While he yet talked to the people
Upon these subjects, which so nearly concerned the Scribes and
Pharisees, and which could not fail of drawing upon him their
resentment and ill will.
Behold his mother and his brethren:
by "his mother" is meant Mary; but who are "his brethren", is not
so easy to say: some are of opinion, that Joseph had children by
Mary, who are here meant; but it is more generally believed, that
these were either the sons of Joseph by a former wife, whose name
is said to be Escha; or rather, Mary's sister's sons, the wife of
Cleophas, the cousin-germans of Christ, it being usual with the
Jews to call such kindred brethren; and so they might be James,
Joses, Simon, and Judas: these
stood without:
for Christ was within doors, not in a synagogue, as Piscator
thought, but in an house; see ( Matthew 13:1
) and his mother and brethren stood without doors, either because
they could not get in for the throng of the people; or because
they would not, it not being proper to make all within acquainted
with what they had to say to him:
desiring to speak with him;
not with a pure view to interrupt him in his work, or to divert
him from it, lest he should overspend himself; nor from a
principle of ambition and vain glory, to show that they were
related to him, and that he was at their beck and command; but
rather, to observe unto him the danger he exposed himself to, by
the freedom he took with the Pharisees in his discourses, and
probably to acquaint him with some conspiracies formed against
him.
