"Then His mother and His brothers arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. A crowd was sitting around Him, and they said to Him, 'Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.' Answering them, He said, 'Who are My mother and My brothers?' Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, 'Behold My mother and My brothers! For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.'"
— Mark 3:31-35 (NASB)

Jesus contrasts two groups to provide an example of who is qualified as doing the will of God and who is not. The most obvious difference between them is wanting to be in the continual presence of Christ to hear His Word, and those who want to remove Him and prevent His Word from being spoken to anyone. We could make an entire case that a sure measurement of whether a person, group, or entire movement is "in Christ" or not can be based on the degree to which they accept and preach the Word versus those who seek to replace or withdraw that emphasis in favor of something else. But it also interesting to note the other New Testament teachings of what it means to do the will of God.

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While everyone was still reeling from the earthquake which devastated Haiti a prominent televangelist declared that this was the result of God’s judgment on a nation which embraced voodoo. My immediate thought when I heard him say this was to think of these verses. I do not know what percentage of Haitians practice voodoo, but I am quite certain because of all the missions activities in that country for many decades that there were certainly Christians who experienced the same fate. This kind of “Christian” behavior drives me crazy.
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There is a very telling and common characteristic shared by the great intercessors of the Bible such as Moses, Daniel, and Ezra. Although personally innocent of the sins of the people on whose behalf they intercede, they still include themselves as part of the group. They experience a burden of shared responsibility for what happened to God’s people at large. And it makes me wonder if any of us possess this burden today for the state of the Body of Christ as it currently exists. Why do I have the distinct impression that the last thing anyone seems to be concerned about when it comes to the state of the church today is its sin?
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In relatively recent times historically, the topic of prophecy has been seen as an event that comes true on a specific future date. In reality, biblical prophecy is a series of partial fulfillments culminating in an ultimate, final one. Each partial fulfillment along the way teaches something about the final one to come. When Israel returned from the Babylonian Captivity, there was a fulfillment of this promise. The people finally shook their addiction to foreign gods and idols and, going forward, consistently kept within the boundaries of Mosaic Judaism.
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Man, I’ve seen real-life examples of both of these observations. Aside from spiritual examples there are repeated historical examples of a smaller, ill-equipped force fending off and even defeating a much stronger one simply by the smaller side’s ability to more accurately assess the situation and devise the correct response. But the greatest spiritual damage that I’ve witnessed repeatedly within the walls of the church has most often been initiated by only “one sinner“.
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An extreme interpretation of this verse might be offered that everything is predestined in advance by God and there’s nothing we can do about it. The more accurate interpretation taken with the whole of Scripture is more likely that everything has to be undertaken in accordance with the will of God, that the will of man is not capable of adding to or detracting from God’s glory. So the proper thing for man to do in the course of his pursuit to come into proper alignment with God’s Word and ways is to “fear Him”.
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This isn’t quite the answer that I’d expect. It seems pessimistic bordering on narcissistic. But there may be a greater wisdom at work here. After all, when Joseph revealed God’s plans to others through the dream given him at the age of 17, something that would take another 22 years to fully accomplish, it was not received well at all. Jacob might just be smart enough not to elaborate to a great earthly king about the promises for an even greater kingdom to come through his own family, something which will take well over 400 more years to achieve. Jacob has received a “word” from the Lord, but he recognizes when it may be prudent not to share it.
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