Thomas Aquinas 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)

In the preceding part, the Lord refuted His adversaries; now He commends His believing disciples when the presence of His mother and brethren was acknowledged. The narrative unfolds in three parts:

1. Their presence is related.
2. The announcement of their presence is related.
3. The commendation of His disciples is related.

He says, therefore, As he was still speaking.

Here, however, a literal question arises: Why in Luke 11, where the same words that were spoken are related, are the words that follow not related, but instead the words are added, And it came to pass, as he spoke these things, a certain woman from the crowd, lifting up her voice, and so on (Luke 11:29)? And so, it seems that there is an inconsistency.

Augustine solves the question in this way: Without a doubt, what Matthew narrates was said as He was still speaking; that is to say, it occurred at the same time as in Matthew's account. But it could be that it happened as Luke says, and so it could be that Luke anticipates the event, or that he is recalling according to the order of his memory.

Behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking thee. Concerning His mother, there is no doubt that she is the one spoken of in chapter 1; about His brethren, however, there can be a question. And because mention is made of His brethren, it has been an occasion for a heresy: that after the Virgin had borne Jesus, Joseph knew Mary and had children with her. But that is heretical, because after giving birth the Virgin remained inviolate. There was also an opinion that these brethren were children of Joseph from another wife. But this is nonsense, because we believe that just as the mother of Jesus was a virgin, so was Joseph, because God entrusted the Virgin to a virgin: and as he was at the end, so he also was at the beginning.

Who, therefore, are these brethren? Jerome said that men are called brethren in many ways. For instance:

• Some are brethren by nature, as it was said above, Jacob begot Judas and his brethren (Matthew 1:2).
• Sometimes brethren are of the same nation: Thou mayst not make a man of another nation king, that is not thy brother (Deuteronomy 17:15).
• Sometimes they are of the same religion, such as all Christians, as will be said below (Matthew 23:8). From this passage, the custom became established that men of the same religion are called brethren.
• Sometimes, men of one parentage are called brethren, as in Joshua 2:12: And give me a true token that you will save my father and mother, and my brethren.
• Sometimes, all men are called brethren, who are of one Father, namely, God: Have we not all one father? hath not one God created us? why then doth every one of us despise his brother? (Malachi 2:10).

However, these men here are not called the Lord’s brethren in any of these ways. Rather, they are called brethren in one specific way: because they were blood-relations. Thus, Abraham said to Lot, For we are brethren (Genesis 13:8), although Lot was Abraham’s nephew. In this way, these men were His brethren because they were His cousins.

Afterwards, the announcement of their presence is related: And one said unto him: Behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without, seeking thee. Why he said this, and why it was necessary, are explained in Luke: it was because there was such a great crowd that they could not get to Him.

Mystically, His Mother signifies the Church; hence, it is said, Go forth, ye daughters of Sion, and see king Solomon in the diadem, wherewith his mother crowned him (Song of Solomon 3:11). And thy brethren signifies the Jews, who stand outside, abandoning Christ: My brethren have abandoned me (Job 6:15). They seek, but they do not find, as it is stated, But Israel, by following after the law of justice, is not come unto the law of justice (Romans 9:31).

But he answering him, Christ’s reply is related, and He does two things:

1. He refutes the questioner.
2. He commends His disciples, where it is said, And stretching forth his hand.

Now, He says, Who is my mother, and who are my brethren? Because of this passage, certain men denied that Christ had truly taken on flesh, believing He had merely the appearance of flesh. Hence, they were expounding this passage as follows: ‘This woman is not My mother, nor are these men My brethren.’ This is opposed to the Apostle saying, God sent his Son, made of a woman (Galatians 4:4). Again, he says, Who was made to him of the seed of David, according to the flesh (Romans 1:3). Moreover, He recognized her on the Cross: Woman, behold thy son, as stated in John 19:26.

Chrysostom asks, “Why does the Lord say, Who is my mother, and who are my brethren?” Chrysostom suggests two reasons for this, one of which is sound, but the other is not. He says that His mother and brethren succumbed to human frailty because, seeing Christ preaching and the crowd following Him, they experienced vainglory. For that reason, they wanted to gain some sort of glory. Therefore, the Lord wished to show that He was not doing these things through what He had received from His mother, but from His Father.

This view is partly sound. Regarding His brethren, it is sound, for similarly, it is stated in John 7:5: For neither did his brethren believe in him. But regarding His Mother, it is not sound, because it is believed that she never sinned, neither mortally nor venially. For, undoubtedly, it is said of her, Thou art all fair, O my love, and there is not a spot in thee (Song of Solomon 4:7). And Augustine says, “When the matter of sin is treated, it is my wish to exclude absolutely any mention concerning her.”

Therefore, Jerome solves the question differently, saying that the one who announced them had done so insidiously. For he wanted to find out whether Christ’s attention was so drawn to spiritual things that He would not be concerned about temporal matters. For that reason, He offers counsel regarding affections. Hence, He certainly would not have loved His Mother more unless she were more spiritual. Thus, He says, Who is my mother? He does not deny that she is His Mother, but He intends to forbid inordinate affection. Hence, He that loveth father or mother more than me, is not worthy of me (Matthew 10:37).

Afterwards, the commendation of His disciples is related. He does two things:

1. He commends His disciples.
2. He commends all believers in general.

He says, therefore, And stretching forth his hand towards his disciples, he said: Behold my mother. It is as though He were to say, ‘I love these disciples more than the affection for My mother or My brethren.’ For the love that comes from the Holy Spirit ought to be preferred. And He is not only referring to these disciples, but to all people. Hence, it is said, For whosoever shall do the will of my Father, that is in heaven, he is my brother, and sister, and mother. For He had a heavenly and an earthly begetting. Hence, He prefers the heavenly to the earthly.

For those who do the will of My Father are related to Him by a heavenly begetting; hence, If you be the children of Abraham, do the works of Abraham (John 8:39). For He came to do His Father's will, as it is stated (John 4:34; John 5:30; John 6:38). He says, brother, with respect to stronger believers, and sister, with respect to weaker believers.

But what does He mean when He says, And he is my mother? It should be said that whoever is faithful and does the will of the Father—that is, whoever simply obeys—is His brother, because he is similar to Him, Who fulfilled the will of the Father. A man who not only does this, but also converts others, begets Christ in them, and so becomes a mother. Just as, on the other hand, a man kills Christ in others by provoking them to evil. My little children, of whom I am in labor again, until Christ be formed in you (Galatians 4:10).