While
he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him. One said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you.”
Matthew 12:46-47
Matthew 12 [43.] When an unclean spirit has gone out of a man, he passes through waterless places, seeking rest, and doesn’t find it. Then he says, ‘I will return into my house from which I came out,’ and when he has come back, he finds it empty, swept, and put in order. Then he goes, and takes with himself seven other spirits more evil than he is, and they enter in and dwell there. The last state of that man becomes worse than the first. Even so will it be also to this evil generation.”
Matthew 12 [46.] While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him. One said to him, “Behold, your mother and your brothers stand outside, seeking to speak to you.”
Matthew 12 [48.] But he answered him who spoke to him, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” He stretched out his hand towards his disciples, and said, “Behold, my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother.”
Meaning:
Jesus had been speaking to the crowds about the unclean spirit that returns to an empty house and about “this evil generation” (Matthew 12:43-45). While he was still teaching, his own family arrived. This short scene sets up one of Jesus’ most striking sayings about who truly belongs to him.
- “While he was yet speaking to the multitudes”
Jesus was in the middle of intense debate with the Pharisees, surrounded by a great crowd. Mark tells us that the crowds were so large that Jesus and his disciples “could not so much as eat bread”, and that “When his friends heard it, they went out to seize him: for they said, ‘He is insane’” (Mark 3:20-21). His family’s visit came at a time of growing pressure and controversy.
- “His mother and his brothers stood outside”
Mary, his mother, had known from the beginning that her son was special. Yet even she may have been troubled by the conflict and danger surrounding him. The brothers mentioned here are named later in Matthew as James, Joses, Simon and Judas (Matthew 13:55). At this stage they did not yet believe in him. John says plainly, “For even his brothers didn’t believe in him” (John 7:5). Their visit was probably an attempt to take him home and calm the situation.
Notice that they stood “outside”. The crowd and the disciples were inside, close to Jesus and listening to his words. His family, for all their natural closeness, were outside, wanting him to come out to them rather than coming in to hear him.
- “Seeking to speak to you”
Someone passed the message on to Jesus. In that culture family duty was taken very seriously, and a son would be expected to respond at once. The messenger probably assumed that Jesus would stop teaching and go out. Mark and Luke record the same moment (Mark 3:31-32; Luke 8:19-20).
Jesus’ answer, given in the next verses, would surprise everyone: “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” (Matthew 12:48). He did not reject his family, but he made clear that the deepest family tie is with those who do the will of his Father.
- Family later transformed
This was not the end of the story for Jesus’ family. After his resurrection, his mother and brothers were among the believers praying in Jerusalem: “All these with one accord continued steadfastly in prayer and supplication, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers” (Acts 1:14). Those who once stood outside came in.
The Significance of Matthew 12:46-47
- Inside or outside
Being related to Jesus by birth did not put his brothers inside. Closeness to Jesus comes through listening to him and doing God’s will.
- Hope for families
Jesus’ own family took time to believe. Believers who pray for unbelieving relatives can take heart: God can bring those who are outside into his family.
Cross-References:
Mark 3:31: "His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent to him, calling him." Mark’s account of the same scene.
John 7:5: "For even his brothers didn’t believe in him." The unbelief of Jesus’ brothers.
Acts 1:14: "along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers." His family among the believers after the resurrection.
Conclusion: While Jesus was teaching the crowds, his mother and brothers stood outside, asking to speak with him, and someone told him so. Their visit came at a time of controversy, when his brothers did not yet believe in him. The scene prepares for Jesus’ teaching that his true family are those who do his Father’s will, and the later faith of his family shows that those outside can still come in.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible