TODAY’S SIGNATURE VERSE ••• Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd. And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.” But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” (Luke 8:19-21 NKJV)
PRAISE & PRAYER PROMPT ••• Last weekend, I had a profound moment in my Bible study. I was reading in Luke 8, verses 19 – 21, when Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see Him. Verse 21 records Jesus as saying, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.”
With just a quick read-through — this can almost seem dismissive or, dare I even say, an “irrelevant” moment in Scripture. But that’s reading without wisdom or understanding. Without context, one could even skim over this short little section of Luke and think, “Okay — so His mom and brothers came to see Him. So what?” But there’s a powerful punch in these three short verses…. Jesus’ response wasn’t a response of dismissiveness or disrespect to Mary and his siblings. Far from it. But, more on that in a minute…. For now, I want to focus on some keywords.
For the first time when I read this passage — I zeroed in on two specific phrases in verse 21. This short sentence from our Savior includes:
- “These who hear the word of God.”
- “And do it.”
Hear.
And apply.
He didn’t say, “hear and agree.” He said, “hear and do it.”
It really challenged me. He doesn’t want us to simply read His Word, nod along, close the Bible, and be done with it. He wants us to hear what He has to say. Meditate on it. Absorb it. And then — be bold enough to live it.
So how do we transition from “hear and agree” to “hear and apply?”
That’s what Scripture means when it says to meditate on the Word day and night (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:2).
And that’s what Scripture means when it says, “Thy will be done” (Matthew 6:10).
Let’s tie this together and look at what Jesus said in John 4:34. “My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me, and to finish His work.”
Everything that nourished Jesus was based on obedience to God the Father. God’s Word sustained him. Jesus showed us by His example what it is to put aside our will and agenda and seek God’s will, even when He knew what was coming would be hard and painful (Luke 22:42).
Let’s go back to the words Jesus spoke of His mother and brothers. Again, He said, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it.” Lest anyone think He was being dismissive when Jesus spoke of His family — He wasn’t ignoring or denying His biological family. He was referring to us…. His spiritual family. The ones who have become adopted sons and daughters of God the Father because we believe in Jesus Christ. His family went beyond blood and included those who have become co-heirs with Him (Romans 8:17) through His saving grace (Ephesians 2:8-9).
Again — His generous goodness to us is made clear in His willingness to include us as part of His family. His loved ones. The ones He was willing to die for. Jesus was (and is) the Word (John 1:1). He was willing to come as a servant to save and redeem all who would trust in Him — even to the point of enduring the shame of the cross (Hebrews 12:2), so we could have eternal life (John 3:16)….
When we think about all of this, how can we not want to apply the truth of the Gospel to our lives?? How can you get beyond mere agreement and make living the Gospel the foundation for your day-to-day moments?
Today, as you pray, thank Jesus for including you in His family. Thank Him for loving you enough to die for you. Ask the Holy Spirit to strengthen your walk with Him. Ask Him to give you wisdom to choose His will over your own and to give you the courage to live your faith out loud for all to see. Ask Him to help you hear and apply His Words every day.
SHARING ••• My Grace-Full Life is written by Denise Heidel. You are welcome to share anything I write, but please credit my writing and graphics accordingly. Visit www.MyGraceFullLife.com to read past blogs. Subscribe through my website to have My Grace-Full Life delivered to your email. You can unsubscribe at any time. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the NKJV translation.
