Matthew 12:46-50 While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him. 47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee. 48 But he answered and said unto him that told him, Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? 49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

A young man came to Jesus one time and asked:

Matthew 19:16 …. Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

Jesus told this young man simply:

Matthew 19:17 … if thou wilt enter into life, KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS.

Notice that Jesus took the word
“eternal” away from His answer.
If you live life without God, you are NOT living.

He said, “If you will enter into LIFE, keep the commandments”. Those who attempt to live without God and His commandments are not living … they are just existing. You have a choice. You can LIVE, or you can EXIST. There is a big difference between the two. There is no life outside of a living, growing, OBEDIENT relationship to God our Creator.

Many people envision HEAVEN as a place where all of our selfish gratifications are fulfilled. Many envision Heaven as a place where 72 virgins eternally satisfy the sexual selfishness of the victorious male. Muslim scholar Farhana Qazi notes:

“Heaven in the Islamic faith does not include 72 wide-eyed sex goddesses. The number ‘72’ does not appear anywhere in the Quran. Nor does the word “suicide” (intihar in Arabic) appear, which is a word used interchangeably with martyrdom.”

Qazi notes that this myth entered Muslim faith from a writing (hadith) from an imam named al-Tirmidhi. Truth be told, the concept that Heaven is a place where our selfishnesses are all satisfied is the devil’s ploy, a whisper from the prince of darkness.

The concept that Heaven is a place where human selfishness and fleshiness is satisfied is not just in non-Christian faiths, but has gradually crept into even the Christian Faith.

On the Tonight Show Johnny Carson once asked a visiting preacher “Will there be golf in Heaven?”. The preacher said “If it is necessary for our joy in Heaven, I’m sure there will be golf”. Many people – even preachers – teach that Heaven and those who will go to Heaven is all about us. We are on the Throne in Heaven, and God is our Eternal Waiter, meeting our every need. Yet this is not what the Bible teaches. Jesus said,

“If you would enter into Life, keep the COMMANDMENTS”.

Heaven is about us serving God. It is about us being returned to our rightful Master and Lord. This is not a popular concept in the “Me First” America of today, but it is indeed Biblical. When Jesus defined the Commandments that should be kept, He referred to the Ten Commandments. Jesus said:

Matthew 19:19 … Honor thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.

Honor to your parents. Obedience to those who gave you life, to mother and father and God. Loving others as created beings, created in the image of God for God. As goes the family, so goes the community. As goes the community, so goes the country. Civilized society, especially the Kingdom of Heaven, is NOT about us satisfying our every need and want. It is about US serving OTHERS. It is not about radical freedom and rioting, but about citizenship, good citizenship. Being citizens of the family, of the neighborhood, of the city, of the country, of Heaven.

So Jesus is teaching the Word of the Father. We read:

Matthew 12:46 While {Jesus} yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.

Jesus taught that we are to honor our father and our mother (Mark 10:19; Luke 18:20; Ephesians 6:2). Now Jesus mother and brothers are standing outside the door. They want to speak to the Lord. Jesus’ commandments mirror the Father’s commandments. Did our Master not say “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father” (John 14:9)? Has not our Savior said “You must honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself”?

Matthew 12:47 Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee.

So how will our Lord respond to this notification? He replies:

Matthew 12:48-50 … Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? 49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Only Children Of The Kingdom Shall Enter Heaven

Our Lord Jesus is not a hypocrite by any means. He never said one thing, then did another. But Jesus is teaching a Biblical truth. Heaven is not a place where we go to satisfy our selfish needs. Heaven is the Father’s House. Jesus said:

John 14:2-3 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

The “Father’s house” is Heaven. Heaven has many rooms. Jesus came from Heaven. He “came from above” (John 3:31; 8:23; James 1:17). He came to this earth. Jesus Christ is THE Son of God. He is eternal God made flesh to dwell among us.

1 John 4:15 Whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God.

Jesus Christ is THE Son of God, THE Eternal and Great I AM. Jesus Christ is THE Representative that God the Father sent from Heaven. The Father prophesied of the Son:

Psalm 2:6-7 …. I set my king upon my holy hill of Zion. 7 I will declare the decree: the Lord hath said unto me, Thou art my Son; this day have I begotten thee.

Heaven is where the Father and the Son are. Heaven is God’s home. Heaven is God’s Family. The Father brought the Son into the world, and Jesus only is the eternal Son of the Father from eternity past. The Apostle Paul preached of this Jesus:

Acts 13:30-33 … God raised {Jesus, His Only Begotten Son} from the dead: 31 And {Jesus} was seen many days of them which came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are His witnesses unto the people. 32 And we declare unto you glad tidings, how that the promise which was made unto the fathers, 33 God hath fulfilled the same unto us their children, in that he hath raised up Jesus again; as it is also written in the second psalm, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee.

And the Writer of Hebrews said:

Hebrews 1:5 For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? And again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son?

Hebrews 5:5 So also Christ glorified not himself to be made a high priest; but {the Father} that said unto {Jesus}, Thou art my Son, to day have I begotten thee.

Jesus Christ was born into this world, born of a virgin named Mary, according to prophecy. Through Isaiah the Father decreed, “a virgin shall conceive, and bear a Son, and shall call his name Immanuel. {meaning, ‘God with us’}” (Isaiah 7:14; Matthew 1:23). The Kingdom of Heaven would come to earth by sending it’s King, Jesus Christ, to this earth. Jesus is the “Only Begotten of the Father”. He is the only Means by which a person may reach rightness with God. Heaven is a place where the Family of God goes. Jesus Christ came from Heaven to this earth to bring others into His Family. Jesus Christ came to bring “many sons unto glory”. To best explain this let us turn to the Holy Scripture:

Hebrews 2:3-18 How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; 4 God also bearing them witness, both with signs and wonders, and with divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to his own will? 5 For unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come, whereof we speak. 6 But one in a certain place testified, saying, What is man, that thou art mindful of him? or the son of man that thou visitest him? 7 Thou madest him a little lower than the angels; thou crownedst him with glory and honor, and didst set him over the works of thy hands: 8 Thou hast put all things in subjection under his feet. For in that he put all in subjection under him, he left nothing that is not put under him. But now we see not yet all things put under him. 9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honor; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. 10 For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. 11 For both he that sanctifieth and they who are sanctified are all of one: for which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren, 12 Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren, in the midst of the church will I sing praise unto thee. 13 And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and the children which God hath given me. 14 Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil; 15 And deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. 16 For verily he took not on him the nature of angels; but he took on him the seed of Abraham. 17 Wherefore in all things it behoved him to be made like unto his brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people. 18 For in that he himself hath suffered being tempted, he is able to succor them that are tempted.

Heaven is a place for the Children of God. Jesus Christ, THE Son of God, was born into the human family of a virgin. He was born into this temporal place we call “earth” to bring “many sons unto glory”. Heaven is where God’s family is. Jesus said:

Matthew 12:48-49 … Who is my mother? and who are my brethren? 49 And he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

Who is in the Family of God? Those who have received Jesus Christ as the ONLY Way unto the Father. Who is in the Family of God? Those who have BELIEVED ON Jesus Christ for salvation. What does the Scripture tell us:

John 1:12-13 But as many as received {Jesus}, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: 13 Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

Heaven is for the Family of God. When we are born into this life, we are born into the family of man, of mankind. But as Jesus told Nicodemus, “You must be born again”.

1 Corinthians 15:50 … flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption.

You must be born again (John 3:3, 7). You must be born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.

Jesus’ “mother and brothers” did not stand outside looking in. Jesus “mother and brothers” are His disciples, those who have received Him as BOTH Lord and Savior. A “disciple” is both a student and a follower.

Heaven Is For Those Who Follow Jesus

Once more Jesus said:

Matthew 12:49-50 … {Jesus} stretched forth his hand toward his disciples, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren! 50 For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother.

Jesus said “those who DO THE WILL OF MY FATHER WHICH IS IN HEAVEN” are His family. There are many who PROFESS Christ, but never have DONE the will of the Father which is in Heaven. What is the Father’s will? Jesus tells us in another place:

John 6:38-40 For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. 39 And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.

The Father’s will is that Jesus Christ would draw a people to Himself, a people who believe in Him. It is the Father’s will that this people, a born again people, would have everlasting life so that they can dwell within the Kingdom of God forever. God’s Kingdom belongs not to the PROFESSOR of Christ, but the one POSSESSED by Christ. Jesus said:

Luke 12:32 Fear not, little flock; for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

The “little flock” are the ones who come to Jesus, who follow Jesus. As Jesus taught on this wonderful day his biological mother and brothers stood outside – OUTSIDE of where He taught. But Jesus’ spiritual family, His spiritual mother and brothers, these are the ones sitting at His feet, thirsting for His word.

Illustrate I have often seen small birds fed worms and crickets and grubs by their mothers. I have seen nature shows where predatory birds will bring pieces of bloody meat to the nest to feed their young. When the elder bird brings the food, the piece of worm or bloody meat, the tiny chicks clamor and fight for a morsel of food. They are thirsty, hungry, desirous of that food. When I see it I think, “Oh, I could never eat that stuff”. And never have I thought to feed such a thing to my baby chicks as they grew up. To do so would be considered child abuse. But for baby chicks … oh, this is the best thing ever!

So it is with Christ and His kingdom.

Those who are Heaven bound are not those looking for 72 eventual virgins, or a river of life fully stocked with waiting trout, nor a wonderful 18 hole holy gold course. Heaven is where family goes. The Family of God loves Jesus, and is found gathered together around Jesus, wanting to hear His every word. The family of God is not of those who seek selfish fulfillment. The Scripture says:

2 Timothy 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.

The Family of God does not revel in iniquity, nor chase the darkness with the world. The Family of God finds itself kneeling at the feet of Jesus, hanging on His Word, drinking from the Word of God. Heaven will not be populated with those who, like satan and the angels that follow him, reject the Word and the design of God. Jesus said:

John 10:27-30 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. I and my Father are one.

Who are Christ’s sheep? It is those who hear Him and follow Him? Who have eternal life? Those who are in the hand of Christ. Who will one day be in Heaven? Those who are related to Jesus by birth, by NEW BIRTH. Heaven is yours if you have received, believed, and now follow the Son. Heaven is not for a certain DENOMINATION, but for those BORN AGAIN by faith in Him and only Him. Jesus said:

Matthew 7:21-24 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22 Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23 And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. 24 Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and DOETH them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:

The Family of God is at the Feet of God, close to God, heeding what God the Son says. Those who are on the outside, though they may claim kinship, are not the Sons of God. The Sons of Gods find themselves at the feet of the Son of God. The Sons of God are obedient to King Jesus, our elder Brother. The Sons of God serve, gladly serve, the Heaven Father. We live for His smile, not for our satisfaction.

How Are You Daily At The Feet Of Christ?

In the next chapter Jesus speaks of a Sower. He says:

Matthew 13:3-9 Behold, a sower went forth to sow; 4 And when he sowed, some seeds fell by the way side, and the fowls came and devoured them up: 5 Some fell upon stony places, where they had not much earth: and forthwith they sprung up, because they had no deepness of earth: 6 And when the sun was up, they were scorched; and because they had no root, they withered away. 7 And some fell among thorns; and the thorns sprung up, and choked them: 8 But other fell into good ground, and brought forth fruit, some a hundredfold, some sixtyfold, some thirtyfold. 9 Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.

When Jesus came to this earth, born of a virgin, He sowed the Gospel seed. He presented Himself as the only Begotten Son of God. He presented Himself as the only way unto God the Father. Many came to be healed of Jesus, but many others rejected Him as Savior and Lord. Is Jesus your Savior and Lord? If He is, then:

You will enjoy hearing His Word. It will not be a chore, but a joy. You will do as Jesus says. You will follow Him. You will live with Him at the center of your life. You will bring forth fruit. Being “saved” will not be regarded as fire insurance, but as a way of life. Jesus will be at the center of your life.

We will more thoroughly study the parable of the Sower in another message. But let me ask you:

Are you a Child of the King, working daily for His glory? If not, may God open your hearts to follow Him as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Amen, and Amen!