Built on the Bible
“But he answered them, ‘My mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.’”
Luke 8:21
Jesus was a busy man. He had a traveling ministry that very likely kept him fatigued often since He would have had to adjust to sleeping in a new location frequently. He ministry was outdoors and involved lots of walking. Yet Jesus expected His followers, whom He called His family, to hear and do the Word of God. Let’s take a look at this verse, Luke 8:21, and how we can learn three important takeaways.
Who We Are
The first important takeaway is finding out who we are. Before I go any further though, I would like to address why Jesus used the word mother in Luke 8:21 instead of sister. The context is key. Jesus’ mother and brothers were nearby and they wanted to come see Jesus. Jesus, however, told the crowd that “my mother and my brothers are those who hear the word of God and do it.” Jesus is not indicating here that He has a spiritual mother. Nowhere in the Bible do we find indication that Jesus has a spiritual mother (obviously, he does a physical mother, Mary). If he did have a spiritual mother, I’m not sure if that would mean God the Father would have a wife, or how that would work—but I digress.
If Jesus is not saying that he has a mother or mothers, then what is He saying? Jesus is foreshadowing adoption into God’s family that He will earn for believers. By dying on the cross, resurrecting, and ascending to heaven, Jesus made the way for the Holy Spirit to descend on believers. The Holy Spirit imparts His gifts to God’s children, who have been adopted into God’s family. Hence, Jesus can call those who hear and do the word of God His brothers, because all who are saved (thus by necessity including an indwelling of the Holy Spirit) are indeed in God’s family.
Finally, it is also important to stress the fact that we do not earn salvation. It is crucial to realize that hearing and doing the Word of God, in a sense, do not give salvation. We don’t earn salvation from works. The most striking demonstration of good works without salvation is given in Matthew 7:21-23: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast our demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart form me, you workers of lawlessness.'”
We Hear the Bible
Our next area of focus is the first verb that Jesus uses, “those who hear.” There are three primary ways that this hearing happens. The first way that we will discuss is hearing that is accidental. By accidental, I mean hearing that occurs when one hears the Word of God without intentionally seeking it out. This could include a teenager forced to go to church, or a friend witnessed to by a friend. Basically, they didn’t ask themselves “how can I know more about God by hearing God’s Word?” before they heard the Word of God. Most Christians were saved this way. They didn’t wake up that morning wanting to hear the Bible, but when they went to bed that night, they did.
The next type of hearing the Word of God that we will focus on is corporately hearing the Word of God. The most frequent manifestation of this type is in church. Sermons from Bible-believing pastors are excellent sources of hearing the Word of God. Jesus expects His brothers and sisters to hear the Word of God, as we saw in Luke 8:21. The next time that you are in church, hearing the Word of God preached, listen, and discern how you can do the Word of God.
God’s Word is how God has revealed Himself to us.
Finally, arguably the most important type of hearing the Word of God for growing believers is private hearing. While I call this hearing, it generally takes the form of reading the Bible as opposed to hearing an audio-Bible, due to the control of pace offered by a paper Bible. You are the reader after all. Reading God’s Word is our nourishment. Not only does it nourish us, but it guides us (Psalm 119:105). God’s Word is how God has revealed Himself to us, and it is also where He revealed to us how we obey.
We Do the Bible
Our third area of focus is on the doing. This is the second and final verb that Jesus gives us. Not only does Jesus expects believers, those who have been adopted into God’s family, to hear His Word, but He also expects believers to do the Word. The first thing that we need to realize is that doing is always built on hearing. We can’t obey if we don’t have instructions. This is why theology is so important. Often there is a hesitancy to listen to and study theology, but theology is where we find out who God is and what He expects from us. Believers, if you want to love as Jesus loved, study up!
Next, we need to understand the simple truth that doing is expected. Jesus didn’t leave doing as an optional program. Doing is not an elective class for really smart or ultra-holy Christians. Jesus expects everyone who has been adopted into His family to serve. To quote Jesus, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments” (John 14:15).
Believers, if you want to love as Jesus loved, study up!
Finally, doing the Bible is only possible through God. Paul says in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God.” Who gets the credit for Paul’s righteousness? Not Paul. Not even a church. Jesus Christ alone can ultimately strengthen us to obey. We can try self-care, but we can’t be righteous in the end. You can go to church all your life and still spend eternity in the lake of fire. However, not only does Jesus give us salvation and give us His legal righteousness, but He also strengthens us to obey each and every day when we trust in Him to do so.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. May not copy or download more than 500 consecutive verses of the ESV Bible or more than one half of any book of the ESV Bible.