Thanks for continuing with me on this journey through my Advent series on “Parenting Jesus.”
Crowds began to follow Jesus everywhere he went. Mark 1:45 tells us that at times the number of people gathered around Jesus made it impossible for him to enter a town. Two chapters later in 3:20,21 – also recorded in Luke 8:19-21 – the large crowds of people demanded so much attention that Jesus had no time to eat. Finally his mother, accompanied by Jesus’ brothers, came looking for him.
Every good Jewish mother wants to be sure her child is eating well, and Mary was no different. She must have been concerned by the sheer number of people overwhelming the house where her son was teaching. They prevented her from entering and speaking directly to her son. Mary looked around. In the crowd she may have seen cripples and tax collectors, she recognized soldiers and Pharisees.
But, Mary saw others, those who cared for Jesus. According to Luke 8:1-3, we know that Mary Magdalene, Joanna the wife of Herod’s business manager, and other women were present, too, ministering to Jesus’ needs.
Someone carried a message to Jesus. Surely he would come out to speak to his own mother. But, no. Raising his eyes, he looked at Mary Magdalene, the woman who had once been controlled by seven demons. Now she sat at his feet quietly absorbing his teaching. He looked at Peter, James and John, rough spoken fishermen. They stood nearby. Pointing to them, he said, “These are my mother, my brothers…”
Mary had done a good job raising Jesus. She would never stop loving him, but now God was using others to care for her son. Are we willing to step aside and allow God to use others to care for those we love?
