15 · Words of Jesus

Who Is Jesus' Family?

Mark 3:31–35

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Jesus sits surrounded by women and men listening to him while his family waits outside the gathering in a biblical setting.

Jesus points to those around him and calls them his family.

Does Jesus reject his biological family?

Choose a perspective

There is no score – choose the perspective you find closest and discuss why.

Discuss: What does it mean that Jesus describes his followers as family?

After your discussion: compare with our assessment

Our assessment

A captures how Jesus uses family language for the community gathered around him. Belonging is not defined only by biological kinship but by doing God's will. C captures the sharp re-evaluation in the scene. Jesus' biological family is outside, while he looks at the people around him and says, “Look, my mother and my brothers!” Together, A and C show Jesus expanding and redefining family without the passage saying that biological family has no value.

15 · Mark 3:31–35

Go deeper

Text & context

Full translation

31 Then his mother and his brothers came. Standing outside, they sent word to him and called for him. 32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.” 33 He answered them, “Who are my mother and my brothers?” 34 And looking around at those sitting around him, he said, “Look, my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”

Translated from the Greek text – SBLGNT

What is happening here?
Jesus' mother and brothers arrive while a crowd is sitting around him. They remain outside and send word for him. When Jesus is told that his family is looking for him, he responds with a question: “Who are my mother and my brothers?” He then looks at the people sitting around him and calls them his mother and brothers. Jesus ends by stating the principle: whoever does God's will is his brother, sister, and mother. Earlier in the chapter, Mark 3:20–21 describes people close to Jesus going out to take charge of him after reports that he was “out of his mind.” The precise referent and interpretation of that scene are debated. We therefore should not state more confidently about the family's motives in verses 31–35 than Mark himself does.
Notice this

Jesus does not merely say: “Whoever does God's will is my brother.” He says: “my brother and sister and mother.” Women are therefore explicitly included in the family image. Also notice the movement in the scene: Jesus' biological family stands outside. The people Jesus identifies sit around him. Mark uses physical location to make Jesus' redefinition of family especially vivid.

Language & translation

From the Greek

τίς ἐστιν ἡ μήτηρ μου καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοί μου – tis estin hē mētēr mou kai hoi adelphoi mou

who are my mother and my brothers? Jesus responds to the message about his family with a question that opens the way for a new definition of family belonging.

περιβλεψάμενος – periblepsamenos

looking around The verb describes Jesus directing his gaze around at those sitting around him. Mark thus makes the statement highly concrete.

ἴδε – ide

look! / behold! A word calling attention: “Look!” Jesus verbally identifies the people around him as the family he is describing.

ποιήσῃ τὸ θέλημα τοῦ θεοῦ – poiēsē to thelēma tou theou

does the will of God Poieō means “to do” and thelēma means “will.” The family bond Jesus describes is therefore connected with an active response to God's will.

ἀδελφός, ἀδελφή, μήτηρ – adelphos, adelphē, mētēr

brother, sister, mother Jesus ends with three family terms. It is worth noticing that “sister” is explicitly included even though the original question concerned his mother and brothers.

Translation note

Independent English translation from the Greek text, using SBLGNT as the primary Greek edition.

Compare for yourself

Read Mark 3:20–35 together with the parallels Matthew 12:46–50 and Luke 8:19–21. Pay particular attention to:

  • mētēr
  • adelphoi
  • periblepsamenos
  • ide
  • poiēsē to thelēma tou theou
  • Mark's explicit inclusion of “sister” in verse 35

Compare how the three Gospels describe what characterizes Jesus' family.

Continue the conversation

Discuss further
  1. What does it mean in practice for a Christian community to be described as family?
  2. Can a spiritual community become so important that it competes with biological family bonds?
  3. Where is the boundary between Jesus' redefinition of family and responsibility toward one's own family?
  4. Why do you think Jesus uses family language to describe those who do God's will?
Parallel passages
  • Matthew 12:46–50
  • Luke 8:19–21
  • Mark 3:20–21
  • Mark 10:28–30
Sources
  • The Greek New Testament: SBL Edition (SBLGNT), Michael W. Holmes, ed.
  • Mark 3:31–35
  • Mark 3:20–21
  • Matthew 12:46–50
  • Luke 8:19–21
  • Standard Greek lexical resources for mētēr, adelphos, adelphē, periblepomai, ide, poieō, and thelēma