Read: Mark 3:31-35
Maybe you have never heard of Landen Roupp, who plays for the San Francisco Giants, a baseball team on the West Coast. That’s okay, there are nearly a thousand relief pitchers in the majors, many of whom will only last a few short years. However, Mr. Roupp has lately been in the news. June is Pride month, and so Major League Baseball, along with the Giants, is celebrating by having every player wear a cap with the Pride Flag on the front. Mr. Roupp does not want anyone to be confused about where he stands on the issue of the rainbow (which is also on the Pride Flag). And so Roupp wrote on his cap Genesis 9:12-16. This passage explains why God put the rainbow in the sky, as a reminder that He would never flood the earth again. Well, that started the storm. People all over the world concluded that Roupp hates gay people. But in fact, he was only offering clarification on the biblical meaning of the rainbow.
CLARIFICATION IS ALWAYS IMPORTANT
Clarification, whether popular or not, can often be important. In Mark, Jesus wants to clarify His relationship with family. His response is not what the listeners expect. “Then Jesus ‘ mother and his brothers came. Standing outside, they sent word to Him to summon Him. A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, ‘Look, your mother and your brothers are outside looking for you.’ He answered them and said, ‘Who are my mother and my brothers?’ And looking at those who were sitting around Him in a circle, He said, ‘Here are my mother and my brothers! For whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.’” What was Jesus thinking? Did he forget who his family was? Why did He make such a statement? What needed to be clarified?
SUPERFICIAL VERSUS THE DEEPER MEANING
Of course, He knew His family, and He also knew the love that flowed from their lives. He was asking a rhetorical question. Jesus was telling all those around Him the deeper meaning of family. This is greater than a mere biological connection. As in the case of Landen Roupp, Jesus took issue with those who give a superficial meaning to a term and forget God’s deeper meaning. The rainbow used as a symbol on a ball cap cheapens God’s definition of the rainbow. Jesus’ true family was much greater than an earthly biological definition. Jesus told the people that “whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother.”
MARK OF TRUE CONVERSION
Jesus clarifies the difference between the multitudes who say they will follow Him and those who actually do. True conversion is always marked by obedience to the Word and submission to the authority of Jesus Christ (John 8:31). God’s meanings are much deeper than a logo on a cap. Jesus wanted people to understand he was looking for a Spiritual connection to Himself, not just a family connection.
NOT CALL TO SLOPPY HALF-HEARTEDNESS
John Stott writes, “To follow Christ, we must deny ourselves, to crucify ourselves, to lose ourselves. The full, inexorable demand of Jesus Christ is now laid bare. He does not call us to a sloppy half-heartedness but to a vigorous, absolute commitment” (from Stott’s classic “Basic Christianity”). When Mr. Roupp walked out onto that baseball field, he was demonstrating a vigorous commitment to who Jesus is and obedience to Jesus. Our first and foremost job is to honor God and to do His will. What about you? Are you ready to commit to a life of following Christ? Regardless of the cost are you ready to wear God’s cap of truth?