After a few weeks of a break, Chasing History is back! It’s the link up where we look at women in the Bible and see how their stories impact ours today.
Every story has purpose and it’s always interesting to see how we all pick different women and all learn something different.
I’m always so thankful for those of you who link up – I love learning from what you’re learning, too.
As school picks up and things get crazier, I’m going to be changing Chasing History just a little bit – and I really hope this will make it possible for even more people to join!
Chasing History will now be every 1st and 3rd Monday of the month. So for September, it’s today and the 16th. Now we’ll all have more time to dig in and learn – and still do homework on time and maybe dishes and laundry every once in a while. ;)
If you haven’t added the Chasing History button to your blog sidebar or individual posts, it’s super easy! Just click here for the code.
Now? Let’s dig in!
Background Information
*Jesus had just spent a long time (it appears) talking to the Pharisees and teachers of the law
*He had just healed a man who was demon-possessed, blind, and mute – but they didn’t like this because He healed him on the Sabbath.
So, What Happened?
Jesus was still talking to the crowd (I can only assume there was a large crowd around since He had just healed a man who was demon-possessed and was talking to the Pharisees) when His mother and brothers arrived.
While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.
Did they want a front row seat? Were they embarrassed that He broke the Sabbath? Ashamed that He made the religious leaders look dumb or silly? What would they have said if Jesus came out to see them?
To me, it seems like the right thing to do is to either invite them in or go out to greet them – but Jesus didn’t do that. In fact, He seems to ignore them.
Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.” He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?”
It seems so rude, so wrong and unkind. His family has come to speak with Him but there’s nothing that even suggests He hesitates in saying no. It’s not that they aren’t invited, but He isn’t going to stop His work to come speak with them. If we stopped with this verse, the story would be sad and truly wouldn’t make much sense in my opinion. Let’s read a little further.
Pointing to his disciples, he said, “Here are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
Ah. And there it is, the lesson in the story. It isn’t that Jesus is ignoring them – He uses this moment to teach everyone: We are His and He is ours. We are family with the King of Kings.
These five short verses in Matthew can totally change how we approach life – if we let the truth of them sink in.
What seemed so rude is actually such beautiful truth. To be called his sister?
Wow.
Are there even words for that?
How would you life look different if you lived each day with this truth in mind: You are His. When He looks at you, He knows your name, your likes and dislikes, and all the other things you would know about your brother or sister.
He doesn’t ask for a run-down of your past or a list of what you’ll do better today, you are simply His.
Just let this roll around in your mind today and see if it changes anything.
We are His and He is ours. We are family with the King of Kings.
