Now His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd.
Parallel translations
- WEB His mother and brothers came to him, and they could not come near him for the crowd.
- KJV Then came to him his mother and his brethren, and could not come at him for the press.
- BSB Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see Him, but they were unable to reach Him because of the crowd.
- NKJV Then His mother and brothers came to Him, and could not approach Him because of the crowd.
- NLT Then Jesus’ mother and brothers came to see him, but they couldn’t get to him because of the crowd.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus' mother and brothers arrive but cannot reach Him through the crowd. The scene sets up His teaching on true kinship.
Overview
Luke notes that Jesus' family comes to Him but is hindered by the press of the crowd. The detail prepares for Jesus' striking words about who truly belongs to His family. It quietly underscores the demands and centrality of His Kingdom mission.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 3
- Matt 12:46–50While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brothers stood outside, seeking to speak to him.
- Mark 3:31–35His mother and his brothers came, and standing outside, they sent to him, calling him.
- Mark 3:21When his friends heard it, they went out to seize him: for they said, “He is insane.”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 8:19 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.