<html><head></head><body><div><div><div><div><br></div>Mark 3;31-35<div><br></div><div><b>31. &nbsp;And his mother and his brethren came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him.</b></div><div><b>32. &nbsp;And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brethren are outside, asking for you.”</b></div><div><b>33. &nbsp;And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brethren?” &nbsp;</b></div><div><b>34. &nbsp;And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brethren!</b></div><div><b>35. &nbsp;Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.”</b></div><div><br></div><div>As much as we love our earthly family and desire to never be parted from them, the truth is, many of us will suffer the loss of loved one’s affections and acceptance, because of Christ and our life in him.</div><div>In the end, we will certainly&nbsp;have to suffer the eternal loss of loved ones who reject Jesus. &nbsp;We must embrace the righteous judgements of God. &nbsp;Our true eternal family is those who&nbsp;gather&nbsp;around the Word of God.</div><div><br></div><div>We know that the brother of Jesus, (James) did eventually become a Believer and was a central part of the Church in Jerusalem after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus. &nbsp;Also, His mother Mary was a devout follower of her son and her Lord, Jesus from the beginning.</div><div><br></div><div>This account of Mary and Jesus’ brethren <i>“standing outside and calling to Jesus” </i>is&nbsp;an illustration of the conflict between earthly authority (the Fourth Commandment, <i>“Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother.”</i>) and divine authority (the First Commandment, <i>“Thou shalt have no other gods before Me”</i>).</div><div><br></div><div>By setting aside his obedience to his mother, Jesus was obeying his Father. &nbsp;<i>“No one can serve two masters.”</i>&nbsp; Certainly Jesus loved his mother and brethren, but his love for them required him to <u>not</u>&nbsp;obey their call to him. &nbsp;They, as well as the crowd, needed to understand that loving the will of the Father above all others, is everyone’s&nbsp;first and&nbsp;highest calling. &nbsp;If Jesus would have obeyed his families’ call, (his ministry of life would have been disrupted and interrupted)&nbsp;He would have been disobeying His&nbsp;Father’s will. &nbsp;They needed to go to Him, not Him to them.</div><div><br></div><div>Jesus said, <i>“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; &nbsp;I have come not to bring peace, but a sword. &nbsp;For I have come down to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; &nbsp;and a man’s foes will be those of his own household. &nbsp;He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; &nbsp;and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. &nbsp;He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.”</i></div><div>(Matthew 10;34-39)<br><br>I believe this truth is being illustrated also at the wedding at Cana, when His mother Mary addressed her son Jesus like any mother or wife would address their son or husband, (presuming that their relationship to their family member was sufficient&nbsp;authority for them to&nbsp;command familial&nbsp;obedience).</div><div>When Mary told Jesus, <i>“They are out of wine”</i>&nbsp; (John 2;2)&nbsp;she fully expected him to say something like ‘Okay, Mom, I’ll take care of it right away’ (like obedient sons and loving husbands <u>should do.)</u>&nbsp; But, instead, Jesus responds to his mother was&nbsp;as if she were a stranger to Him, <i>“O woman, what have you to do with me, My hour has not yet come.” &nbsp;</i>(John 2;4)</div><div><br></div><div>Jesus was telling His mother, ‘The time for&nbsp;my obedience to the will of the Father has&nbsp;come, your authority over me has ended, I must obey God rather than man, if I am to be your Savior’. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>It was not that Mary wanted her son to do something wrong, but&nbsp;it was necessary for Mary to recognize who Jesus was, her Lord and Savior, and to trust not in her own opinions, but to rather submit to the authority of her&nbsp;Lord. &nbsp;</div><div><br></div><div>As it turned out, what she wanted was what Jesus wanted also. &nbsp;He&nbsp;changed the water into wine, not because he was under His mother’s authority, but rather because of his own Father’s will. &nbsp;The wedding at Cana encapsulates the entire purpose of the incarnation of God. &nbsp;He has come to earth to claim his Bride the Church and to give to himself and His Bride His&nbsp;own new life and&nbsp;joy.</div><div><br></div><div>If this is disturbing to you, remember, <i>“Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusts in Thee.” &nbsp;</i>(Isaiah 26;3) and also, <i>“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and <u>do not</u>&nbsp;rely on your own insight. &nbsp;In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”</i></div><div>(Proverbs 3;5&amp;6)</div><div><br></div><div>Even if we are correct in whole or in part, we are not to trust in ourselves, that is self-worship.</div><div>Our full trust must remain humbly waiting on the Lord, submitted to His will. &nbsp;Never let go of the First Commandment. &nbsp;God’s own ways and timing are far better than ours can ever be.</div><div><br></div><div>Prayer: &nbsp;O most merciful Heavenly Father, your love and plans for us <u>and those we love</u>&nbsp;is better by far that our own.&nbsp;Deliver us from trusting in our own selves<span>, </span><span>even if we&nbsp;are correct. &nbsp;Bless us to humbly wait upon You, in faithful, devoted prayer. &nbsp;In Christ, bless us to, <i>“Delight ourselves in you LORD, and You </i><u>will</u>&nbsp;<i>give us the desires of our hearts.” &nbsp;</i>((Psalm 37;4)</span><span>&nbsp; In Jesus we pray, Amen.</span></div><div><span><br></span></div><div>Love,</div><div>Dad/Baba/Eric</div><div>Grandpa Pickle Pastor</div><div>“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word. &nbsp;God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”<br><br><div><a href="https://mail.onelink.me/107872968?pid=nativeplacement&amp;c=Global_Acquisition_YMktg_315_Internal_EmailSignature&amp;af_sub1=Acquisition&amp;af_sub2=Global_YMktg&amp;af_sub3=&amp;af_sub4=100000604&amp;af_sub5=EmailSignature__Static_" rel="nofollow" target="_blank"></a><br></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>


Mark 3;31-35
31.  And his mother and his brethren came; and standing outside they sent to him and called him.32.  And a crowd was sitting about him; and they said to him, “Your mother and your brethren are outside, asking for you.”33.  And he replied, “Who are my mother and my brethren?”  34.  And looking around on those who sat about him, he said, “Here are my mother and my brethren!35.  Whoever does the will of God is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
As much as we love our earthly family and desire to never be parted from them, the truth is, many of us will suffer the loss of loved one’s affections and acceptance, because of Christ and our life in him.In the end, we will certainly have to suffer the eternal loss of loved ones who reject Jesus.  We must embrace the righteous judgements of God.  Our true eternal family is those who gather around the Word of God.
We know that the brother of Jesus, (James) did eventually become a Believer and was a central part of the Church in Jerusalem after the resurrection and ascension of Jesus.  Also, His mother Mary was a devout follower of her son and her Lord, Jesus from the beginning.
This account of Mary and Jesus’ brethren “standing outside and calling to Jesus” is an illustration of the conflict between earthly authority (the Fourth Commandment, “Thou shalt honor thy father and thy mother.”) and divine authority (the First Commandment, “Thou shalt have no other gods before Me”).
By setting aside his obedience to his mother, Jesus was obeying his Father.  “No one can serve two masters.”  Certainly Jesus loved his mother and brethren, but his love for them required him to not obey their call to him.  They, as well as the crowd, needed to understand that loving the will of the Father above all others, is everyone’s first and highest calling.  If Jesus would have obeyed his families’ call, (his ministry of life would have been disrupted and interrupted) He would have been disobeying His Father’s will.  They needed to go to Him, not Him to them.
Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth;  I have come not to bring peace, but a sword.  For I have come down to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;  and a man’s foes will be those of his own household.  He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;  and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.  He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.”(Matthew 10;34-39)

I believe this truth is being illustrated also at the wedding at Cana, when His mother Mary addressed her son Jesus like any mother or wife would address their son or husband, (presuming that their relationship to their family member was sufficient authority for them to command familial obedience).When Mary told Jesus, “They are out of wine”  (John 2;2) she fully expected him to say something like ‘Okay, Mom, I’ll take care of it right away’ (like obedient sons and loving husbands should do.)  But, instead, Jesus responds to his mother was as if she were a stranger to Him, “O woman, what have you to do with me, My hour has not yet come.”  (John 2;4)
Jesus was telling His mother, ‘The time for my obedience to the will of the Father has come, your authority over me has ended, I must obey God rather than man, if I am to be your Savior’.  
It was not that Mary wanted her son to do something wrong, but it was necessary for Mary to recognize who Jesus was, her Lord and Savior, and to trust not in her own opinions, but to rather submit to the authority of her Lord.  
As it turned out, what she wanted was what Jesus wanted also.  He changed the water into wine, not because he was under His mother’s authority, but rather because of his own Father’s will.  The wedding at Cana encapsulates the entire purpose of the incarnation of God.  He has come to earth to claim his Bride the Church and to give to himself and His Bride His own new life and joy.
If this is disturbing to you, remember, “Thou dost keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee, because he trusts in Thee.”  (Isaiah 26;3) and also, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own insight.  In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”(Proverbs 3;5&6)
Even if we are correct in whole or in part, we are not to trust in ourselves, that is self-worship.Our full trust must remain humbly waiting on the Lord, submitted to His will.  Never let go of the First Commandment.  God’s own ways and timing are far better than ours can ever be.
Prayer:  O most merciful Heavenly Father, your love and plans for us and those we love is better by far that our own. Deliver us from trusting in our own selves, even if we are correct.  Bless us to humbly wait upon You, in faithful, devoted prayer.  In Christ, bless us to, “Delight ourselves in you LORD, and You will give us the desires of our hearts.”  ((Psalm 37;4)  In Jesus we pray, Amen.
Love,Dad/Baba/EricGrandpa Pickle Pastor“A chapter a day, every day, progressively, be transformed, ‘soak’ in the living Word.  God’s Word is our habitation, and we are His.”

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