Matthew 12:48Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

Recognizing this truth, we ought not to take pride in esteemed offspring unless we embody their virtues, nor should we boast of noble ancestry if we do not mirror their character in our lives. One can be a father without biological birth, just as one can be a mother without having given birth. This is illustrated when a woman proclaimed, “Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breast that nursed you” (Luke 11:27). In response, Christ did not dismiss His biological origins, stating, “My womb did not bear me, nor did I suck the breast,” but instead affirmed, “Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it” (v. 28). Observe how He acknowledges natural kinship both in this instance and previously, while emphasizing the kinship of virtue. When the Forerunner remarked, “You brood of vipers, do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father’” (Matt. 3:7, 9), he was not denying their physical descent from Abraham, but rather pointing out that such lineage is worthless without a corresponding moral relationship with him. This is also reflected in Christ’s teaching, “If you were Abraham’s children, you would be doing the works Abraham did” (John 8:39). Through these words, He does not nullify their fleshly kinship but urges them to pursue a higher, more noble connection. He conveys this same message here, doing so with gentleness and compassion; while speaking of His Mother, He did not say, “She is no mother to me, nor are they my brothers because they do not follow my will.” He refrained from judging them harshly, instead, with His characteristic grace, He leaves it to them to aspire toward a greater bond.

Understanding this principle allows us to see all of Mary's relatives as brethren of Christ.

However, it is noteworthy that only those disciples could be regarded as brothers, for even relatives would not hold that title unless they were His followers, nor could they claim such a bond without recognizing Him as their Master. On one occasion, when informed that His mother and brothers were waiting outside while He spoke with His disciples, He inquired, ‘Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?’ Then, pointing to His disciples, He declared, ‘Here are My brothers. For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother’ (cf. Matthew 12:46-50). It follows that Mary is indeed His mother, as she fulfilled the will of the Father. The Lord exalted her for her obedience to the divine will, rather than simply for the biological act of giving birth.

Beloved, take heed! When the amazed crowd witnessed the Lord performing miracles and uncovering hidden truths, some exclaimed, ‘Blessed is the womb that bore Him’ (Luke 11:27). But He responded, ‘Blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it’ (Lk. 11:28). His intention was to convey that even His Mother, whom they deemed fortunate, finds true happiness in adhering to the word of God, not merely because the Word became flesh and dwelt among us (Jn. 1:14), but because she fulfilled the will of the Word of God Himself, through whom she was created and in whom the Word became flesh. Let not individuals rejoice solely in fleeting progeny, but rather in their unity with God in spirit.

His words were not intended to belittle them but to illustrate that He valued the salvation of the lost over mere obedience to familial ties. And it is no surprise, for He chose to have both a mother and relatives for the very purpose of this salvation.

In this context, He asked, ‘Who is My Mother?’ not to deny His mother, as the wicked might wrongly interpret, nor did He speak these words to diminish the honor of the one who brought Him into the world. After all, did He not honor His Mother during His youth, abiding by the natural law to respect her? Would He then disregard her when He attained maturity? Thus, His words do not come from a place of denial but rather express a deeper understanding.

Why would He, who chose to be born of her, refuse to acknowledge the very one through whom He entered humanity? If He intended to offer Himself to the Father, why did He unite Himself with her from the very beginning? Why would He assume a form He deemed unworthy? Such folly can be countered through reasoned argumentation. Some may suggest that the Savior spoke not to lessen the dignity of His Mother, but rather, while honoring her, He prioritized the salvation of humanity and the teaching that leads to it. For her sake, He embraced profound humility from the Father’s bosom, lived among men, willingly faced the cross, suffered alongside wrongdoers, and underwent burial and resurrection.

Supporters of this view might point out that Jesus could only have woven the thread of Providence in this way. Alongside other salvific teachings, the Savior instructed against prioritizing father, mother, or spouse above His life-giving teaching. For He stated that anyone who does not forsake father and mother is ‘not worthy of Me’ (Matt. 10:37); in other words, those who do not place His redemptive instruction and love above familial ties will be separated from the eternal blessings enjoyed by those who prioritize His commands above their earthly connections. But the Savior, understanding the gravity of this commandment, modeled it Himself, choosing the instruction of His listeners over a comforting relationship with His Mother. He did not suggest that one must neglect familial bonds for their own salvation, but rather that they must elevate His teachings and the preservation of divine truth above all earthly affiliations.

For this reason, when someone requested permission to attend their father’s burial, He did not grant it, not out of disdain for the father—by no means—or to rearrange familial priorities, but as a constant reminder to prioritize spiritual salvation above all earthly attachments. This is a viewpoint that seeks to honor the Mother without stripping her of her due reverence. However, some of the renowned Fathers, whom I often admire, have offered an interpretation I cannot endorse. They suggest that Jesus' mother, in experiencing humanity and her natural inclination towards pride, sought public recognition through her Son, thereby prompting the Savior to gently admonish her to keep her feelings in check. But a true analysis reveals that she did not interrupt His teaching; she approached with reverence, simply signaling her presence without demanding acknowledgment.

Is this the behavior of someone seeking glory or pride? What would a servant do if necessity called them to their master? Therefore, Jesus’ words spoken to His mother are not a reprimanding censure—there was no fault for Him to correct—but rather a response to the scornful remarks of those who disbelieved. The ungrateful Jews maliciously questioned, 'Is He not the son of the carpenter?’ and scoffed at His family ties (Matt. 13:55-56; John 7:27). While teaching about salvation, they envied Him and resorted to slander, attempting to belittle Him by ridiculing His familial relationships, implying that He should abandon His teachings for His earthly family. Thus, when they aired their slights, the Savior replied with both humility and strength: 'I am so far from being ashamed of My Mother and brethren that I neither dismiss her nor consider them a disgrace. Instead, I am honored to call all who hear My sacred words fathers and brethren if they do the will of My Father, even if our bond is not rooted in blood or common opinion.'

In this way, His words convey no disrespect to His Mother; indeed, they affirm Her honor by proclaiming that those who obey the Father are bound to Him in a figurative kinship of immeasurable dignity. The term ‘brothers’ now carries weight, suggesting that as a pinnacle of blessings, He would never delegate such a status to those connections He claims to reject. Therefore, it becomes apparent that His inquiry, ‘Who is my Mother,’ and what follows, do not serve to lessen affection or respect for His Mother but elevate Her in a manner worthy of her position. Those lacking discernment may misinterpret these sentiments, leading them to erroneous conclusions about His words, such as when He said, ‘What is that to Me and to Thee, O Woman? My hour has not yet come’ (John 2:4).

A careful investigation into the circumstances surrounding these words, aided by divine grace, reveals that they glorify rather than diminish His Mother. The miracles performed draw upon divine power, not the human condition, though He honors His Mother’s request. In asserting this difference, He conveys that Her respect surpasses both timing and the typical expectations associated with miracles. In doing so, He renders Her honor even greater than if there had been no acknowledgment of the differences at all. This statement, far from detracting from Her glory, elevates it significantly, as He places Her honor above the timeline of events and the nature of miracles. The idea that His respect for Her would exceed even these divine criteria shows just how deep and profound His love for His Mother truly is.

Unlike them, she is undeniably His true mother in the human realm, a status that remains unblemished by any disbelief regarding His divinity as the Son of God. It appears as though He hesitates to acknowledge her presence: “Who is My mother?” Saint Philaret of Moscow reflects on this with great reverence, stating, “It is not Your actions that we challenge, but the wisdom of Your salvation that we seek to comprehend. Do not hold against us our desire to explore the Scriptures, and grant us the grace to understand.” Is it necessary to remind Orthodox believers that the Lord fully honors His blessed Mother? His words are a clear testament to this: “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill.” There is no doubt that He did not violate, but rather fulfilled, the commandment to honor one’s parents. Would He not hold His Mother in the highest regard? Saint John Chrysostom noted that if He wished to deny her, He would have done so when mocked by the Jews. On the contrary, He demonstrated such care for her that even while on the cross, He entrusted her to His beloved disciple. However, since His siblings viewed Him merely as an ordinary man and were caught up in their pride, He refrained from involving His Mother in their misguided thoughts, choosing to instruct them gently instead. The Sacred Heart, aware of their vain intentions, aimed to shield His Most Pure Mother from even the slightest hint of association with those thoughts. Here, the Lord adhered to His Mother’s example by eschewing any semblance of human fame. Simultaneously, He manifested through His actions what He taught in His teachings: “Whoever loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). His actions demonstrated that He cherished His earthly Mother completely, yet not above His heavenly Father. He willingly placed His filial, human affection aside to devote Himself to the work of God. Had He acquiesced to the desires of His relatives, His adversaries might have seized upon that moment to portray Him as someone dependent on their care, thus leveraging it for their scorn. It is as if the Lord articulated, “Why do you seek to divert Me from fulfilling the will of My heavenly Father through the desires of My earthly Mother? When these two paths diverge, I know which to pursue and how resolute I must be. I renounce My earthly lineage and affiliations as if they were non-existent; I dedicate myself entirely to the will of My Father in heaven, His work, and His kingdom. Herein lies my quest for kinship, if I must have one: ‘Who is My mother? and who are My brothers?’”

However, the Lord thwarted this cunning scheme of His adversaries. What is the significance of pointing to mother and brothers? The Son of Man does indeed have a mother and brothers. For the Messiah, those who hear and accept the words of life are regarded as both mother and brothers.

Following this, Christ addressed those seeking a sign from Him, received the news of His mother and brothers approaching, and in response, He pointed to His faithful disciples, acknowledging them as His true mother and brothers, thus indicating a deeper spiritual connection with them than with His physical family, provided they too were among His devoted followers.

He also prevented His disciple from burying his father, demonstrating that He needed to exemplify for His followers how to live according to His commandments and teachings. Thus, in the first instance that arose, He illustrated that fulfilling His Father's heavenly will superseded fulfilling His earthly Mother's desires. However, within these statements, we do not find a rejection of His Mother or a lack of concern for her; He demonstrated His love for her on the Cross by entrusting her care to His beloved disciple. This is all we understand about the events in the life of Jesus during the Apostles’ ministry to the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 10:6). Our knowledge of this phase of the Lord's ministry is limited because the Apostles were not with Him during this period, and those reliable witnesses whose accounts form our Gospels were absent. The gaps in the Evangelical accounts serve as evidence of the accuracy of their writings: they do not recount events of which they were not direct witnesses or for which they lacked trustworthy accounts from others. This gap in the narratives represents a significant duration. Even if the Apostles, sent out in pairs, were to cover all the regions of Palestine populated by Jews, distributing the places into six groups, they could not have visited one-sixth of those locations quickly. The length of their preaching remains unknown; we only understand that they returned before the Passover (John 6:4), the third since Jesus' baptism.

Who are My siblings?’ He then gestured towards His disciples and declared, ‘This is My mother and My brethren; whoever does the will of My Father who is in Heaven, this is My brother and sister and mother,’ or as recorded by the Evangelist Luke, ‘My mother and My brethren are those who hear the word of God and act upon it’ (8:21). In these statements, the Lord did not distance His fleshly mother from the joy of hearing and obeying the word of God, for she had listened and acted on it even more than many others. Rather, in keeping with her own humility, which sought to avoid earthly accolades, He elevated and inspired all who embraced and practiced the word of God. As Blessed Theophylact observes, without rejecting the bond of natural kinship, He enriched it with a kinship of virtue.