Matthew 12:47 - Printer Friendly

ESV:

NIV: Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."

NASB: [ Someone said to Him, 'Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak to You.']

CSB: Someone told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you."

NLT: Someone told Jesus, 'Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to speak to you.'

KJV: Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

NKJV: Then one said to Him, “Look, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, seeking to speak with You.”

This verse is not included in some early manuscripts of Matthew's gospel. Scholars think it might have been mistakenly added by some copyists, or included to harmonize the account with Mark. The translators of the English Standard Version (ESV) have chosen not to include it, though it does appear in the New International Version (NIV) and others.

This verse repeats the end of the previous verse in the form of someone giving Jesus the message that His mother and brothers were outside wanting to speak to Him. What Matthew does not include that Mark's version of this story does is that the family had come to "take charge" of Jesus. They said, "He is out of his mind" (Mark 3:21).

This additional information tells us two things. First, Jesus' family did not yet believe that He was the Messiah (or they would not have said He was out of His mind). Second, they were still concerned about Him and either wanted to help Him or to remove Him from the public eye and further embarrassment. There's no way to know.

Once Jesus is told they are outside waiting for Him, he says a surprising thing about family (Matthew 12:48).

Matthew 12:46–50 finds Jesus teaching inside a house. He receives a message that His mother Mary and His brothers are waiting outside to talk to Him. In response, Jesus points to His disciples. He declares that anyone who does the will of His Father in heaven is His brother and sister and mother, establishing the idea that those who follow Christ and do God's will are meant to be connected like family.

Matthew 12 features confrontations between the Pharisees and Jesus over several issues. Among these are working on the Sabbath, healing on the Sabbath, and the source of His power to cast out demons. Jesus counters each argument and rebukes the Pharisees sharply for their obstinate unbelief. He even notes that those who maliciously ascribe His miracles to demons are unforgivable. He warns them, and the rest of their current generation, about the judgment to come. Jesus calls the Pharisees a brood of vipers and rejects their demand for another miracle. All they'll be promised is the sign of Jonah. The Son of Man will be in the heart of the earth for three days. Jesus also states that all who do His Father's will are His family.

Matthew 11 depicted Jesus preaching and teaching after sending out His chosen disciples in pairs in chapter 10. Chapter 12 immediately picks up with more confrontation with the Pharisees. Jesus responds to those criticisms and rebukes their evil hearts as the source of their evil words. In the following chapter, Matthew will shift His focus onto Jesus' parables.

The Gospel of Matthew clearly shows the influence of its writer's background, and his effort to reach a specific audience. Matthew was one of Jesus' twelve disciples, a Jewish man, and a former tax collector. This profession would have required literacy, and Matthew may have transcribed some of Jesus' words as they were spoken. This book is filled with references to the Old Testament, demonstrating to Israel that Jesus is the Promised One. Matthew also includes many references to coins, likely due to his former profession. Matthew records extensive accounts of Jesus' teaching, more than the other three Gospels.