Mark 3:33 kjv
And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
Mark 3:33 nkjv
But He answered them, saying, "Who is My mother, or My brothers?"
Mark 3:33 niv
"Who are my mother and my brothers?" he asked.
Mark 3:33 esv
And he answered them, "Who are my mother and my brothers?"
Mark 3:33 nlt
Jesus replied, "Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?"
Mark 3 33 Cross References
| Verse | Text | Reference |
|---|---|---|
| Mt 12:46-50 | While Jesus was still talking... someone told Him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside..." Jesus replied... "For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother." | Parallel account, clarifies the spiritual family. |
| Lk 8:19-21 | Then His mother and brothers came to see Him... He replied, "My mother and my brothers are those who hear God’s word and put it into practice." | Parallel account, emphasizes hearing and obeying God's Word. |
| Mk 3:34-35 | And looking at those who sat around Him, He said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is my brother and sister and mother." | Immediate context, explains the rhetorical question. |
| Jn 4:34 | "My food," said Jesus, "is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to finish His work." | Jesus' priority is God's will, echoing His focus on spiritual lineage. |
| Jn 6:38 | For I have come down from heaven not to do My will but to do the will of Him who sent Me. | Reinforces Jesus' ultimate commitment to God's will. |
| Lk 14:26 | "If anyone comes to Me and does not hate father and mother... he cannot be My disciple." | Highlights the supremacy of discipleship over earthly family ties. |
| Ps 1:1-2 | Blessed is the one... whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on His law day and night. | Relates to obedience to God's law as a defining characteristic. |
| 1 Sam 15:22 | Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings... as in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice... | Obedience supersedes traditional ritual, prefiguring spiritual priorities. |
| Rom 8:29 | For those God foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. | Jesus is the "firstborn" in a new, spiritual family of believers. |
| Heb 2:11 | Both the one who makes people holy and those who are made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers and sisters. | Jesus identifies believers as His brethren, a spiritual kinship. |
| Eph 2:19 | Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of His household. | Believers become part of God's spiritual household/family. |
| Gal 3:28 | There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. | Highlights the breaking down of earthly distinctions for unity in Christ. |
| 1 Pet 1:23 | For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. | Describes being "born again" into a spiritual family through the Word. |
| Col 3:12-14 | Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness... and over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. | Attributes of the spiritual family's conduct. |
| Rev 21:7 | Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be My sons. | Future culmination of the spiritual family as children of God. |
| Jn 1:12-13 | Yet to all who did receive Him... He gave the right to become children of God—children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God. | Emphasizes spiritual birth into God's family over physical birth. |
| Isa 58:6-7 | Is not this the fast that I choose... to loose the bonds of injustice... to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house...? | God's will expressed in justice and care for others, key aspects of a truly spiritual life. |
| Mic 6:8 | He has told you, O mortal, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? | Defines living according to God's will in practical terms. |
| Mt 7:21 | "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of My Father who is in heaven." | Directly connects doing the Father's will with entrance into the Kingdom. |
| Mk 10:29-30 | "Truly I tell you," Jesus said, "no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father... for Me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much... and in the age to come eternal life." | Highlights spiritual rewards for prioritizing Christ over biological family. |
Mark 3 verses
Mark 3 33 Meaning
Mark 3:33 presents Jesus' rhetorical question in response to being told His mother and brothers are seeking Him. It challenges the purely physical understanding of kinship, setting the stage for His declaration in the following verses (Mk 3:34-35) that true family in God's kingdom is defined by obedience to the will of God, rather than by biological ties alone. This does not devalue His earthly family but highlights the supreme importance of spiritual lineage and discipleship.
Mark 3 33 Context
Mark 3:33 occurs in a dramatic and escalating section of Jesus’ ministry. Immediately prior to this (Mk 3:20-21), Jesus’ own family arrived, intending to seize Him, having heard that "He is out of His mind" (Mk 3:21). Simultaneously, scribes from Jerusalem accused Jesus of casting out demons by the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, an accusation leading to His teaching on the unforgivable sin against the Holy Spirit (Mk 3:22-30). In this heated environment, a crowd surrounds Jesus, and messengers inform Him that His mother and brothers are outside, asking for Him. Jesus' rhetorical question in verse 33 serves as a prelude to His powerful redefinition of family. Culturally, kinship was paramount in Jewish society, often defining a person's identity and loyalty. Jesus challenges this conventional understanding by establishing a new spiritual family rooted in obedience to God's divine will, indicating that His primary allegiance and mission transcend earthly relationships.
Mark 3 33 Word analysis
- And (καὶ - kai): A simple conjunctive particle. It seamlessly connects Jesus' previous discourse (on the unforgivable sin and the nature of His ministry) to the new interaction concerning His family. It indicates continuation of the narrative flow.
- he answered (ἀποκριθεὶς - apokritheis): This is an aorist participle, conveying the action of "having answered" or "in answer." It indicates a direct and decisive reply to the specific message He just received about His family's arrival.
- them (αὐτοῖς - autois): Refers to the people who conveyed the message about His family's presence. It signifies the direct address of Jesus' reply to the messengers.
- saying (λέγει - legei): Present tense of the verb "to say." The use of the historical present often makes the narration more vivid and immediate, bringing the reader directly into the moment of Jesus' declaration.
- Who (Τίς - Tis): An interrogative pronoun meaning "Who?" or "What?" It introduces a rhetorical question designed to prompt a deeper understanding or shift in perspective, rather than soliciting a factual answer. It directly challenges the implied assumption that His biological family is His primary concern or only family.
- is (ἐστιν - estin): The third person singular present indicative of "to be." It expresses identity or existence, foundational to the redefinition Jesus is about to present.
- my mother (ἡ μήτηρ μου - hē mētēr mou): "Mother" (mētēr) refers to His biological mother, Mary. The possessive pronoun "my" (mou) denotes a personal, immediate relationship. The question implies that this biological relationship, while acknowledged, is not the sole or primary determinant of "family" in a kingdom context.
- or (ἢ - ē): A disjunctive particle, meaning "or" or "either." It presents alternatives or distinctions, in this case, between "mother" and "brothers."
- my brethren (οἱ ἀδελφοί μου - hoi adelphoi mou): "Brothers" (adelphoi) generally refers to siblings from the same womb (e.g., James, Joses, Simon, and Judas mentioned in Mk 6:3). The use of "my" (mou) again indicates personal biological relation. Like "mother," the term is set up for redefinition in the next verses, suggesting that physical ties are secondary to spiritual ones for those entering God's household.
- "Who is my mother, or my brethren?": This complete rhetorical question, phrased to challenge a conventional Jewish understanding of familial priority, sets the stage for Jesus to expand the concept of kinship. It forces listeners to reconsider who truly belongs to Jesus' innermost circle—not just those related by blood, but those united by shared spiritual commitment to God's will.
Mark 3 33 Bonus section
This verse subtly introduces the Kingdom Age principle where spiritual allegiances begin to supersede natural ones, a recurring theme throughout Jesus' ministry. It demonstrates Jesus' method of using an immediate personal situation to teach a profound spiritual truth, shifting focus from earthly concerns (His family "trying to take charge of Him") to heavenly priorities. The crowd around Him (Mk 3:34), to whom He directly turns, represents those ready to embrace this new spiritual reality, foreshadowing the inclusion of Gentiles and all who believe, into the family of God, regardless of their earthly lineage or status.
Mark 3 33 Commentary
Mark 3:33 serves as a pivotal rhetorical question that reorients the concept of family around spiritual commitment rather than solely biological ties. Amidst the chaos of His family's concern for His sanity and the Pharisees' accusations, Jesus uses this moment to declare the new order of the Kingdom. He is not denigrating His earthly family; indeed, elsewhere, He upholds honor for parents. Instead, He elevates the spiritual bond, highlighting that obedience to God's will creates a profound and true kinship with Him. This teaching underscores Jesus' primary allegiance to His Father's mission and His desire for all believers to share in this new, divine family. It calls for discipleship that prioritizes God above all else, indicating that membership in Christ's spiritual family comes through active participation in the Father's purpose, a calling higher than any earthly connection. Practically, it encourages believers to value shared faith and obedience to God's word as foundational to their deepest relationships, fostering a spiritual family committed to His kingdom work.