Matthew 12:46 ¶ While he
yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood
without, desiring to speak with him. 47
Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand
without, desiring to speak with thee. 48
But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and
who are my brethren? 49 And he stretched
forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my
brethren! 50 For whosoever shall do the
will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and
mother.
Notice here that Jesus is not rejecting his mother and brothers
but is making the claim that His greater family consists of those who obey Him.
Remember how hate was used in Luke?
Luke 14:25 ¶ And there went
great multitudes with him: and he turned, and said unto them,
26 If any man come to me,
and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and
sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. 27 And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and
come after me, cannot be my disciple. 28
For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first,
and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it? 29 Lest haply, after he hath laid the
foundation, and is not able to finish it, all that behold it begin to mock him,
30 Saying, This man began to build, and
was not able to finish. 31 Or what king,
going to make war against another king, sitteth not down first, and consulteth
whether he be able with ten thousand to meet him that cometh against him with
twenty thousand? 32 Or else, while the
other is yet a great way off, he sendeth an ambassage, and desireth conditions
of peace. 33 So likewise, whosoever he
be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.
Now remember back in chapter 10 of Matthew;
Matthew
10:37 He that loveth father or mother
more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than
me is not worthy of me.
By comparing passages that express the same or similar sentiment
we can determine the meaning of passages that are difficult for us. Clearly, to
hate, in this context, is to hold one
in lower regard than one would reasonably expect rather than to hold in
contempt, to despise, to abhor, and reject as in other contexts. You cannot
properly interpret the Bible without cross-referencing. Any version that
destroys the cross-referencing traits of the Bible should be dismissed
outright. If we believe that the Bible was given by inspiration as it says it
was, that the Holy Spirit had a hand in translations and copies, then we must
understand that the ultimate author was God Himself and in order to understand
a word or phrase we need to look within the text itself.
It is important, I think, to consider a common-sense view of
Jesus’ words in light of the clear admonitions of the entire Bible. We do not
reject our families. That is not called for. Jesus is making a point about the
kingdom of Heaven and God here, not banning His human family from His presence.
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