Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 12:46-50

"While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him. And one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking to speak to thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? And he stretched forth his hand towards his disciples, and said, Behold, my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother." — Matthew 12:46-50 (ASV)

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Because He had said all the aforementioned things in the power of His Father's majesty, the Evangelist goes on to tell what answer He made to the one who told Him that His mother and His brethren were waiting for Him outside: "While he was still speaking to the people, his mother and brethren stood outside, desiring to see him."

St. Augustine of Hippo: We are to understand, without doubt, that this happened immediately after what was just said, for he begins to tell it with the words, "And while he was still speaking." What else can "still" mean, except that it was at the very time He was saying those things?¹

Mark also follows what He had said concerning blasphemy against the Holy Spirit by saying, "And there came his mother and his brethren" (Mark 3:31). Luke has not observed the order of events here but has placed this earlier, as he happened to recollect it.

St. Jerome: One of Helvidius's propositions is taken from this,ⁱ because mention is made in the Gospel of the Lord's brethren. How, he asks, can they be called the Lord's brethren if they were not his brethren? But we should know that in Holy Scripture people are called "brethren" in four different ways: by nature, by nation, by kinship, and by affection.

They are brethren by nature, like Esau and Jacob. By nation, as all Jews are called brethren, as in Deuteronomy: "Thou shalt not set over thee a foreigner who is not thy brother" (Deuteronomy 17:15). They are called brethren by kinship when they are of one family, as in Genesis: "Abraham said unto Lot, Let there not be strife between thee and me, for we are brethren" (Genesis 13:8). People are also called brethren by affection, which is of two kinds: special and general. The special kind is how all Christians are called brethren, as the Savior says, "Go tell my brethren" (John 20:17). The general kind is that since all people are born of one father, we are bound together by a tie of kinship, as in the passage: "Say unto them that hate you, Ye are our brethren" (Isaiah 66:5).

I ask, then, in which of these ways are these men called the Lord's brethren in the Gospel? According to nature? But Scripture does not say so, calling them sons of neither Mary nor Joseph. By nation? It is absurd that a select few out of all the Jews should be called brethren, since all the Jews who were there could have been called brethren in that sense. By affection, whether human or spiritual? If that is true, how were they more His brethren than the Apostles, whom He instructed in the innermost mysteries? Or if because they were men, and all men are brethren, it was foolish to say specifically of them, "Behold, your brethren seek you." It remains, then, that they must be His brethren by kinship—not by affection, not by national privilege, and not by nature.

But some suspect the Lord's brethren to be sons of Joseph by another wife, following the idle speculations of apocryphal writers, who invented a certain woman named Esca. But we understand the Lord's brethren not as the sons of Joseph, but as the Savior's cousins, the sons of Mary's sister,ⁱ an aunt of our Lord, who is said to be the mother of James the Less, Joseph, and Jude, whom we find called the Lord's brethren in another place in the Gospel. And that cousins are called "brethren" is apparent throughout Scripture.²

St. John Chrysostom: But notice the arrogance of His brethren.ⁱ They should have come inside and listened with the crowd, or if they were unwilling to do this, they should have waited for His speech to end and then approached Him. Instead, they call Him out to them, and they do this before the multitude, thereby showing their excessive love of honor and that they command Christ with full authority.³

The Evangelist subtly hints at this when he says, "While he was still speaking," as if to say, "Was there no other time?" But what did they seek to say? Was it something concerning the doctrines of truth? Then they should have brought it forward before everyone, so that all might benefit from it. But if it concerned other things that involved themselves alone, they should not have called Him in such haste. From this it is plain that they did this out of vainglory.

St. Augustine of Hippo: But whatever may be decided concerning these brethren, yet concerning the holy Virgin Mary (for the honor of Christ), when the question is about sin in her, I would not have it debated. For from this alone we can know that more abundant grace was conferred on her to overcome sin completely, because she was worthy to conceive and bear Him who, it is clear, had no sin.⁴

It follows: "Then one said to him, 'Behold, your mother and your brethren stand outside, seeking you.'"

St. Jerome: The one who delivers this message seems to me not to be doing it casually or without purpose, but as setting a trap for Him, to see whether He would prefer flesh and blood over His spiritual work. Thus, the Lord refused to go out, not because He was disowning His mother and His brethren, but so that He might confound the one who had laid this trap for Him.

St. John Chrysostom: For He did not say, "Go and say to her, 'She is not My mother,'" but continued His discourse to the one who had brought Him the message, as it follows: "But he answered and said to him that told him, 'Who is my mother? and who are my brethren?'"

St. Hilary of Poitiers: And He cannot be considered to have thought little of His mother, since during His passion He showed the utmost care for her.

St. John Chrysostom: But if He had desired to disown His mother, He would have done it when the Jews taunted Him about His birth.

St. Jerome: He did not, then, as Marcion and Manichaeus claim, disown His mother—as if to suggest He was born of a phantom—but He preferred His Apostles to His relatives, so that we also, when comparing our affections, should put the spirit before the flesh.

St. Ambrose of Milan: Nor does He overturn the duty of filial submission, which is conveyed in the command, "Honour thy father and thy mother" (Exodus 20:12), but shows that He owes more to the mysteries and relationship of His Father than to those of His mother. As it follows: "And stretching out his hand toward his disciples, he said, 'Behold my mother and my brethren!'"⁵

St. Gregory the Great: The Lord deigned to call His faithful disciples His brethren, saying, "Go, tell my brethren." Since, then, a person can be made a brother of the Lord by coming to the faith, we should ask how one can also become His mother.⁶ Let us then understand that whoever becomes a brother or sister of Christ by believing, becomes His mother by preaching. For by pouring Him into the heart of the listener, one can be said to beget the Lord; and one is made the Lord's mother when, by one's word, love for the Lord is begotten in the mind of a neighbor.

St. John Chrysostom: Besides what has been said, He also taught something more: that we should not neglect virtue by relying on any family relationship. For if it did not profit His mother to be His mother without also having virtue, who then will be saved by their family ties? For there is only one true nobility—to do the will of God. Therefore, it follows, "Whoever shall do the will of my Father who is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."

Many women have blessed that holy Virgin and her womb and have desired to become mothers like her. What, then, prevents it? Behold, He has set a broad way before you, and not only women, but men also, can become the mother of God.

St. Jerome: Let us also explain this in another way. The Savior is speaking to the multitude—that is, He is teaching the Gentiles the inner mysteries. His mother and His brethren—that is, the synagogue and the Jewish people—stand outside.

St. Hilary of Poitiers: Although they, like the others, had the ability to come in, they refrain from approaching Him, "for he came unto his own, and his own received him not."

St. Gregory the Great: Thus His mother is also described as standing outside, as though she were not acknowledged. This is because the synagogue is not acknowledged by its Author, since it held to the observance of the Law and, having lost spiritual discernment of it, kept itself outside to guard the letter.

St. Jerome: And when they ask and inquire, and send a messenger, they will receive the answer that their will is free and that they can enter if they are willing to believe.

1. De Cons. Ev., ii, 40
2. Hieron. in loc.
3. Hom., xliv
4. De Nat. et Grat., 36
5. Ambros. in Luc. 8, 21
6. Hom. in Ev., iii, 2