Best mother? Jesus: 'No, no, no'

(new article tomorrow--promise. In meantime, here's a post to follow up my last entry)

In Jesus Christ’s day, “most of the masses were careless listeners willing to listen to hearsay rather than check out the facts for themselves,” writes R. Dawson Barlow in his book The Apostasy of the Christian Church.

“Many were willing to quickly dismiss the claims of Christ because hearsay said that Christ was born in Galilee. Here were those who heard our Lord in the flesh but disclaiming His authority because, according to the ‘grapevine,’ He was not born in Bethlehem, which Old Testament prophecies foretold centuries earlier that the Messiah was to be born in Bethlehem.

“The historical fact is He was born in Bethlehem! That was a matter of legal record and could easily be checked out."

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In Luke 1 and 2, Mary is more than willing to be the mother of the Messiah, but in her son’s public ministry she stood among those who thought her boy was insane and deranged.

When Jesus was out teaching in Mark 3, for example, Mary and Christ's half-brothers were among those who, when they heard Christ’s words, thought He was “beside himself,” meaning mad in the head or off His rocker.

“They don't believe in Him and they're not believing what He's saying, and that’s why He says, ‘Hey, the people who aren’t my kinfolk are the people who believe me,’ ” explains Richard Jordan.

“Mark 3:31:35 says, [31] There came then his brethren and his mother, and, standing without, sent unto him, calling him.
[32] And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee.
[33] And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren?
[34] And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!
[35] For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.

“Another unmistakable rebuke is in Luke 11:27-28: [27] And it came to pass, as he spake these things, a certain woman of the company lifted up her voice, and said unto him, Blessed is the womb that bare thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.
[28] But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

“Now there's a verse somebody should ask anybody who wants to worship Mary about! This woman sees Christ and says, ‘Man, your momma is a wonderfully blessed lady,’ and Jesus says, ‘No, no, no, really the one who's blessed is the one who believes on me.’ ”