A whole new family…
Passages (NIV): Matthew 12:46-50. Preacher: Mark Kingston
Jesus is teaching inside a packed house. His mother and brothers arrive outside and send word in. In that world, family wasn’t just important. It was everything. Your place in society. Your future. Your honour. So everyone in the room knows what should happen next. You stop. You go. You attend to your family.
But Jesus doesn’t move. Instead, He looks at the crowd around him and says something nobody expects: “Here are my mother and my brothers. Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”
It sounds gentle to us, but to them it was a small earthquake! Let’s unpack why it was so explosive.
First, Jesus opens the door wide with that word “whoever.” That means anyone who turns toward the Father. No more religious or ethnic requirements. This is for anyone. And that means the doors are never meant to close. This new family Jesus is forming is not a private club or an inner circle for the already-sorted. Whoever keeps the doors open. Whoever means there is always room for one more person turning their heart toward the Father. Always space at the table.
Then he speaks of the one who does the Father’s will. Notice it is not “the one who has all the right theories,” but the one who responds. The one who “does” because they’ve begun to long for what God longs for.
And here is the connection that usually slips by too fast: If you are one of those “whoevers” who turn toward the Father, then here is the identity Jesus gives you. Not follower. Not volunteer. Not staff. Not recruit. Not even servant. He looks at you and calls you brother, sister, mother.
These aren’t soft metaphors. When Jesus uses “brother” and “sister,” the words in Greek are adelphys and adelphe, built on a root that means “from the same womb”. This means family in the deepest sense. It is the closest human bond you can name. It means having a shared life a shared future, a shared inheritance, and a shared identity. It is as if Jesus is saying, “If you have turned your heart toward my Father, then we share something as deep as birth itself. My Father’s life is in you. My future is tied to yours.” Isn’t that amazing?!
This means as a church community, we are not an audience, or a club, or a crowd of strangers watching something at the front. We are part of the family Jesus is forming around himself. People who share life, prayer, care, joy, stories and meals. People who see one another not as spectators in the same room but as siblings in the same family.
And this is why our café vision matters: The spaces we create quietly shape how we relate to each other. And spaces preach too. Rooms send messages long before anyone speaks. So - rows of chairs facing forward naturally make us feel like an audience. You sit, you watch, you listen, you go. That’s what rows are designed for. But a space that includes tables, soft chairs, warm corners to linger in says something different. It says this is a place to talk, to stay, to know and be known. This is a family space!
So if Jesus is forming a family, not an audience, it makes sense that our building should support that truth. A space that feels like a living room, not a waiting room. A place to stay, talk, listen, pray, relax, belong. And not just on Sundays, but every day! A home base for the family Jesus is shaping here.
So hear this clearly: If even the smallest desire for God is waking in you, Jesus looks at you and says, “You are my brother. You are my sister. You are my family.” This is the identity he gives you, and this is the vision he invites us to live out together.
REFLECTION QUESTIONS
Starting with your own story
When you think back over the churches you’ve been part of, what word comes to mind to describe them? Audience? Family? Club? Crowd? Something else? How has that shaped your experience of faith and belonging?“Whoever does the will of my Father”
Jesus throws the doors wide open with that word whoever. Does hearing that this family is defined by “whoever does the will of my Father” — not background, history, or status — shift how you think about who’s “in,” and why? What does belonging look like through that lens?Brother, sister, mother
Jesus gives these identity words to anyone who turns their heart toward the Father. What stirs in you when you hear Jesus call you brother, sister, or mother. What feels hopeful? What feels difficult?Seeing others differently
If we are truly siblings in God’s family, how might that change the way you see others in our church community? What might begin to shift in the way you speak, notice, pray, or show up for others?Helping family flourish
If we take Jesus seriously when he calls us family, what kinds of practices, rhythms, or even physical spaces might help that family grow? What could we design, change, or try - big or small - that would make it easier for people to linger, talk, welcome others, and actually live like brothers and sisters? Let your ideas wander a bit here!
WATCH THE SERMON
COMING SOON
