He was told, “Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to see You.”
Parallel translations
- WEB Some people told him, “Your mother and your brothers stand outside, desiring to see you.”
- KJV And it was told him by certain which said, Thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to see thee.
- NKJV And it was told Him by some, who said, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, desiring to see You.”
- NASB And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You.”
- NLT Someone told Jesus, “Your mother and your brothers are standing outside, and they want to see you.”
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
Someone tells Jesus His mother and brothers are outside wanting to see Him. This prompts His redefinition of family.
Overview
A message reaches Jesus that His relatives stand outside seeking Him. The report becomes the occasion for teaching, not a rebuke of His family. Jesus uses it to point beyond natural ties to the deeper bond of the Kingdom.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 6
- Mark 6:3Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t His sisters here with us as well?” And they took offense at Him.
- Gal 1:19But I saw none of the other apostles except James, the Lord’s brother.
- Matt 13:55–56“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
- Acts 1:14With one accord they all continued in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
- John 7:3–6So Jesus’ brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples there may see the works You are doing.
- 1 Cor 9:5Have we no right to take along a believing wife, as do the other apostles and the Lord’s brothers and Cephas?
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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 8:20 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.