Now Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they were not able to get near him because of the crowd. Someone told him, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see you.” He replied, “My mother and brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice.”

–Parallel verses:
II Corinthians 4:16-18
Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

At the core of this passage in Luke is the principle of temporary vs. eternal life. Let me put this another way, life on this earth is like a 10-minute warmup stretch and life with God in eternity is like the triathlon we run after. Jesus is showing his followers that the priority is eternal life and the earthly needs of this world, including family needs, take second place. This does not mean family is not important, that is why he basically says that anyone who hears his Word and puts it into practice is his family. Especially the eternal life and saving grace needed in our families is important!

He is looking at life through an eternal lens. Sometimes we are called by God to minister and it means we must put the family priorities on hold for a moment. This does not mean we are to neglect our family over our lifetime in order to love on non-family members.
The reality is … if we are serving God and making appropriate sacrifices, then our children, brothers and sisters, and parents will see this and be blessed by it. It will model for them the joy of serving others.

Many misunderstand this passage and think Jesus is saying he does not value his family. That is definitely not the case – he deeply loved them. Look at one of his last acts on this earth: “When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, ‘Woman, here is your son,’ and to the disciple, ‘Here is your mother.’ From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.” (John 19:26-27)

However, this love is not diminished by taking the moments God has for us in ministry and prioritizing them to the top. We are to both minister to our families, like Jesus modeled, and also minister to those God calls us to share the gospel with.

Lord, thank you for caring enough for your non-family members to share the gospel and speak the truth to them. I am a direct descendant of them and blessed by your faithfulness. May I also balance this with caring for my family well and loving them like no other. In the end, my immediate family and the family I have in Christ are both highly valued in your Eternal Kingdom!