Jesus Didn't Jump
Matthew 12:46-50 NKJV
46 While He was still talking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers stood outside, seeking to speak with Him. 47 Then one said to Him, "Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You."
48 But He answered and said to the one who told Him, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers?" 49 And He stretched out His hand toward His disciples and said, "Here are My mother and My brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother."
This one may catch you by surprise. But Jesus did not jump when His family wanted to speak with Him. The context of this account is that Jesus was speaking to multitudes, and His mother and brothers were outside seeking to speak with Him. They were not inside listening to Him, and it appeared that they wanted Him to come to them. The situation even caught the attention of someone with proximity to Jesus. This individual appeared to want a response out of Jesus. The response being that Jesus would stop what He was doing to go out and speak with His family.
And the individual got a response; it was most likely not the response they expected. Jesus did not stop and go out to speak with His family. In fact, He asked a question, "Who is My mother and who are My brothers? Jesus did not forget who His family was. But He did indicate a realignment of His priorities. His family was the people around Him, His disciples. And all those who do the will of the Father in heaven are His family.
Did Jesus not care about His family? No, He cared, but He was going to do the will of His Heavenly Father before He did the will of His earthly family. And we see this from early on in the life of Jesus. When His parents lost Him in Jerusalem, they found Him in the temple about "His Father's business." We have no indication that the twelve-year-old Jesus offered an apology. He subjected Himself to His parents' authority, but at age 30, He left His home, and the Father's agenda superseded everything else. John writes that His own brothers did not believe in Him. After the resurrection, they caught on. So He certainly was not going to listen to those who would pull Him away from His mission.
What about His mother? Did He not care about her? Nope, He cared. Even while enduring the pain of the cross, He instructed His disciple John to take Mary into His home and instructed Mary to go with John. Despite the fact that His family had grown up with Jesus, they still had to receive Him as their Savior. Jesus loved His family, but He also recognized His spiritual family as those who did the will of God.
Application
I love my family, but Jesus and doing His will are first in my life. I went against the will of my parents when I left North Carolina and returned to Texas in 1990. I do not believe my parents ever got over that move. It impacted them and our relationship. That was unfortunate, but I did not back up. Doing the will of my Heavenly Father superseded the will of my family. And there have been further sacrifices that Joy and I have made in order to obey God. Both our families did not like it or understand. We have honored our parents, but they did not come before God. And the same with our children. We love them and our grandchildren, but God's will and plan come first. I realize this position does not always sit well, but we are not apologizing. In the end, we'll not only help our family, but will be able to help many other families as well. In the context of eternity, that is what matters most.