Mark 3:35 (AV)
For whosoever shall do¹ the will² of God³,
the same is my brother⁴,
and my sister⁴ and mother⁴.
¹) To carry out, to execute, to do a thing; With designation of time: spend time (with in this case, doing the will of God)
²) Will, desire, pleasure. It is that what one wishes, or has determined shall be done.
This is speaking of the purpose of God to bless mankind through Christ, and of what God wishes to be done by us (like keeping His commandments)
³) The Godhead, the trinity, being: God the Father (the first person in the trinity), The Christ (the second person of the trinity), and the Holy Spirit (the third person in the trinity).
⁴) In this case one connected by the tie of the Christian religion
From other translations:
For whoever does the things God wills is My brother and sister and mother! [AMP] Whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother." [ESV] Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." [MSB] For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother. [KJV] Whoever does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." [NIV] Anyone who does God's will is my brother and sister and mother." [NLT] For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother." [NKJV]
Some study
The word ‘Brother’ is used in different ways
- In the natural and common sense (Matthew 1:2; Luke 3:1,19)
- A near relation, a cousin (Genesis 13:8, 14:16; Matthew 12:46; John 7:3; Acts 1:14; Galatians 1:19)
- Simply a fellow–countryman (Matthew 5:47; Acts 3:22; Hebrews 7:5)
- A disciple or follower (Matthew 25:40; Hebrews 2:11,12)
- One of the same faith (Amos 1:9; Acts 9:30, 11:29; 1 Corinthians 5:11) whence the early disciples of our Lord were known to each other as brethren.
- A colleague in office (Ezra 3:2; 1 Corinthians 1:1; 2 Corinthians 1:1)
- A fellow–man (Genesis 9:5, 19:7; Matthew 5:22,23,24, 7:5; Hebrews 2:17)
- One beloved or closely united with another in affection (2 Samuel 1:26, Acts 6:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:1) – Brethren of Jesus (Matthew 12:46,50; Mark 3:31,32; Galatians 1:19; 1 Corinthians 9:5 etc.), were the younger children of Joseph and Mary. Some have supposed that they may have been the children of Joseph by a former marriage, and others that they were the children of Mary, the Virgin’s sister, and wife of Cleophas. The first interpretation, however, is the most natural.
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The mother of the Lord Jesus, with His brethren, sought Him and called Him while He was preaching in a house. Then the Lord answers with a question.
Who are My brothers and sisters and mother?
Well, those are the ones who are doing the will of God.
The Lord loved His mother more than any other child ever did.
He has kept the commandment of God perfectly.
Yet He says that ties other than blood ties apply here.
In the Kingdom, bonds are not of flesh and blood but of spirit and life.
In the Kingdom of Christ applies the faith that abides in Him, the faith that maintains communion with Him.
That is the bond that binds to Him, whereby a sinner also lives from Him.
Living by faith from His merits is at the same time a love and lust to walk in all good works according to the will of God.
There you have the brothers and sisters and mothers of the Lord.
Not the natural, but the spiritual bond is valid.
That is what the Lord is referring to here. To them goes His special love and they share in His care, brotherly, tender as for a mother.
What is it all about in our life?
Is it about us being happy together?
Well, it is a great blessing – especially in our days – when people are happy with one another. However, it is not a sustainable kind of happiness. We are all well aware of this when one, with whom we are happy, is taken away by death. No, there is no lasting happiness here on earth.
We must also not forget that this is not the most important thing in our life.
Doing the will of God is the main thing!
In paradise we were able to do the will of God completely. As we know, the deep fall of Adam has caused us to stop doing the will of God.
Now, we who are always seeking ourselves, how will we learn to do the will of God again? We will only learn that when we are born again. That is, when the Lord puts in our hearts a new life, and a new principle by which we lose ourselves, but find all in Him, who has perfectly done the will of His Father .
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