Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 12:50

"For whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother." — Matthew 12:50 (ASV)

He enlarges upon the truth. Every doer of the Father’s will is in this way proved to be a true disciple, and he is to Jesus as near as a brother, as dear as a sister, and as much cared for as a mother. According to our condition and capacity, let us act towards our Lord the part of a brother in help, a sister in sympathy, and a mother in tender love, for all these relationships act in both ways and involve giving as well as receiving. What a blessed “whosoever” is this! It is not for ministers only or for persons set apart to special service, but all who do the Father’s will in any position of life are encompassed in the family circle of the Lord Christ.

Our Lord Jesus had a little while before cut Himself adrift from the bands of formality by routing the scribes and Pharisees, and now the knife goes deeper, and all that is of the flesh at its very best is divided from that which is of the spirit. From now on, it is clear that after the flesh He knows no man anymore, neither can we hope to know Him by birth-right membership or anything else that is of blood, or birth, or of the will of the flesh. The inner life which is akin to God, and shows itself in holiness, is that which gives us union with our Lord. Oh, to feel its influence more and more!