Church Fathers Commentary Mark 3:31-35

"And there come his mother and his brethren; and, standing without, they sent unto him, calling him. And a multitude was sitting about him; and they say unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answereth them, and saith, Who is my mother and my brethren? And looking round on them that sat round about him, he saith, Behold, my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother." — Mark 3:31-35 (ASV)

Theophylact of Ohrid: Because the Lord's relatives had come to seize Him, thinking He was out of His mind, His mother, compelled by her loving sympathy, came to Him.

Therefore, it is said, And there came unto Him His mother, and, standing without, sent unto Him, calling Him.

St. John Chrysostom: From this, it is clear that His brothers and His mother were not always with Him. Because they loved Him, they came out of reverence and affection, waiting outside.

Therefore, it continues, And the multitude sat about Him, etc.

The Venerable Bede: The brothers of the Lord must not be thought to be the sons of the ever-virgin Mary, as Helvidius says,ⁱ nor the sons of Joseph from a former marriage, as some think. Instead, they must be understood to be His relatives.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: But another Evangelist says that His brothers did not believe in Him (John 7:5). This agrees with the account that says they sought Him while waiting outside, and for this reason, the Lord does not acknowledge them as relatives.¹

Therefore, it follows, And He answered them, saying, Who is My mother or My brethren?

But He does not mention His mother and His brothers here entirely as a rebuke, but rather to show that a person must honor their own soul above all earthly relatives. Therefore, this was fittingly said to those who called Him to speak with His mother and relatives, as if that were a more useful task than teaching salvation.

The Venerable Bede: Therefore, when asked by a message to go out, He declines—not as though He were refusing the dutiful service of His mother, but to show that He owes more to His Father's mysteries than to His mother's feelings. Nor does He rudely despise His brothers. Instead, by preferring His spiritual work to fleshly relationships, He teaches us that faith is a bond of the heart rather than of the body.²

Therefore, it continues, And looking round about on them which sat about Him, He said, Behold My mother and My brethren.

St. John Chrysostom: By this, the Lord shows that we should honor those who are relatives by faith rather than those who are relatives by blood. Indeed, a person is made the mother of Jesus by preaching Him;ⁱ for they, as it were, bring forth the Lord when they pour Him into the hearts of their hearers.

Pseudo-Jerome: But let us be assured that we are His brothers and His sisters if we do the will of the Father, so that we may be joint-heirs with Him, for He distinguishes us not by sex but by our deeds.

Therefore, it continues: Whosoever shall do the will of God, etc.

Theophylact of Ohrid: He does not, therefore, say this to deny His mother, but to show that she is worthy of honor, not only because she bore Christ, but also on account of her possessing every other virtue.

The Venerable Bede: Mystically, the mother and brothers of Jesus represent the synagogue (from which He came according to the flesh) and the Jewish people. While the Savior is teaching inside, they come to Him but are not able to enter, because they cannot understand spiritual things.

The crowd, however, eagerly enters, because when the Jews delayed, the Gentiles flocked to Christ. His relatives, who stand outside wishing to see the Lord, represent the Jews who obstinately remained outside, guarding the letter of the law. They would rather compel the Lord to come out to them to teach carnal things than consent to enter and learn spiritual things from Him.

Therefore, if not even His parents are acknowledged when standing outside, how shall we be acknowledged if we stand outside?ⁱ For the Word is within, and the light is within.

1. Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.
2. ; see Ambr. in Luc. 6, 36