For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.
Parallel translations
- WEB For whoever does the will of God, the same is my brother, and my sister, and mother.”
- BSB For whoever does the will of God is My brother and sister and mother.”
- NKJV For whoever does the will of God is My brother and My sister and mother.”
- NASB For whoever does the will of God, this is My brother, and sister, and mother.”
- NLT Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
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
Whoever does God's will is Jesus' brother, sister, and mother. It matters because it defines membership in Christ's family by obedience to God.
Overview
Jesus makes obedience to God the mark of belonging to his family, not blood or nationality. This opens the family of God to all who submit to the Father's will through faith in the Son. It also reveals the unity believers share with Christ and one another, a bond forged by grace and expressed in glad obedience.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 5
- 1 Jn 2:17And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
- Matt 7:21Not 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.
- 1 Jn 3:22–23And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
- John 7:17If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.
- Jas 1:25But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
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
Mark drives urgently to the cross, showing Jesus the Son of God as the suffering Servant who 'came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'
How Mark 3:35 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.