Could I ask for more info on the topic that I was presented with:
Jesus answered to His family that wanted to see Him, by saying I am with my Mother and Sisters and brethren, ( Matt 12:49) when I am with my followers. Does this then justify that the commandment (Honor your father and your mother) could refer to to elderly "brothers and sisters" within the Body of Christ, be seen as your "father and Mother" and not your biological parents?
I would like to second Brother Jesse and others interpretation of ( Matt 12:49-50)
It's those who are led by the Spirit of God to do the will of God is those who are in the family of God.
Romans 8:14-16 states "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God"
When we are baptized by the Spirit of God we function as a body
1 Corinthians 12:13 "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
I believe this is a commandment to be followed as it teaches us to love our biological parents no matter what. Not to do what they say if it contradicts the teachings of God's word or to let them cause strife in your life. Honor here means to not hurt them, or hate them or anything like that if your parents are not loving and caring. We are to be sure our heart has the same unconditional love of God toward them as God does. It may be difficult, if they are difficult people, but keep a forgiving and loving spirit toward them. I also believe this is a commandment that broadly refers to elderly people in general. So if there is anyway you can help, love or care for any elder person do so if you can. I was a single mother for 17 yrs with 3 children. Two sons and a daughter. My oldest son has always believed, even before he became a Christian, the it was his responsibility to take care of me when he became an adult and he has done that ever since I became disabled and couldn't work anymore before I could retire. I was turned down for SSI so there he was ready to take me in and care for me. I'm now 76 and the Lord has been able for me to provide for him because he has long-term Covid. He lives with me and is my caretaker because he can no longer work. Oh! How great is our God for us to be able, now, to help each other.
As for your other concern,, Matt. 12:49, one of the other comments for you (sorry I don't remember who) explained it very well by explaining the use of the Hebrew word in this verse. We are to love God above all else including the people in our lives. I'm glad you are asking these questions. It shows a heart toward understanding God's word. Just be sure you compare any comments to the character and majesty of God including mine. God Bless :)
Here's my understanding of this section of scripture. Matthew 12:46-50 gives us the true understanding of family.
It says in Verse 50, "whoever will do the will of my Father."
The Lord puts a new dimension on family. And we all have our blood relatives and blood family, but Jesus said spirit is thicker than blood. Jesus says that true family are those whoever will be doing the will of my Father.
People will often ask, "What is the will that the Father says we are supposed to be doing? But that's not what it says!
It is giving an evidence and a characteristic of somebody that is saved, because somebody that is saved will be doing the will of the Father.
That is their motive. That's what they are seeking. That's what they want to do. They want to please God.
It is not something we have to do. It is something that we do because of the persuasion of God's Spirit leading us to do it. That is the characteristic of a person that is saved. And that is the person who is doing the will of the Father.
Sometimes people lose family for various reasons. What do we tell them? I guess we could tell them that if they lose family, to go it all alone.
If your family has been split up, and they are Christians, we can tell them to get into a fellowship with the other believers because you have got more moms and dads, and brothers and sisters, than you can count. Join God's family.
So Jesus put a new light on family. Your mother and brothers are out here. Who are my mother and my brothers? My disciples!
Who would you say is then referred to, towards whom we should be honoring in the commandment of "honor your father and your mother?
If we are to hate our father and mother and even yourself to be a disciple, whom is here referred to?
I am in fair understanding of all, just that I have no scriptural proof or enough insight to be able to avail such to others. Hoping you could maybe help?
Hi DeonFourie , we can always honour our parents . I honour mine even though they are atheists . I don't however put them before Jesus . If they wanted me to do something that I'm sure Jesus wouldn't want me to do then I wouldn't do it . We must put our relationship with God and Jesus first . They are our true parents , they care for us and provide for us , every good thing in our lives comes from them . We can still honour our biologicals and we must remember that God specifically gave them to us and us to them , there is always something to learn from all of our relationships in this life , with brothers and sisters but even with atheists , we can learn from every contact , every experience . God leaves nothing to chance and their are no coincidences . Put God and Jesus above everyone and everything , they are your breath , your bones , your peace , your truth , your strength and your comfort . If the people around us don't appreciate our faith in God then they can move away from us , that will be their choice . We choose Truth ! Thy Kingdom Come .
Jesus says to honor your father and your mother. He is quoting Exodus 20:12 and is speaking of honoring our biological father and mother.
And then we look over at Luke 14:26 which reads, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."
So it seems that we have a dilemma. We're told to honor our father and mother, but then we're told that we can't be His disciple if we come to Him and we don't hate our father and mother.
In the English language, we see the word hate and we know what it means to hate someone or hate something. Hate is such a very strong word.
But here's the beauty of the Greek language. In Luke 14:26, the word hate in the Greek text is the word MISEO. It does not mean to hate someone according to our definition of the word hate in our English language.
This word is MISEO. It is not the word for hostile. It is a word of comparison. When MISEO is used with any of the words that have to do with love, it is showing comparison.
In other words, Jesus is saying you must love me so much that the comparison between me and anybody else, or anything else, it makes it look like you hate them. You really don't, but that's what it looks like to them.
Jesus is saying that our love for Him can't even be close in comparison to how we love others.
Hope this makes things a little clearer on these sections of scripture.
Jesus answered to His family that wanted to see Him, by saying I am with my Mother and Sisters and brethren, ( Matt 12:49) when I am with my followers. Does this then justify that the commandment (Honor your father and your mother) could refer to to elderly "brothers and sisters" within the Body of Christ, be seen as your "father and Mother" and not your biological parents?
I would like to second Brother Jesse and others interpretation of ( Matt 12:49-50)
It's those who are led by the Spirit of God to do the will of God is those who are in the family of God.
Romans 8:14-16 states "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to fear; but ye have received the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father.
The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God"
When we are baptized by the Spirit of God we function as a body
1 Corinthians 12:13 "For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
This is the Brotherhood that is mentioned here.
God bless
As for your other concern,, Matt. 12:49, one of the other comments for you (sorry I don't remember who) explained it very well by explaining the use of the Hebrew word in this verse. We are to love God above all else including the people in our lives. I'm glad you are asking these questions. It shows a heart toward understanding God's word. Just be sure you compare any comments to the character and majesty of God including mine. God Bless :)
Here's my understanding of this section of scripture. Matthew 12:46-50 gives us the true understanding of family.
It says in Verse 50, "whoever will do the will of my Father."
The Lord puts a new dimension on family. And we all have our blood relatives and blood family, but Jesus said spirit is thicker than blood. Jesus says that true family are those whoever will be doing the will of my Father.
People will often ask, "What is the will that the Father says we are supposed to be doing? But that's not what it says!
It is giving an evidence and a characteristic of somebody that is saved, because somebody that is saved will be doing the will of the Father.
That is their motive. That's what they are seeking. That's what they want to do. They want to please God.
It is not something we have to do. It is something that we do because of the persuasion of God's Spirit leading us to do it. That is the characteristic of a person that is saved. And that is the person who is doing the will of the Father.
Sometimes people lose family for various reasons. What do we tell them? I guess we could tell them that if they lose family, to go it all alone.
If your family has been split up, and they are Christians, we can tell them to get into a fellowship with the other believers because you have got more moms and dads, and brothers and sisters, than you can count. Join God's family.
So Jesus put a new light on family. Your mother and brothers are out here. Who are my mother and my brothers? My disciples!
Hope this helps!
Who would you say is then referred to, towards whom we should be honoring in the commandment of "honor your father and your mother?
If we are to hate our father and mother and even yourself to be a disciple, whom is here referred to?
I am in fair understanding of all, just that I have no scriptural proof or enough insight to be able to avail such to others. Hoping you could maybe help?
Thank-you
Jesus says to honor your father and your mother. He is quoting Exodus 20:12 and is speaking of honoring our biological father and mother.
And then we look over at Luke 14:26 which reads, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple."
So it seems that we have a dilemma. We're told to honor our father and mother, but then we're told that we can't be His disciple if we come to Him and we don't hate our father and mother.
In the English language, we see the word hate and we know what it means to hate someone or hate something. Hate is such a very strong word.
But here's the beauty of the Greek language. In Luke 14:26, the word hate in the Greek text is the word MISEO. It does not mean to hate someone according to our definition of the word hate in our English language.
This word is MISEO. It is not the word for hostile. It is a word of comparison. When MISEO is used with any of the words that have to do with love, it is showing comparison.
In other words, Jesus is saying you must love me so much that the comparison between me and anybody else, or anything else, it makes it look like you hate them. You really don't, but that's what it looks like to them.
Jesus is saying that our love for Him can't even be close in comparison to how we love others.
Hope this makes things a little clearer on these sections of scripture.
Blessings!!!
The to me the key for understanding Matt 12:49 is found in the next verse.
Matthew 12:50
"For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother."
The key: "For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven."
So those "who do the will of God" should be considered our: brothers, sisters, Mothers, and Fathers, Grandmothers, and Grandfathers.
GBU
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