Mark 3:32

Summary

Jesus' mother and brothers turn up looking for him.

Biological brothers

The first thing to note is that Jesus has brothers. There's no reason to be sure these are Jesus' full brothers, but conversely, there's no reason to be sure they're not either. I don't see anything wrong with the natural interpretation that they're probably children of Joseph and Mary.

The author of Mark certainly didn't go out of his way to disabuse the notion.

On the other hand, I don't see any theological problems with the idea that M+J had other children. They may be Jesus' younger brothers. Or even if Jesus' birth was a miracle, it might still have involved normal sexual reproduction, but God did something miraculous to provide the soul, and the virgin birth story was a later exaggeration to fit the old testament supposed-prophecies.

Mark 3:34-35

Summary

Jesus says his true mothers and brothers are his fellow disciples.

Family ties

The idea that we can be a family with God is a nice piece of Christianity, especially if your existing family is not worthy of the name.

But it's also true that large scale popular movements (good or bad) are much more likely to succeed if they include the idea that other people in the movement are more important than your existing emotional ties.

Someone thought this sounded like "Jesus has run off from his family to sleep in the open and lead a parade of unemployed hippies around the countryside preaching anarchy, and are understandably worried about him". Of course, that's inconsistent with the idea that Mary was told by God that she was going to bear the son of God.

On the other hand, there's a touching story in there, if Mary hoped Jesus is who he said he is, but can't bring herself to believe it, and feels like she should protect him from herself, but then, after he dies, is finally convinced that he really is what she always hoped. Of course, that's not quite what the bible says, but it makes a good story.

MTG: Reflecting Pool

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