“Cousins!”
They say that “brothers” in the Greek...
…can also mean “cousins.”
OR...
…that these are Step-Brothers...
…i.e., Children of Joseph from a previous marriage!
Is this eisegesis (reading into)...
Or exegesis (Drawing out of)?
To those assertions we have two more...
…very clear biblical responses:
The first is:
Colossians 4:10 (ESV)
10 Aristarchus my fellow prisoner greets you, and Mark the cousin of Barnabas...
There was an available Koine Greek word to designate cousin!
And Luke, as a physician, would have almost certainly known it.
The second is:
Matthew 1:24–25 (ESV)
24 When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife,
25 but knew her not until she had given birth to a son...
Again I’ll point you to:
Mark 6:3 (ESV)
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
(this passage makes no sense if they were his cousins!)
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Sola Scriptura, Brethren!
Don’t ever give it up!
-Now, let’s get back to our text.
What happens when Jesus’ Mother and siblings arrive?
Luke tells us:
Luke 8:19–20 (ESV)
19 ...they could not reach him because of the crowd.
20 And he was told, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see you.”
Matthew gives us a few more details:
Matthew 12:46 (ESV)
46 While he was still speaking to the people, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, asking to speak to him.
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-Now, none of the gospel writers...
… tell us why Jesus’ family was trying to have an audience with him.
We do know that at one point in his ministry...
…they came to him out of concern for...
…the effects that the demands of His ministry...
…was having on him.
Mark 3:20–21 (ESV)
20 Then he went home, and the crowd gathered again, so that they could not even eat.
21 And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
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We don’t know if this was...
...the motivation in our text or not.
All we know for sure is, that:
Jesus was engaged in the ministry of the Word
His earthly family (including Mary) shows up...
…and intentionally/un-intentionally...
…causes an interruption in His work.
Matthew’s account tells us how he responded to that initially:
Matthew 12:48–49 (ESV)
48 But he replied to the man who told him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”
49 And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!
In other words, the assumption was...
…that the crowd of disciples that He was teaching...
…needed to make way for those that were more important to Him:
His earthly family!
Mary herself!
But, Jesus motions to his disciples and says:
Matthew 12:49 (ESV)
49 …“Here are my mother and my brothers!
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-Now, how should we understand Jesus’ response here?
It definitely seems to have the connotation of a correction.
But, we must qualify that carefully… Why?
Because Jesus said:
Matthew 5:17 (ESV)
17 “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.
And the Law said:
Exodus 20:12 (ESV)
12 “Honor your father and your mother...
And:
Deuteronomy 27:16 (ESV)
16 “ ‘Cursed be anyone who dishonors his father or his mother.’ . . .
And even:
Leviticus 20:9 (ESV)
9 ...anyone who curses his father or his mother shall surely be put to death...
However we understand the corrective nature of His comments here...
…they must not convey the idea that, he was...
Being disrespectful to His earthly mother...
Repudiating the reality of his earthly family.
He wasn’t saying, that once you’re in the kingdom of God...
…those duties and responsibilities go away.
Remember what He did in:
John 19:26–27 (ESV)
26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!”
27 Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
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Jesus was a Firstborn Son. (not the ONLY born son).
(This also refutes the idea that...
…his brother’s and sisters were from Joseph’s previous marriage)
He would have been the youngest Son!
As the Firstborn...
...He had duties and responsibilities toward her via the Law...
Duties that He took seriously and was diligent to fulfill.
So, He isn’t abdicating the responsibilities of...
...physical relationships in our text.
So, what was He doing?
Well, I think He’s making two very important points here.
Philip Ryken explains the first:
Jesus loved his family, but his relationship with them was sometimes strained by his identity as God the Son and his calling as the Savior of the world.
We saw this when Jesus was twelve, and he stayed behind at the temple after Passover (Luke 2:41–51). His mother was worried sick. She did not realize that Jesus was supposed to be in his Father’s house, but according to Jesus, she should have realized it.
We sense the same family tension at Cana, where Jesus rebuked his mother for pushing him to engage in public ministry before it was time (see John 2:4). — Philip Ryken
The point being that His...
Service to His Father
Work as Messiah
…was more important than any natural relation.
We can see this prioritizing in:
Luke 2:49 (NKJV)
49 And He said to them, “Why did you seek Me? Did you not know that I must be about My Father’s business?”
NOTHING was of greater importance!
It’s the same principle that He gave us in:
Luke 14:26 (ESV)
26 “If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.
If there is a tension between:
Serving and Obeying Christ
Pleasing your earthly family...
…then you must choose Christ!
Remember these solemn warnings:
Matthew 10:34–39 (ESV)
34 “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword.
35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.
36 And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household.
37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.
38 And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
I think this is the first point that...
…our Lord is making in this statement.
-The second, can be seen in Verse 21:
Luke 8:21 (ESV)
21 But he answered them, “My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.”
You see, Now we’ve come back full circle.
He’s saying that it’s those who have the good soil...
…that are in closest relationship to Him.
Why do I say that?
Because it was the good soil that received the Word of God...
…and produced fruit.
Do you remember why they did?
Because they had been:
Born AGAIN!
It is this New Birth (Regeneration) that produces:
A Good Heart...
...That desires to obey God.
These folks are:
Born from above
Born into a new family!
Not, one that was determined by...
physical birth
physical ancestry.
But one which is determined by...
Spiritual birth
Spiritual genealogy
This is the Kingdom of God
This is the Family of God
This is the Church of the Living God!
And its familial bond is greater than flesh and blood.
That’s what Jesus meant (in part) when He said:
Mark 10:29–30 (ESV)
29 Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands, for my sake and for the gospel,
30 who will not receive a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life.
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Blood may be thicker than water...
But there’s a bond that’s much more unifying...
...than the blood that runs through your veins.
Joel Beeke says:
Union with Christ is stronger than earthly relationships, creating a family more significant and enduring than earthly families. — Joel Beeke
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I think Jesus is saying:
These are my people
These are my family
These are the ones who are nearest and dearest to my heart...
Who?
Mark 3:35 (ESV)
35 ...whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother.”
And, What is this will of God, Chiefly?
What does the Word of God command above all else?
Jesus was asked that question in:
John 6:28–29 (ESV)
28 . . . “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”
That’s the starting point.
Repentance towards God
Faith in the finished work of His Son!
But, let me show you Christ’s heart in this...
…to an even greater extent:
Matthew 25:31–41 (ESV)
31 “When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.
32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left.
34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’
37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink?
38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?
39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’
40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’
41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
Matthew 25:45–46 (ESV)
45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’
46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
This is Jesus’ heart for His family.
And it had better be ours!
I’ll give the final word to Philip Ryken:
Membership in the family of God is open and available to everyone who comes to Jesus Christ in faith. We can be as close to Jesus as his own mother and brothers.
They say that blood is thicker than water, but we are tied to the family of God by the person and work of the Holy Spirit—a bond that is even thicker than blood. — Ryken
Let’s Pray