Matthew 12

I desire compassion

MATTHEW 12:1-50

12:1 At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat. 2 But when the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.” 3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he became hungry, he and his companions, 4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat nor for those with him, but for the priests alone? 5 “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and are innocent? 6 “But I say to you that something greater than the temple is here. 7 “But if you had known what this means, ‘I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE,’ you would not have condemned the innocent.

8 “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

9 Departing from there, He went into their synagogue. 10 And a man was there whose hand was withered. And they questioned Jesus, asking, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him. 11 And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has a sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out? 12 “How much more valuable then is a man than a sheep! So then, it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” 13 Then He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand!” He stretched it out, and it was restored to normal, like the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

15 But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, 16 and warned them not to tell who He was. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet:

18 “BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN;

MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL -PLEASED;

I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM,

AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.

19 “HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT;

NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS.

20 “A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF,

AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT,

UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY.

21 “AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.”

22 Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. 23 All the crowds were amazed, and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?” 24 But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “This man casts out demons only by Beelzebul the ruler of the demons.”

25 And knowing their thoughts Jesus said to them, “Any kingdom divided against itself is laid waste; and any city or house divided against itself will not stand. 26 “If Satan casts out Satan, he is divided against himself; how then will his kingdom stand? 27 “If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out? For this reason they will be your judges. 28 “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

29 “Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

30 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

31 “Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

33 “Either make the tree good and its fruit good, or make the tree bad and its fruit bad; for the tree is known by its fruit. 34 “You brood of vipers, how can you, being evil, speak what is good? For the mouth speaks out of that which fills the heart. 35 “The good man brings out of his good treasure what is good; and the evil man brings out of his evil treasure what is evil. 36 “But I tell you that every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it in the day of judgment. 37 “For by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned.”

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 “The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and behold, something greater than Jonah is here. 42 “The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

43 “Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

46 While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” 48 But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 50 ”For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

MATTHEW 12:1-8

8 “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

“Look, Your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”

Matthew 9 told us about the case the Religious Leaders were bringing to bear against Jesus. This chapter shows those leaders beginning to lay a trap to capture Jesus.

The leaders do not confront Jesus directly instead they begin by picking on his disciples. Obviously a ploy to make pick off the weaker of the faith without having to address Jesus directly. As with many bullies, they don’t confront those more powerful than themselves or those able to stand up for themselves. How often do people with a closed ideology and a little power soon display bullying behavior on those who don’t believe similarly? What does it take to keep us from becoming the same?

Even the disciples of Jesus ran this risk and had to be confronted by Jesus when they tried to disbar someone who was healing in the name of our Lord [Mark 9:38 and Luke 9:50].

Jesus refers the religious leaders to the story of David when his supporters and he were fleeing for their lives and ran hungrily into the tabernacle and ate the shewbread (reserved for the priests [1 Samuel 21:1-6]).

It is always interesting to see when Jesus quotes scripture. Usually it is only to Satan, his minions or to the religious leaders. He doesn’t use scripture when he shares with common people. Then, he uses parables and stories.

How often do we quote scripture and to what purpose? Is it to impress those around us with our profound memory? People are usually more impressed with our ability to listen to their needs rather than quote from our memory.

“I DESIRE COMPASSION, AND NOT A SACRIFICE”

Jesus quotes from Hosea [Hosea 6:6], the best way to keep our focus on God and not on ourselves is through being active in compassion. We often think we are being kind to the poor, but in truth, the poor are kind to us, they remind us to love Jesus Christ, in his simplest form. They are truly prophetic in that they remind us of our duty to God through acts of compassion.

The further we are from the poor, the further we are from God. How do we know if we are close to God? The poor and those who are outcast call us by name.

“For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Mark elaborates on this verse and simply states, “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath [Mark 2:27].”

Using the term, Son of Man doesn’t necessarily mean Jesus is claiming the title of the Messiah and that he is control of the Sabbath (although that might also have been his intent). In the Old Testament, this phrase often just meant, “man,” unless it was capitalized. We don’t know if this term was capitalized in the Greek NT version of Matthew because all Greek was written in capital letters.

We do know that Jesus was defending the actions of his disciples to the religious leaders (who were attacking the disciples, not Jesus). Jesus is virtually saying two things.

1. The rules are meant to serve people, people were not meant to be enslaved by them. In that way, Jesus was castigating the religious leaders for making the rules so strict and overbearing that most people could not follow them.

2. That compassion rules the Sabbath, not legalism.

Which rules our lives and the faith we teach? Rules or compassion?

MATTHEW 12:9-14

A man was there whose hand was withered

This was entrapment, it was no chance meeting. The Religious Leaders had purposely lured this man into the Synagogue to play on Jesus’ compassion. According to the law, one could prevent further bodily harm (for example, put on a bandage or stop someone’s bleeding) on the Sabbath, but it was considered work to improve someone’s health.

They knew that Jesus’s soft heart could not leave this man crippled for one more day. They would have eyewitnesses of Jesus working on the Sabbath and be able to condemn him.

What kind of a cold person lies in wait to prey upon another’s compassion? How did these religious leaders become so hardened? We need to ask these questions so we make sure it doesn’t happen to us.

When the law becomes more important than a person it is like shutting off capillaries to our heart. Jesus accused the Pharisees of their hardening of hearts [G4641 Sklērokardia — literally sclerosis of the heart].

God is the one who knows our hearts [G2588 Kardiognōstēs], to be like God is to be a “knower of hearts.” This calls distinctly for practicing habits of empathy. We need to put ourselves consistently in places where our hearts are softened and challenged. This habit is the only way I know to prevent the hardening of hearts typified by these Religious Leaders who were fine with using a crippled person to entrap a compassionate man.

“Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”—so that they might accuse Him

Jesus frequently taught by asking the appropriate question rather than providing the wise answer. He does so here with a rhetorical question he knows the Religious Leaders won’t answer. Jesus knew it was illegal to heal on the Sabbath; he just wanted to frame his response to the crippled person for all those around him. Our Lord already knew he was going to heal the crippled man’s palsied hand.

We could each improve our leadership skills by patiently seeking the right question instead of the witty or wise answer. It is far more empowering for others to share in the answer than for us to take the opportunity away from them to show their wisdom as well.

It does require more patience to lead in this manner, but it builds stronger people. As Jesus asked this, he knew his disciples gained more understanding of his actions too. They would be sought out by these same religious leaders long after Jesus was gone and his endeavor was to prepare them to be leaders under duress.

“Stretch out your hand!”

Here is a test of faith. This man had probably not revealed his hand nor stretched it out in public since it had withered. He was probably deeply ashamed of his handicap (since the people of the time associated any disease, illness or abnormality with the sin of the impaired individual). He certainly would have never stretched it out in the synagogue, unless it was so he might be abused or mocked by those around him.

These leaders had no doubt made an example of him before and he probably thought that was Jesus’ intent now.

The religious leaders brought forth the man to embarrass him and to incriminate Jesus. This behavior is no different than the behavior of a schoolyard bully making fun of the weakest child on the playground. Yet, it was the religious leaders displaying this despicable behavior.

Perhaps when the impaired man looked up into the eyes of Jesus, he was overwhelmed with the kindness he found there and that empowered him to break the boundaries that would have impeded any other person with a similar issue. Is our look and kindness this compelling?

Do people feel confident to come out of their shell because of our presence? Am I someone who helps others risk vulnerability? Do people forget their impediments around me?

But the Pharisees went out and conspired against Him

Even in the face of the miraculous, the leaders choose their ideology and seek to arrest and punish Jesus. Very few things are more dangerous than the combination of the closed mind of an ideologue and authority. When the two coalesce in religion, it is like air and fuel for a fire. So many people have been martyred; populations have been desecrated in the name of ideological religion united with political power.

Jesus was adamant that his revolution was not tied to politics and worldly power. Satan offered him that temptation early on in his ministry — the power to manipulate — and he rejected it thoroughly.

The primary difference between business, politics and Christ’s way can be found in the word, “Expedience;” the belief that the ends will justify the means. Jesus was killed for expedience.

John 18:14

Now Caiaphas was the one who had advised the Jews that it was expedient for one man to die on behalf of the people.

Expedient [G4815a Sumpherō] to bring together, to take advantage, to be profitable

At face value the word seems innocuous. But expedience has been the justifier of too many wars. In the Lord’s path, if you don’t control the means, you can’t control the ends. For this reason some business practices cannot be applied to faith-based or justice-based organizations. I’m always dubious when I hear politicians run on the platform that they’re going to make politics more like a business. More expedient? More compliant with the bottom line?

What is the bottom line to Jesus? It was healing this man with the withered hand, compassion. To the religious leaders, it was using the man’s hand to build a case against Jesus.

MATTHEW 12:15-21

18 “BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN;

MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED;

I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM,

AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.

19 “HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT;

NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS.

20 “A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF,

AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT,

UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY.

21 “AND IN HIS NAME THE GENTILES WILL HOPE.”

Until he leads justice to victory and in his name Gentiles will hope

The forty-second chapter of Isaiah (from where this quotation Is drawn) [Isaiah 42:3], follows the trials of the Israelites from slavery to freedom. Chapter 41 reveals God’s promise to bring forth a messenger of the Savior, 42 reveals the character of the coming messiah. Not just his character, but also his task, to bring justice and hope to Gentiles.

This was way off the religious leaders map. The Gentiles, in their opinion, were to be despised and looked down on. They wanted nothing more than to overturn the Roman Gentile rule of their country and rule themselves.

The task of Jesus is nothing less than to lead justice to victory. Not a people, not a nation, but a concept; justice. National borders were drawn by humans, not God. Our concern should be justice worldwide, not just the victory of our little nation. The life of a nation is fragile and short, the life of their leaders, even shorter. God’s interest is eternal. Not just national, not just humanity, but the liberation of the human soul -- the battered reed, the smouldering wick -- the treatment of the smallest and most fragile.

The vision of the Religious Leaders was clouded by their desire for national preeminence. They were “missing the mark.”

How easy it is for any of us to lower our focus depending on our regional or nationalistic interests.

MATTHEW 12:22-30

29 “Or how can anyone enter the strong man’s house and carry off his property, unless he first binds the strong man? And then he will plunder his house.

30 “He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

“If I by Beelzebul cast out demons, by whom do your sons cast them out?”

As we’ve seen, Jesus continually put himself at risk by association. He “ate with sinners” and sought out the desperate. In healing the man with a withered hand, the Lord knew he was being set up. In the same way, he had already heard the Pharisees and Scribes accusing him of collusion with evil because he healed those with demonic issues. The term “demonic” [G1142 Daimonion] meant to manipulate destinies. Who was more manipulative, the possessed man or the Religious Leaders?

Again Jesus leads with the “right question.” Allowing the leaders to entrap themselves. There were others who had relieved people of demons and Jesus was asking these leaders what power those healers called upon to do their work. Notice Jesus doesn’t ask these leaders about their power. One of the primary sources of their anger was their inability to move from authority to authenticity. They were spiritually powerless because they occupied their time with politics and legal minutiae.

Behind every person of authentic power there is someone sitting at a desk trying to regulate that ability. Which side of the desk does the day find me?

When I was a jail chaplain we would see a new Sargent appointed every now and again. As soon as the Sargent came in, he would increase the paperwork tenfold. We would recognize this strategy and, of course, comply. Within a couple weeks the Sargent would be so buried in his own paperwork that he would have no choice but to begin delegating control again. Even a Sargent doesn’t want to spend his/her life buried in paperwork.

In Christ’s kingdom, I want to make sure I’ve been on the “right side of the desk.” The one giving me opportunity to be among the people who are making a difference, not impeding them with needless bureuacratic paperwork, policy and regulations. It should be standard in every organization that for every new reporting form created, another should be destroyed.

“He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not gather with Me scatters.”

Here are three important Greek terms in the New Testament

1. Against [G2596 kata] to be against, counter, contrarian

2. With [G4863 Sunagō] with, together, in unity

3. Scatters [G4650 Skorpizō] scatter, break apart

The Messiah leaves little quarter, our actions either gather with him or scatter from him. To be against Jesus wasn’t just to be opposed to him, it was to be contrarian towards everything about him. Such people aren’t worth an argument. Jesus lets his deeds speak instead of his words.

The Pharisees and Scribes were contrary to Jesus. It wouldn’t matter what he said or did they would be against him. There are some people who just have contrarian attitudes. They see themselves as “the Devil’s Advocate,” what a term! In this case it was true. Accusing Jesus of healing by the power of Satan, these leaders were advocating for Satan’s power.

What do we need to do to make sure we aren’t contrarian people? Opposed just to create argument? How do our words gather or scatter people? Not just to Christ but to community and hope as well. These leaders scattered people who congregated because they feared a loss of power. The first Greek word for church, Ekklesia [G1577], comes from a Roman law that prevented two or three people from congregating in the streets and having a conversation. They knew their authority was so fragile that they saw any conversation they weren’t leading as a threat.

MATTHEW 12:31-32

31 ”Therefore I say to you, any sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven. 32 ”Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.

“Whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him”

This verse causes a great deal of concern as people attempt to understand the meaning of the “unforgivable sin” and if by chance they may have committed such a transgression. To be accurate, the Greek term for “speak against [G988 Blasphēmia],” is sometimes considered to “swear.” However, even that concept is deceptive. Using foul language is vulgar, but it is not unforgiveable.

The real term means to use someone’s name in vain. This means to make someone’s name useless. It was often used for those who received the King’s sceptre (permission) to speak on the leader’s behalf, then used that privilege to further their own fortunes. This was a crime punishable by death. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit is to use the Spirit's name in vain. To make the name of the Holy Spirit worthless or powerless.

Certainly our actions continually outspeak our words. However when our actions lead to the increased hopelessness or helplessness of those in need, than we are truly undermining the name of the Holy Spirit. We must continually call upon the Holy Spirit that our actions might empower the “least of these.”

MATTHEW 12:33-37

“The tree is known by its fruit”

As we look behind us at the trail left by our lives, is it lined with life-giving results or ruined by our impact? My father, an environmental scientist and educator in Universities around the world always emphasized that wherever we had been should appear better than when we had found it. He certainly did that with his life.

The same should be true of our relationships. Behind us should be a string of healthy growing people because of our words and actions.

“Every careless word that people speak, they shall give an accounting for it”

This can be very disconcerting. I know I’ve spoken a careless word or two in my time and the initial response I have to this note is, “Then who has a chance of living a sacred life?”

The fact is, none of us. If we did, then why would God have to sacrifice his son?

It is also a good test to remember that each of us is imperfect. Jesus was raising the bar in front of the religious leaders — so keen on condemning others. This new level of a perfected, compassionate life would leave even their rigorous accounting of the laws, lacking.

Two critical words that we should study in this sentence are

1. Careless word [G692 Argo]

2. Accounting [G3056 Logo]

In Greek [G692 Argos] this term also means idle as well as careless, lazy and useless. It should be contrasted with logos [G3056] which means a good word but also a good accounting, teaching, preaching and exhortation. John says that Jesus is “The Word,” the most important word uttered by God, God’s forgiveness and salvation, the Word springing to life in a human form.

Each word was thought to have a life of its own by both the Greek and the Jew. What is the power of our words? Are they logo or argo?

Though we cannot expect to live the perfect life, we should remember that Jesus is our forgiveness and perfect and we can account for our “argo-ness” — from the careless and useless words we have spoken — in this life and before the day of judgment.

MATTHEW 12:38-42

38 Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.” 39 But He answered and said to them, “An evil and adulterous generation craves for a sign; and yet no sign will be given to it but the sign of Jonah the prophet; 40 for just as JONAH WAS THREE DAYS AND THREE NIGHTS IN THE BELLY OF THE SEA MONSTER, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth. 41 ”The men of Nineveh will stand up with this generation at the judgment, and will condemn it because they repented at the preaching of Jonah; andood , something greater than Jonah is here. 42 ”The Queen of the South will rise up with this generation at the judgment and will condemn it, because she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and behold, something greater than Solomon is here.

“Teacher, we want to see a sign from You”

This statement practically drips with sarcasm. These leaders had just witnessed a man’s hand restored and a man who was demon possessed, blind and mute restored. They used the first man as a way of entrapping Jesus and they claimed that his power to restore the second man came from Satan.

Now they call him “teacher,” now they want to “see a sign!”

In Jewish folklore, the “Bad Guys” were the people of Ninevah and the evil princess was the Queen of Sheba (Queen of the South). Jesus is telling these religious leaders they are the bad guys and the Ninevites and evil princess will pass judgment and be welcomed in the kingdom before them.

Why? Because the Ninevites and the Queen of the South repented of their errors while the leaders were too blind to see their own.

What then are the three primary qualities we should seek for the kingdom?

1. Compassion

2. Humility

3. Repentance

This triumvirate of heavenly qualities is open to anyone. They are qualities are gained through practice and lost through the qualities shown by the Religious Leaders of Jesus’ time.

1. Pride

2. Selfishness

3. Judgment

Both sets of three are mutually incompatible. They undermine each other. One can only foster the former or the latter, never both.

MATTHEW 12:43-45

43 ”Now when the unclean spirit goes out of a man, it passes through waterless places seeking rest, and does not find it. 44 “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order. 45 “Then it goes and takes along with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and live there; and the last state of that man becomes worse than the first. That is the way it will also be with this evil generation.”

“The last state of that man becomes worse than the first”

This is a great lesson for those in the area of restoration for both addictions and compulsions. The addictive aspect of drugs lasts around ninety days. The compulsive aspect is ongoing. It is the habits of addictions that are most insidious and hardest to change. The “where, when and with whom” of the compulsive pattern.

Once addicted, the brain loses it’s own ability to release dopamine, the key hormone for the natural release of joy. Sadly, the cells requiring this “pleasure sensation” are increased and never go back to normal. In essence that is why Replacement Therapy is so essential in addiction and compulsion cases. It is not enough to get rid of the drug or compulsion — it must be replaced with something else.

For the inmates I’ve worked with, prayer and meditation was an adequate substitute for the drugs on the inside. But as soon as they were released, we needed to find them opportunities for compassionate work. In such settings, inmates would find a new identity. Nothing changes the way we think about ourselves more than new behaviors.

Many people think beliefs follow behaviors, but research tells us the opposite is true. This is the core premise of the cognitive dissonance theory. If there is a difference between my beliefs and my consistent behaviors, my beliefs change — not my behaviors!

In order to make a spirit that is not ripe for compulsion or manipulation, the habits of the addiction and compulsion must be replaced by acts of compassion and confidence.

MATTHEW 12: 46-50

46 While He was still speaking to the crowds, behold, His mother and brothers were standing outside, seeking to speak to Him. 47 Someone said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside seeking to speak to You.” 48 But Jesus answered the one who was telling Him and said, “Who is My mother and who are My brothers?” 49 And stretching out His hand toward His disciples, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 50 “For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

“For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother”

It is believed that as the heat was being turned up on Jesus, his family received news of the danger he was facing from the Religious and Political leaders. They went to warn him of his jeopardy and to encourage him to “back down.”

Can you imagine the pain it must have caused the family of Jesus — including his mother — to be admonished for playing it safe?

Catholic believers do not believe that Mary had other children, therefore who are these “brothers?”

It would not be unusual for Joseph’s marriage to Mary to be a late-life second marriage. Women were often betrothed to older men in this manner, with no say in the choice. It is still a frequent practice in some countries. The young girl is assigned a husband who can provide for her while she is still in her pre-teen years and she becomes widowed early when the older spouse dies.

Joseph may have had many children by a first wife and then she passed away. Women lived much shorter lives then men and often died in childbirth. The children of that marriage would have been seen as brothers of Jesus, not half-brothers.

But let’s not lose the main point of the story. We become related to Jesus through doing his will, not through bloodlines. No one comes to Jesus because of his or her relationships. We must each follow his path personally.

The will or the way of Jesus is the way of compassion and forgiveness. If we follow that will closely, there are going to be people who want to silence us. Compassion is not welcome by those who create, maintain or gain from unjust systems.