1:14 These all (the
eleven disciples) continued with one accord in prayer and supplication, with
the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
When you examine the accounts of Jesus life written by
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John you find a consistent pattern. His family didn't
agree with, understand, or approve of what He was doing and saying. The first
time He returned home to Nazareth to preach the congregation literally wanted
to kill Him.
It was partially understandable when you consider His message to
them:
Luke 4:23 He said to them, “You will surely say this proverb
to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we have heard done in Capernaum, do
also here in Your country.’” 24 Then He said, “Assuredly, I say to you, no
prophet is accepted in his own country. 25 But I tell you truly, many widows were
in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heaven was shut up three years and
six months, and there was a great famine throughout all the land; 26 but to
none of them was Elijah sent except to Zarephath, in the region of Sidon, to a
woman who was a widow. 27 And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha
the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.”
Not exactly the way to win friends and influence people...
Now imagine you are Mary. You more than anyone know what a miracle this Son is.
How excited she must have been that He was returning home! How proud she must
have been to have Him reading from the scroll in the Synagogue and preaching
the sermon. I'm sure she invited everyone to come. I'm sure she brought several
of her best dishes to share at potluck. I'm sure she and Jesus' brothers had
their best clothes washed and pressed. This was in many ways the largest event
of their lives. Perhaps they were expecting and for sure hoping that He would
announce His new kingdom right there in Nazareth. Would they dare hope that He
may even move the capital from Jerusalem to Nazareth? Would He have a palace
built? Would they live there with Him?
See how fast our imaginations can run wild creating false
hopes and dreams?
The sermon started so well too. He read from Isaiah about God
setting captives free and giving sight to the blind. This was it! He WAS going
to announce His new kingdom of peace and prosperity, free of disease or any
other issues.
But then His sermon went sideways fast. He began to say some
hard things. He told them basically that God has more followers among the
foreigners than He does in Israel and that His own people would turn on Him.
Mary and his brothers must have froze. I can imagine the
angry eyes of the crowd flashing back and forth between Jesus and His family.
They must have wanted the synagogue floor to open and swallow them.
From that time on there was tension between Jesus and His
family. They saw Him as causing trouble where there need not be any and
building walls of resistance unnecessarily. They couldn't understand why He
wouldn't work with His own people and religious leaders and set up the kingdom
everyone had been waiting for. The tension got so bad that one day His mother
and brothers came looking for Him to confront Him. Jesus was told His mother
and brothers were outside waiting to see Him. He looked around at the people
who were with Him and said "These are my mother and my brothers."
Ouch.
What's my point?
Jesus is now gone and has asked His followers to wait for His
Spirit, to wait for the dynamite. Guess what? His mother and brothers are
risking their personal lives and safety to be counted among His followers. Somewhere
along the journey they began to believe in His kingdom of the heart.
The lesson:
Be true to God and His calling on your life. Many won't
understand but give them time. Don't try to appease them. Live with integrity
and follow His leading. He'll work with your family. They'll be there in the
end.
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