Matthew 12:46-50

If you have a copy of the Scriptures, if you

would open to the Gospel of Matthew to the 12th

chapter, we'll come to the final verses in this

chapter that we've been in quite some time now.

We'll look at 5 verses, verses 46 through 50.

Matthew writes, While he, that is Jesus, was

still talking to the multitudes, behold, his

mother, And brothers stood outside seeking to

speak with him. Then one said to him, Look, your

mother and your brothers are standing outside

seeking to speak with you. But he answered and

said to the one who told him, Who is my mother?

And who are my brothers? And he stretched out

his hand toward his disciples and said, Here

are my mother and my brothers. For whoever does

the will of my Father in heaven is my brother,

And sister and mother. Let's ask God to help

us. Father in heaven. Lord, what a wonderful

truth, Lord God. Lord, we have been united in

Christ. We have become eternal family. Lord,

shape us, Lord, this morning. Lord, as those

have been called out from the world. Called unto

Christ. Given your spirit. Lord, let us bear

that family resemblance. God, help us to walk

worthy of this high calling that we've received

in Christ. Lord, I pray for your enablement this

morning that, Lord God, I would sink very low

so that Christ might be held very high. Lord,

show us your son, we pray in his name. Amen.

Everyone has heard the old adage that blood is

thicker than water. And some people use it, and

when they use it, they mean that family bonds

and loyalty are more important than relationships

with people outside the family. The saying implies

that family takes precedence over all other relationships.

And that's true. I think in Lawrence County,

we hold to that. But it was especially true in

ancient Eastern cultures. In our text today,

though, it's something quite surprising because

the Lord Jesus, he's going to let us know that

there's something that's more important than

bloodlines. Even more important than family,

he says. And that's going to be the kingdom and

will of God. Now, Matthew is writing this gospel,

and the gospel of Matthew is all about the kingdom.

He's writing to show whoever might read this

gospel, particularly the Jewish people, that

the kingdom of God had arrived. But today there's

something that's a little bit surprising, particularly

to a Jewish mindset, and that is the kingdom

is not based on blood. It's not based on ancestry.

And that's an important thing because that would

have been shocking to the people of Israel, particularly

first century Israel. After all, these Jewish

Hebrew people, they are the physical descendants

of Abraham. And because of that, they were the

recipients of those grand promises that God had

given to Abraham. The Jews took pride in their

pedigree. That's why they hated the Samaritans.

There was a barrier there. Lineage was of the

utmost importance in the Jewish mind, which is

why they kept such meticulous records of genealogy.

They did it better than anyone. Because they

felt somehow that their physical descent from

Abraham automatically, and that's the key there,

automatically earn them a place in the kingdom

of God. But then there's Jesus, and he's letting

us know something. The ancestry, although important,

is not ultimate. The relationship that is ultimate

is not based on biology at all. God's people

are not defined by their lineage. but rather

by their obedience. Jesus said, whoever does

the will of my Father. Now in verses 46 through

50, you have to understand Jesus is now inside

a home. He's teaching the multitudes. When someone,

unnamed, we don't know, let him know that, hey,

your mother and your brothers, they're outside

and they're wanting to talk to you. Just letting

you know your family's arrived. But instead of

immediately leaving to go outside, Jesus then

asked a question. He said, well, who are my mother

and brothers? And then he turned to his disciples

and he said, here, right here. Here are my mother

and my brothers. Now we have to understand the

context. Why is Matthew putting this right here?

Because in chapter 12, the story begins with

a conflict between Jesus and the religious leaders,

really over Sabbath regulations. They've been

fighting about it this whole chapter. And the

conflict had escalated to the point where the

Pharisees, really they met together and they

wanted Jesus dead. And then they blasphemed him,

saying that he did his power by demonic forces.

Now it's clear that the religious leaders had

misunderstood him. And not only had they misunderstood

him, they misunderstood the nature of his mission.

But today there's another group. We're going

to see that even some of his own family misunderstood

him. For the very first time in Matthew's gospel,

apart from Mary and Joseph, we are now introduced

to Jesus' family. So they come to the home. He's

teaching them at home. And they're going to get

him, and they're going to take him home. They

want to rescue him, kind of. And the question

is, why? Well, Matthew doesn't record it, but

in Mark's gospel, in the parallel passage in

Mark, we are told that some of his own family

thought he's crazy. They thought he was, quote,

out of his mind. Mark chapter 3, verses 20 and

Mark 3:20

21. Then he went home and the crowd gathered

again so that they could not even eat. And when

his family heard it, they went out to seize him

for they were saying he's out of his mind. Now

we know from John's gospel that his brothers

did not believe in him at this point. Throughout

his whole earthly life they did not. In John

7, Now the Jewish feast of tabernacles was at

hand. His brothers therefore said to him, Depart

from here and go into Judea, that your disciples

also may see the works that you're doing. For

no one does anything in secret while he himself

seeks to be known openly. If you do these things,

show yourself to the world. There's some sarcasm

in there. Hey, don't hide. Go down to Judea.

Go down to Jerusalem and show everyone. Why?

Verse 5. For even his brothers did not believe

in him. In fact, we see that the brothers do

not come to faith in Christ until after he is

resurrected from the grave. So we come back to

the text, and we see Jesus inside, but his mother

and brothers are waiting outside. Now, I personally,

a lot of this is going to be conjecture, and

I will tell you which is conjecture and which

is not. They may have been concerned for his

safety, or perhaps even for his health. He's

keeping very long hours. But why would they be

concerned for safety? Well, he's been having

very intense conflicts with the religious leaders.

In fact, the Pharisees had already met in session.

And maybe word is now leaking out that the Pharisees

had met and they had formally decided that Jesus

needed to be put to death. So if you're his family,

you're naturally going to be concerned for him.

They know what's not safe for him to continue

and to attract massive crowds because that's

why the Pharisees are so mad. They're jealous

of him. They're envious. Or, we don't know, perhaps

he was keeping such a busy schedule up early,

going to bed very late. They're worried for his

health. I mean, any of us are going to have a

breakdown if you continue this pattern. But we

don't know the exact reason. But we are told

that his brothers and his mother came to get

him. Now, I don't think that it's possible for

Mary, the mother of our Lord, to have misunderstood

her son or his mission at all. I do not think

that's possible. Keep in mind all that the angel

had told Mary and all that she had personally

witnessed and experienced. Because it doesn't

say who thought he was out of his mind. It just

said some of his own, some of his family. But

I don't think it was Mary at all. For example,

in Luke chapter 1. Listen, I mean, there's no

Luke 1 · chapter mention

way she could have felt that he was crazy. Then

the angel said to her, that is to Mary, Do not

be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with

God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb

and bring forth a son and shall call his name

Jesus. He will be great and will be called the

Son of the Highest. And the Lord God will give

him the throne of his father David. There's his

mission. And he will reign over the house of

Jacob forever. And of his kingdom there shall

be no end. Mary, incredulous as we all would

be, then said to the angel, well, how? I mean,

how can this be since I don't know a man? There's

her virginity. And the angel said to her, the

Holy Spirit, the third person of the divine trinity,

will come upon you and the power of the highest

will overshadow you. Therefore also that holy

one who is to be born, he will be called the

son of God. In chapter 2, 19, it tells us that

Mary kept all these things and pondered them

in her heart. She was just storing it up. Mary

remembered the night in which Jesus was born.

You have the shepherds in the field. They came

to see the child. Said they came with haste.

Later on... Perhaps months, even maybe years

later, there's a delegation from the far east.

There's these Persian monarchs known as the Magi,

or what we call the wise men. They come from

the east bearing very expensive gifts to give

them to her son. She was there when the angel

warned Joseph that she and Mary and the baby

needed to head to Egypt because Herod, that monster,

wanted to kill the child. And he killed all the

male boys in Bethlehem from two years old and

under. She remembered when she had to take Jesus

to the temple to dedicate him that there was

an older godly man named Simeon, apparently a

stranger, who picked up the child Jesus and notice

what he said. Lord, this is Simeon's words, now

you are letting your servant depart in peace

according to your word. For my eyes have seen

your salvation, which you have prepared before

the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation

to the Gentiles. and the glory of your people

Israel. And Joseph and his mother marveled at

those things which were spoken of him. I mean,

if anyone on this planet knew about the uniqueness

of Jesus, it was the blessed mother of Jesus,

Mary herself. Now others probably doubted, no,

not probably, others no doubt doubted her. Yet

she knew in her heart that she had conceived

this child while still a virgin. She knew. beyond

a shadow of a doubt, that that child she gave

birth to was the Son of God. Now, I don't think

she understood every aspect of his mission, particularly

his cross and resurrection. But she certainly

would have known that Jesus was not out of his

mind as some of the family thought he was. So

I think, and this is conjecture at this point,

I think she came to the house because as a mother,

she's worried. The religious leaders, the body

that rules Israel is wanting to kill her son.

So she's wanting to, let's take him, let's protect

him. That's what I think. I don't know. But now

why did the brothers come? Well, we're not told.

In this passage, they are left unnamed. But in

chapter 13, the very next chapter, they are named

in verse 55. Is not this, speaking of Jesus,

the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called

Mary and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and

Judas? There they are. They're the names of his

brothers. He has sisters as well, we're told

in another passage. Now, give me a few minutes.

Let me explain who these brothers are. There

has been much debate throughout church history

over who the brothers are. So first of all, let's

just understand what the word brother in Greek

is. It's adelphos. You know the city of Philadelphia,

the city of brotherly love. Adelphos means brother.

In its natural use, it means a biological brother,

one who shares the womb. That's the natural meaning.

But that's natural meaning. You have a semantic

meaning. We talk about, oh, it's just semantics.

The semantic usage of this word for Adelphos

is far greater. For example, it can mean a close

relative. It can even mean a fellow countryman.

We're brothers, American brothers, if you will.

But in the Septuagint, which is a Greek translation

of the Hebrew Old Testament, when they were translating

from Hebrew to Greek and they were talking about

Abraham and Lot, they said Lot was the Adelphos

of Abraham and we know Lot was his nephew. But

they translated Adelphos. Why? Because Hebrew

did not have a word for that. So it's used as

a close family member. But nevertheless, the

natural use of that word is biological brother.

So there are three main views, and I'll share

them briefly, and I'll tell you which one I hold.

You can hold to whichever one you want. It doesn't

change any major doctrine. First of all, the

modern view, modern Protestant view, would say

these were biological brothers of Jesus. These

are the natural sons of Mary and Joseph who were

born after him. That is the dominant modern Protestant

view. It's not the early view of the church.

You don't find it in the early view, and it wasn't

even the view of the Reformers. Neither Calvin

nor Luther held that view. Second view is these

were the cousins of Jesus, and this is the dominant

Roman Catholic view today. Roman Catholics hold

a doctrine called the perpetual virginity of

Mary. They believe that Mary stayed a virgin

even after being married to Joseph, lifelong.

So they say that these brothers were the sons

of Mary, the wife of Clopas. Well, who's Clopas?

Joseph's brother. So they would say these sons

of Mary were Jesus' cousins. And they argue,

yes, the New Testament is written in Greek, but

the speakers in the background and the culture

was Aramaic and Hebrew. Since Aramaic and Hebrew

do not have a specific word for cousin, they

call them adelphos, close relatives. Well, it

is true. The semantic use of Adelphos could allow

for the word cousin. But here's why I don't think

that holds up. Because although it was translated

from a Hebrew and Aramaic culture, there is a

Greek word for cousin specific. And the Apostle

Paul, who is a Jew from a Hebrew background,

specifically used that word in Colossians 4 .10

when he's talking about the relationship between

Barnabas and Mark. They are cousins. And he did

not use Adelphos. He used the word cousin. So

I don't hold that. Number three. These were Jesus'

stepbrothers. They were sons of Joseph from a

prior marriage. Early, very early tradition says

that Joseph was an older man when he married

Mary. In fact, they say he was a widower. And

almost everyone agrees, and I don't know that

there's any exception to this, that Joseph died

sometime between Jesus' 12th birthday and when

he made his public debut there when John the

Baptist baptized him. We don't know when, but

anyways, when Jesus comes on the scene, no one

believes Joseph was alive. In fact, the very

last mention in the Bible about Joseph is when

Jesus was 12 years old and he was left behind

at the temple and Joseph and Mary had to return

because they were looking for him. But after

that time, he's never mentioned again. Now you're

saying, well, that doesn't mean he was dead.

I absolutely believe it does because at the crucifixion,

Do you remember when Jesus is dying and he looks

at the Apostle John and he has Mary, his mother

is there, he said, Behold your mother, woman,

behold your son. And he's giving care of his

mother into the hands of the Apostle John. That

never would have happened had her husband Joseph

still been living. And besides, this is an extremely

early tradition. The tradition of these being

Jesus' stepbrothers, the sons of Joseph, dates

back between 120 and 150. Keep in mind, the apostle

John did not die until about 100. So this is

not time for legend and lore to grow up. This

is very, very close in proximity to the time

of the apostles. So you have a letter, a document

written, and I'm hurrying through this. It's

called the Proto -Evangelium of James. It was

written in 150 AD. And in that, it describes

Joseph as an old man who was a widower. who had

several children. It's 150 AD, 50 years after

John. And then if you look at early Christian

art, and some of you have probably seen that,

you will always see Joseph depicted as an old

man with white hair, but you'll see Mary as a

very young woman. So this third view is that

these brothers, they are brothers, but they're

stepbrothers. They are the sons of Joseph, but

not of Mary. Now this is the view that I personally

hold to. You don't... I can't be dogmatic. And

it really doesn't matter because no significant

major doctrine is affected. But I think this

makes sense. And there's a whole host of reasons

that I really cut out why I do think that's true.

First of all, I think if these were the biological

sons of Mary, custody of Mary would have never

been given to John at the cross. So I think these

are sons of Joseph. They had moved out and therefore

were at the cross. John takes Mary home. And

I said I wasn't going to give you other reasons,

so I'm going to stop there. We go back to the

text, all right? Now, we do know this from Mark's

gospel. Some of them, we don't know exactly who,

thought Jesus was crazy. That's what out of his

mind means. Now, I still told you, I don't think

Mary did for a moment. I think she's genuinely

concerned for her son. But I think some of these

brothers, their stepbrothers are like, you know,

this is crazy. Now, Matthew, keep in mind, he's

been showing this contrast between the religious

leaders and Jesus. people who should have known

better, and his own disciples. And now the chapter's

closing, and he shows another contrast. It's

no longer between the religious leaders. It's

between those who are related to Jesus, contrasted

with his disciples, who left everything to follow

him. So the point that Matthew's making, and

I hope to hammer this home in a few minutes,

is God's family is not biological. It is covenantal.

Verse 46 to 48. You know the text. I'm not going

to reread it. He's in the house. He's teaching.

He gets word. We don't know from whom. Hey, your

mother and brothers are outside and they're waiting

for you. Now, at that time, family ties were

powerful social realities. Your identity, your

loyalty, your responsibility, all that was tied

to your family. So to ignore your family's request

would have been a major sign or act of disrespect.

This is why Jesus' question about, who are my

mother and brothers, was shocking. We look at

it and we're like, what's the big deal? It's

shocking to them. Now Jesus was not disparaging

family at all, but he was subordinating it to

the kingdom of God. We cannot miss the forest

because of the trees here. Two chapters earlier

we saw the same idea. In chapter 10, Jesus teaching

his disciples, he said this, whoever, he who

loves father or mother more than me is not worthy

of me. And he who loves son or daughter more

than me is not worthy of me. Jesus clearly taught

that loyalty to your family cannot override your

loyalty to God and his kingdom. Now in chapter

12, he's practicing what he had always preached.

Now ancient protocol would expect the Lord immediately

to stop what he's doing, stop teaching, go out

and attend to his family waiting outside. But

he didn't do that. Why? Because as important

as family bonds are, and they are important,

no one's saying they're not, they cannot compare

to your loyalty to the work and will of God.

Jesus was busy doing his father's work, and that

took precedent. So the Lord is using this occasion

to teach his disciples an incredibly important

lesson. After all, these men, we do know the

12 are there. There's a lot more. But at least

the 12 are going to be called to give up everything.

including their lives, to follow him. Peter's

worried about that. Peter's like, so what's going

to happen to us? We're giving up everything.

He asked that. In Matthew 19, Peter asked that

literal question. It says, then Peter answered

and said to him, see, we've left all and followed

you. So what are we going to get out of this,

basically? What shall we have? Jesus didn't rebuke

him and say, oh, Peter, what's self -interest

have to do with it? Jesus said, assuredly, I

say to you, that in the regeneration, when the

kingdom has come in its fullness, When the Son

of Man sits on the throne of his glory, you who

have followed me, you also sit on twelve thrones,

judging the twelve tribes of Israel, and everyone

who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters,

or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or

lands, for my namesake, that's a key, will receive

a hundredfold and inherit eternal life. See,

for the disciples listening, this was not just

theoretical. It was going to be very practical

because soon they're going to be called upon

to live this out. Jesus then looked at his disciples

and he said, who are my mother and brothers?

And he lifted his hands and he pointed to them

and he said, right here. Here are my brothers,

my mother and brothers. Now think about when

he's asking that question. Can you imagine the

guy that knocks and says, hey Jesus, your mom

and brothers are outside. And he says, well,

who are my mother and brothers? That guy's probably

like, the ones I just told you, they're waiting

outside for you. They're standing outside and

Jesus said, no, you misunderstood it. That's

not my mother and brothers. And he points to

his disciples, those whom he's teaching, said,

right here. Here's my family. Here's my mother

and brothers. Jesus was not rejecting his family

at all, but he was redefining what family is

in the kingdom of God. Verse 50. does the will

of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister,

ladies aren't left out, and mother. What's Jesus

saying? God's family is not defined by blood.

Jesus said those who do his Father's will are

his family. Who are they? They're the ones who

left everything to follow him. Now I want you

to notice what Jesus did not say. He did not

say family was unimportant, but he said it was

not all. I mean, we would be wrong to think that

family isn't a concern for ours. I mean, it's

extraordinarily important. After all, the very

fifth commandment of 10 says you are to honor

your father and mother. But Jesus is rejecting

any claim that our family might have on us that

would keep us or hinder us from doing God's will.

So anytime a choice is required by loyalty to

Christ, and loyalty to your family, Christ must

win. Obedience to Jesus Christ is the deepest

and our most ultimate allegiance. And by the

way, the same dynamic is at play in our relationship

to the law. The law of the land is very important,

but it is not ultimate. Anytime man's law, doesn't

matter if it's from the Supreme Court or not,

anytime man's law contradicts God's law, the

Christian, out of conscience, must obey God rather

than man. Why? Because God and his kingdom are

our ultimate priority. That's what he's saying

here. This is why he's always taught that. Back

in the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 6 .33,

seek first primacy. Seek first the kingdom of

God and his righteousness. So the point's clear.

Your ultimate allegiance has to be, friends,

not to your family, but to God and his kingdom.

Now we also see a very important point, and this

is an exciting point. Entrance into this kingdom

is open to all people. Anyone may enter. No one

is excluded by your birth or your class or your

sex or your ethnicity. Anyone. Jesus said whoever.

Whoever it is who does the will of my Father.

You're saying, isn't that salvation by works?

No, it's not salvation by works because Jesus

did not say that through whoever does God's will

enters my family. He didn't say that. He's saying

whoever does the will is my family. This is the

hallmark. In fact, you're saying, well, what

is the will of the Father? I'm glad you asked.

John 6. They said to him, What shall we do? That

we should work the works of God. And Jesus answered

and said, there's one work. This is the work

of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.

God's will, folks, is that you repent of your

sin and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ. You

can never, ever obey your way into God's family.

God requires absolute, perfect, 100 % obedience.

And by the way, we're disqualified in our birth.

Because we are born in sin, guilty before God

from the inherited guilt we received in Adam.

So we're disqualified from birth. Instead, God

must adopt us into his family by grace. Ephesians

2, the Apostle Paul. For by grace you have been

saved. Through faith, that's the instrument.

And that, that whole thing, that's not of yourselves.

It's a gift of God. Not of works, unless anyone

should boast. entrance into the family of God

by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ

alone, to the glory of God alone. Galatians 3,

Paul said, for you all are sons of God through

faith in Christ Jesus. But the lesson is true

faith is never alone. It will be accompanied

by two things, love and good works. Jesus in

John 14, 15 says, if you love me, Keep my commandments.

Don't tell me you love me and disobey me the

whole time. Don't call me Lord and then don't

do what I'm telling you to do. The evidence of

love for Christ is obedience to Christ. Even

in the Ephesians passage that I just read, for

by grace you have been saved through faith, that

not of yourselves, it's a gift of God, not of

works, lest any man should boast. If we keep

reading, Paul explains it in verse 10. For we

are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus,

what? For good works, which God... prepared beforehand

that we should walk in them. Now let me just

say this. If God has foreordained something,

it's going to happen. In Christ, God has foreordained

that his children walk in good works as his chosen

masterpiece, showing forth his praises. You are

God's masterpiece in the world, showing his praises.

So a living, true relationship with Jesus results

in obedient discipleship. Jesus said that again

in Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 7. He said

this, Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord,

will enter in the kingdom of heaven, but who

does the will of my Father in heaven. That's

who enters the kingdom. We obey. Absolutely,

that's true. But our obedience flows from our

union with Christ and our love for him. Because

we've been adopted by God, we have a love for

God and a desire to obey God, not perfectly,

which is why we confess our sins every Lord's

Day. But love for God and obedience to him are

the hallmark of those who belong to him. And

that message is throughout the entire New Testament.

But friends, let me just say this. We can only

love him because he first loved us. He's the

initiator. It all flows from him. Notice Jesus

did not say whoever does God's will. He said

whoever does the will of my Father. That phrase,

my Father, centers everything on Jesus being

the unique Son of God. That means Jesus' family

is defined by relationship that he has to his

Father, which I said this way. The true family

of God... is created by the Father's will, but

it is mediated through his one and only begotten

Son. It's all about the relationship that Jesus

enjoys with his Father, and we are brought into

that, adopted into that. We have an incredible

privilege, church, of being brought into the

family of God and being extraordinarily loved

by him. J .C. Ryle said this, speaking of this

passage. Yet here we see that all his believing

people are counted as family. And he loves them

and feels for them and cares for them as members

of his family. Bone of his bone and flesh of

his flesh. They are far more precious in the

Lord's eyes than they are in their own. Their

faith may be feeble. Yeah, I can relate to that.

Their repentance weak. Yeah, I can see that.

And their strength small. They may be poor and

needy in this world. But there is a glorious

whoever in the last verse of this chapter which

ought to cheer them. Whoever believes is a near

relation of Christ. So now what as we close?

In the Jewish mind, if you were a descendant

of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, they thought you

automatically were given a spot in the kingdom

of God. That's what they thought. And then Jesus

Christ comes on the scene and... While with his

biological family standing outside the house

where he was teaching, he then points to his

disciples and he said, here, right here, right

in front of me are my mother and brothers. Here

is my family. For whoever does the will of my

Father in heaven, that is my mother, my sister,

and my brothers. He's teaching. He was teaching

his disciples that there's something stronger

and greater than family ties and genealogy. What

is that? It's this relationship we have God and

the kingdom of God. The Apostle Paul in Galatians

3 taught a very similar thing that was just as

shocking, and I'm closing with this. In Galatians

3, 28, he said, There is neither Jew nor Greek,

neither slave nor free, male nor female, for

you are all one in Christ Jesus. Now this is

the shocking part. But if you are Christ's, it

doesn't matter if you're a Gentile, then you

are Abraham's seed. And you too are an heir according

to the promise. Now that is absolutely radical,

people. Because Paul, that great Jewish apologist,

he said, there's no Jew, there's no Greek, there's

no distinction in Christ. In Jesus you are equal.

Gentiles aren't less and Jews aren't more. There

is no distinction there. You are one in Christ.

There is a new family created by God. And it's

not based on your ethnicity nor your ancestry.

Praise God for that. Jesus said, whoever does

the will of my Father in heaven, that's my family.

Paul said, all who are in Christ are sons of

God and heirs of the promise. So what's the lesson?

God today is creating a new family. Not relegated

to some... geography there in the Middle East,

but this new family, it's not formed by your

ethnicity, it's not formed by your bloodline,

has nothing to do with who your parents are,

but it has everything to do with your relationship

to his one and only begotten son. Which is why

the Apostle Paul said, for you are all sons of

God through faith in Christ Jesus. We're going

to come to the table. That means the person taking

communion today who is seated next to you, they're

not just a fellow church member. They are your

brother or your sister. Friends, this is our

eternal family because we share a common Father

in God the Almighty. You have been adopted. You

have been clothed with Christ. And according

to the Apostle Paul, You are an heir of that

great promise given to Abraham. Let me just say

this. You are a blessed, blessed people. Celebrate

that as we go to the table and we remember the

death of our Lord that secured our place in his

kingdom. Let's pray. Father, we thank you this

morning. How good you are to us. How good you

are to your people, Lord. Lord, we have nothing

that we can boast of. Lord, our obedience did

not earn us a spot in your kingdom. Lord, in

fact, we were told that while we were yet dead

in our sins, aliens from the Commonwealth of

Israel, strangers from the promises, Lord, without

hope and without you in this world, you took

mercy and pity upon us, Lord. And you have united

us to your son and you have raised us up with

him and given us new life in him. In fact, you

said that you seeded us with him in the heavenly

places, Lord. God, we can't even imagine. We

can't. Our minds are blown. Lord, thank you that,

Lord, no longer do we must be a child of Abraham

physically. But, Lord, we can be a son of Abraham

spiritually through faith in the true seed, Christ

himself. Faith in the true Israel, Christ himself.

Lord, we need you, Lord, today. Lord, we celebrate

your goodness and your grace. Lord, thank you

for all you've done for us. And we praise that

blessed, glorious name for what you've done for

us in your son, in whose name we pray. Amen.