Matthew 12:31-33, 43-50 (NRSV)
Read Matthew 12:31-33, 43-50 on biblegateway.com
Verse 31Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Verse 32Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come. Verse 33"Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree bad, and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. Verse 43"When the unclean spirit has gone out of a person, it wanders through waterless regions looking for a resting place, but it finds none. Verse 44Then it says, 'I will return to my house from which I came.' When it comes, it finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Verse 45Then it goes and brings along seven other spirits more evil than itself, and they enter and live there; and the last state of that person is worse than the first. So will it be also with this evil generation."
Verse 46While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. Verse 47Someone told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." Verse 48But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" Verse 49And pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! Verse 50For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
Devotion
We don't know much about Jesus’ relatives. John the Baptist may well have been a cousin – at least a close relative – but that's about all we hear of his kinfolk. There probably were enough of them to have quite a family reunion; most families were large those days. However, they seem not to have played much of a part in Jesus’ life and ministry.
So, what a delight it is to hear that Jesus saw his disciples as "family." "Here," he said, pointing to the disciples, "are my mother and my brothers!" Those who followed him became his family. He even expanded that circle to include us when he said, "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."
Jesus widened the sphere of disciples to include all who do the will of God. That means that when you proclaim Jesus as Lord, he calls you his brother or sister. Welcome to the family.
Prayer
Thank you, Jesus, for allowing us to be a part of your family, with all the joys pertaining thereto. Amen.