46 While Jesus was still talking to the crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you.”
48 He replied to him, “Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?” 49 Pointing to his disciples, he 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.”
Read Matthew 12:46-50 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
One of the amazing things Jesus always seemed to do is turn regular life events into powerful teaching moments. Whether it is from a question that someone in the crowd asks Him, or a challenge that a Pharisee or religious leader throws at Him, or even from something Jesus sees happening among His disciples, Jesus always has a perfect illustration for the occasion.
It is no different with the event that we’re looking at in this journal entry. Whether Jesus had this illustration waiting for an opportunity to share, or whether God inspired Him in the moment with a powerful truth for those listening, Jesus turns a simple message into a powerful teaching moment.
The crowd was extra thick on that day, and Jesus’ family came because they wanted to speak with Him. The Bible doesn’t tell us what Jesus’ family wanted to share with Him, because that is less relevant than the key idea Jesus shares about God wanting to draw people into His family, and that obedience is one key to being a member.
While Jesus could have asked the crowd to make a path for Jesus’ family to come through, or made His way out to see them, He instead uses this opportunity to draw our attention onto God’s adoptive family – which we can all be a part of – as a powerful, relevant, and amazing truth that perfectly fit the moment.
This helps to teach me and push me towards the importance of looking for teachable moments in life. Jesus turns every possible opportunity into teaching moments for those following Him and this is because experience is often the best teacher. While this event seems to be spontaneous, I believe the Holy Spirit pulled the events together to help turn this unprompted event into a powerful lesson that people would remember.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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