15. JESUS AND FAMILY
Lk. 12:49-53; Mk. 3:20-35
Ch. Kantha Evangeline
Background to Mark 3:20-27, 31-35:
When Jesus started his ministry, it appears from the
text that he had left his home and family and formed a small group of
disciples and followers and was preaching the Reign of God. Because his
teachings were radical and not in tune with the religious teachings of
his times, the Saducceses, Pharisees, scribes, and other people who
were against him even accused him of being possessed by the
Beelzebul-Satan.
Summary of the Text:
The friends and family of Jesus, having heard the
report that Jesus was possessed, came to restrain him. But Jesus,
after teaching the people about the divided house, explained that his
authority was from God. He made it plain that his mother,
brothers and sisters were the ones who did God's will and not those
with blood and physical ties.
Reflection and Analysis:
A striking feature of the Jesus tradition is its
marked hostility to the family as we see in this passage and others
too. Let us look more carefully at several relevant gospel
passages.
Jesus continually stresses that the true family is
represented by those bound together in common conviction and not by
physical blood relationship. In Mk. 3:31-35 we are told how the
mother and brothers of Jesus call for him and the people draw the
attention of Jesus to the approach of his kinfolk. But he turns
them back and replies that his mother, brothers and sisters are all
those who are gathered around him to listen. The bonds of faith
are regarded as the decisive factor in Jesus' group, blood ties are
unimportant.
His own family were not supportive of Jesus and it
appears as though the family's opinion, including that of Mary, his
mother, were similar to that of the religious leader from Jerusalem and
of the people (Mk. 3:20-27). His family heard of the great press
of people around him and made an attempt to lay hands on him.
They thought that he was beside himself, out of his mind, demon
possessed. Here the attitude of Jesus' kinsfolk which probably
must also be taken to include his mother, is at one with the attitude
of his enemies who accuse him of being possessed by Beelzebul.
Read Luke 12:49-53. This passage gives another
vivid picture of how Jesus has not come to bring peace on earth but
division. In one house father and son, mother and daughter,
mother-in-law and daughter-in-law will be in conflict. Where
common conviction and life style do not hold them together, the tie of
kindred too will fail. The saying in Luke 14:26 is even harsher
by virtue of its call to action: “Whosoever comes to me and does not
hate father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes
and even life itself cannot be my disciple."
The call to discipleship implies turning away from
what so far has been one's family so that one cannot be delayed by such
an incidental matter as burying one's father (Mt. 8:22).
Read Mark 10:28-31. A series of texts seem to
indicate the possibility that the group of Jesus' disciples were either
unmarried or had left their families behind. The call to
discipleship in Mk. 10:24ff is followed by a passage, vv. 28-31 which
is not in Matthew and Luke 10:30, where there is a list of what the
itinerant preachers gain when they leave all -- not just in their
earthly existence but in the age to come: houses, brothers, sisters,
mothers, children (but no fathers) and fields a hundredfold.
Anyone who leaves a physical family finds community with many others
who form a close community and so become brothers and sisters and
mothers in the faith.
But what is the significance of the silence
regarding fathers? As it is a sisterly and brotherly community
in which there is no domination the authority of the father falls
away. It is a clear challenge to patriarchal authority.
Discipleship in the Jesus movement requires
the breaking of natural kinship ties and household relationships.
Instead they receive a new model where they are responsible to one
another to accept each other and form new relationships. Jesus
entrusting his mother to his disciple to care for her and his disciple
to his mother to accept him as her son at the cross is an example for
this new relationship.
The new kinship of equal discipleship, however, has
no room for fathers. Whereas fathers are mentioned among those
left behind (v. 29), they are not included in the new kinship of the
Jesus movement, which the disciples acquire already in this age (v.
30). So far as this new family has no room for fathers, Mark
implicitly rejects the patriarchal structures of domination and
subordination of the household in the Greco-Roman world.
Participation in the Jesus movement demands a radical break with the
social values of the world around them.
The child/slave who occupies the lowest place within
patriarchal structures becomes the primary paradigm for the true
discipleship community. This can be seen in the paradoxical Jesus
saying, "whoever does not receive the reign of God like a child /slave
shall not enter the reign of God (Mk. 10:15). This saying is not
an invitation to child-like innocence and naivete but a challenge to
relinquish all claims of power and domination over others.
A woman studying the law was a very rare
exception. One Rabbi writing in about 90 C.E. said if a man gives
his daughter a knowledge of the law it is as though he taught her
lechery, and better to burn the Torah than to teach it to women.
Jesus' behavior is in stark contrast. Not only
does he openly teach women along with men (Lk. 10:38-42) and have women
followers (Lk. 8:1-3; Mk. 15:4), but he takes it for granted that women
equally with men can do the will of God and thereby be his true kindred.
In Jesus' teachings the biological role of a woman
as mother does not in itself give a woman status or honor. What
is important for any woman is the same as for any man-- to do the will
of God. In so doing, like her brother, a woman is a true relative
of Jesus.
Conclusion:
The interpretation of the family given by Jesus is a
radical departure from the generally accepted notion such as that held
by the ones who have blood relationships, namely father, mother,
brothers and sisters. The then understanding of the family was
that father was the head of the family and every other member of the
family was under his authority. The women and children all
were under his authority and had to do whatever he wanted them to
do. They had no freedom to express their views. He was
considered as the master. We see examples of this kind of family
models in Acts 10, where Cornelius accepts Christ and along with him
his whole household accepts Christ. Jesus' new interpretation of
the family shatters the old model of family with blood ties,
hierarchical and patriarchal structure. The alternate model
of family offered by Jesus is a community consisting of individuals who
are bound together by their common faith, interest, and commitment,
i.e., to do the will of God.
Questions for Discussions:
1. What is your understanding of family?
2. Do you accept Jesus' interpretation of
family? If yes why? If no, why?
Give reasons.
3. How do we promote the right understanding of
relationship within the family among our members?
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barclay, William, The Gospel of Mark: The Daily Study,
Philadelphia: Westminster Press, 1956.
Fiorenza, Elisabeth Schussler, Discipleship of Equals.
London: SCM Press, 1993.
Heine, Susanne, Women And Early Christianity.
Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1988.
Lohse, Eduard, Theological Ethics of the New Testament.
Minneapolis: Fortress, 1991.
Newsom, Carol and Sharon Ringe, eds. Women's Bible
Commentary. Louisville: Westminster/John Knox,
1992.