Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Luke 8:21
And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.
21. are these ] The word implies the “looking round at those sitting in a circle about Him” of Mar 3:34, and the “stretching forth His hand towards His disciples” of Mat 12:49. “Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you,” Joh 15:14 (comp. Luk 2:49; Joh 2:4;Joh 14:21; Heb 2:11). His earthly relatives needed the lesson that they must recognise in Him a Being who stood far above all relationships
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
See Poole on “Luk 8:20”
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And he answered and said unto them,…. Not to his mother and brethren, but to those that told him of them, who either designed to reproach him with them, by reason of the meanness of them, or to interrupt him in his work:
my mother and my brethren are these; pointing to his disciples:
which hear the word of God; which he had been preaching, and was meant by the seed in the preceding parable:
and do it; behave in their lives and conversations agreeably to it; and observe the precepts and ordinances in it; elsewhere called the will of God his Father; [See comments on Mt 12:49].
[See comments on Mt 12:50].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
These which hear the word of God and do it ( ). The absence of the article with “mother” and “brothers” probably means, as Plummer argues, “Mother to me and brothers to me are those who c.” No one is a child of God because of human parentage (Joh 1:13). “Family ties are at best temporal spiritual ties are eternal” (Plummer) . Note the use of “hear and do” together here as in Matt 7:24; Luke 6:47 at the close of the Sermon on the Mount. The parable of the sower is almost like a footnote to that sermon. Later Jesus will make “doing” a test of friendship for him (Joh 15:14).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
1) “And he answered and said unto them,” (ho de apokritheis elpen pros autous) “Then he answered and said directly to them,” responded, Mat 12:48.
2) “My mother and my brethren are these,” (meter mou kai adelphoi mou houtoi estin) “My mother and my brothers are these,” Mat 12:48-49; Mar 3:34. Matthew and Mark assert that He gestured and looked as He stretched forth His hands, toward the disciples.
3) “Which hear the word of God and do it.” (hoi ton logon tou theou akouontes kai poiountes) “Those who are hearing (giving heed to) and doing the Word of God,” the things directed by the Word of God, Mat 12:50; Mar 3:35. The idea is that spiritual matters took priority, paramount claim, over and above human and natural ties and claims. He Himself permitted no earthly ties to turn Him from His path of duty in doing what the Father sent Him to do; Neither should His children, Luk 14:26; Joh 17:4; Heb 10:7.
The kindred of the Lord, after the Spirit, were dearer to Him than the kindred of the flesh who would not heed His Word, or keep His commandments, Joh 14:15; Jas 1:22.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(21) My mother and my brethren.The answer agrees very closely with that in the other Gospels. But note the use of the word of God, instead of the will of God in St. Mark, and the will of my Father in St. Matthew, as throwing light on the meaning of the former phrase, and showing its fulness and width of meaning.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
‘But he answered and said to them, “My mother and my brethren are these who hear the word of God, and do it.” ’
So He replied that the ones who had a right to His attention now were not His earthly family, but His ‘heavenly’ family, those who heard the word of God and did it, those who responded to Him. This undoubtedly included those mentioned in Luk 8:1-3. Now that He had begun His ministry family ties were broken. All His efforts must now be concentrated on His future task with no outside interference.
“My mother and my brethren.” Note that He does not suggest that any were His ‘father’. He had only one Father, and that was His heavenly Father. The believers were all His family under their Father.
‘Hear the word of God, and do it.” They are good ground and fully responsive (compare Luk 6:46-47), unlike Mary and His brothers.
Had their purpose been friendly and helpful there is little doubt that Jesus would have found time to see them. They could have come to Him ‘inside’. But they forfeited that right by the reason for which they came. However hard we may try to do so, we cannot hide the fact that at this stage His mother was one of His greatest hindrances. She had not let go of her grown up son, and thought that she could interfere in His ministry to its detriment. She did not necessarily doubt His mission. She, along with His brothers, was just certain that He was going about it the wrong way (compare Joh 2:1-11; Joh 7:4-5, where incidentally the brothers give the opposite advice to what they wanted to force on Him here, again wrongly). But we should note that we never receive any hint that she changes her mind and follows Jesus until after the resurrection (Act 1:14), although naturally she was present at the cross where in her weakened state Jesus put her in the care of the Apostle John (Joh 19:26-27).
(God in His wisdom knew that it would not be good for too much attention to be turned on Mary, and allowed her to backslide a little from her original commitment, but the church in its desire for a mother figure later ignored His efforts, something which has been to the detriment of many people as their eyes have been taken off Jesus. Sadly she had tried to do that while on earth, and her tradition and statues are doing the same thing now).
Some have tried in the interests of the hypothesis of Mary’s perpetual virginity to suggest that these were not brothers of the whole blood, not sons of Mary. But nowhere is that even hinted at, and had they been older than Jesus it would have been one of them who was the current ‘son of David’, not Him. Even at the time of Tertullian (200 AD) it was acknowledged that they were full sons of the whole blood. It is significant that not one of the Gospel writers presents them as other than brothers.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
‘But he answered and said to them, “My mother and my brethren are these who hear the word of God, and do it.” ’
So He replied that the ones who had a right to His attention now were not His earthly family, but His ‘heavenly’ family, those who heard the word of God and did it, those who responded to Him as Messiah. This undoubtedly included those mentioned in Luk 8:1-3. Now that He had begun His ministry family ties were broken. All His efforts must now be concentrated on His future task with no outside interference. The indication was that now if they were to have a part in Him they too must become followers.
And from this point on up to the end of this part Luke turns the attention in the proclamation of the Kingly Rule of God towards an emphasis on the Messiahship of Jesus, as symbolically rejected by Israel, but revealed to those who are chosen. As such The Kingly Rule of God though His Messiah is revealed by His power over nature, His power over evil spirits, His power to remove uncleanness, His power over death, and His revealed right to establish and feed a new community, a new Israel. And yet in contrast we are also warned that it was to be a Messiahship of suffering.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
21 And he answered and said unto them, My mother and my brethren are these which hear the word of God, and do it.
Ver. 21. See Mat 12:46 ; Mar 3:31 .
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Luk 8:21 . Lk. omits the graphic touches looking around, and stretching out His hands towards His disciples, concerned only to report the memorable word. , those hearing and doing the word of God . The expression here is somewhat conventional and secondary as compared with Mt. and Mk. Cf. chap. Luk 6:47 , and , Luk 8:11 .
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
answered and said. See note on Deu 1:41
unto. Greek. pros. App-104. Not the same word as in Luk 8:22.
do = are doing.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Luk 8:21. [ , my mother) See Luk 8:2.-V. g.- , my brethren) Luk 8:1, at the end.-V. g.]-, these) Used demonstratively.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
My mother: Luk 11:27, Luk 11:28, Mat 25:40, Mat 25:45, Mat 28:10, Joh 15:14, Joh 15:15, Joh 20:17, 2Co 5:16, 2Co 6:18, Heb 2:11-13
which: Luk 8:15, Mat 7:21-26, Mat 17:5, Joh 6:28, Joh 6:29, Joh 13:17, Jam 1:22, 1Jo 2:29, 1Jo 3:22, 1Jo 3:23, 3Jo 1:11
Reciprocal: Gen 7:5 – all that Eze 33:31 – and they Mat 12:50 – do Rom 2:13 – For not Rom 10:17 – and hearing Phi 4:9 – do 1Th 2:13 – the word of God
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
1
See the comments at Mat 12:47-48.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
CONSANGUINITY OF THE HOLY GHOST
Mat 12:46-50; Mar 3:31-35; & Luk 8:19; Luk 8:21; Luk 11:27-28. And it came to pass while He was speaking these things, a certain woman, lifting up her voice from the crowd, said to Him, Blessed is the womb having born Thee, and the breast which Thou didst suck. And He said, Truly, blessed are those who hear the Word of God and keep it. This is simply the gushing ejaculation of a woman in the crowd, so carried away with admiration of His mighty works and wonderful preaching that she is electrified with the conception of the glorious honor appertaining to the woman who enjoyed the privilege and the blessing of motherhood, thus giving the world such a Son. Matthew: And He, speaking to the multitudes, behold, His mother and brothers are standing without, seeking to speak to Him. And responding, He said to the one having spoken to Him, Who is My mother and who are My brothers? Reaching forth His hand toward His disciples [Mark says they were all sitting down around Him in a circle], said, Behold, My mother and My brothers. For whosoever may do the will of My Father who is in the heavens, the same is My brother, My sister, and My mother. Luke says, My mother and My brothers are those who hear the Word of God and do it. His reputed father, Joseph, is not mentioned here in connection with the family, neither have we a single word in reference to him since Jesus accompanied them to the temple when He was twelve years old. There is not doubt but he died during the ensuing eighteen years. We hear of Jesus having sisters living in Nazareth; doubtless married. Questions arise in reference to these brothers of Jesus four in number, James, Judas, Simon, and Joses the Roman Catholics, conservatively to their Mariolatry, claiming that they were the sons of Joseph by a former marriage; and the Protestants, certainly with more plausibility, that they were the uterine brothers of Jesus, and of course younger than Himself, as we have not an intimation that Joseph had a former marriage, and especially from the fact that we always find them in company with Mary, which looks much like she was their mother. Jesus then being thirty-two years old, if they were children of Joseph by a former marriage, it would put them up considerably in bachelorhood, and not seem very plausible that they would have been giving a stepmother so much attention. There is no doubt but they, thinking that He was wearing Himself out, wanted to prevail on Him to relax labor, and go home with them, and take a good rest, which was incompatible with the urgency of His important ministry. We see here, His natural relatives go into eclipse when contrasted with the spiritual. So we all find, as we become more spiritual, our physical consanguinity sinks into deeper eclipse; not that we love our natural relatives less, but the consanguinity of the Holy Ghost is so much sweeter and richer than that of this world, that we find our affections absorbed and literally captured by the saints of God, admiring and appreciating them in proportion to their approximation to that Perfect Man, the fairest among ten thousand and altogether lovely.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 21
His answer is a striking expression of his confidence that he had nothing to fear.