Mark 3:33

33 And he answered them [and] said, "Who is my mother or my brothers?"

Mark 3:33 Meaning and Commentary

Mark 3:33

And he answered them
The multitude that sat about him, and informed him of his mother and brethren being without, and desirous of speaking with him:

saying, who is my mother, or my brethren?
which is said not through ignorance or contempt, but either, as displeased with the interruption given him; or with a view to take an opportunity from hence of expressing his superior value to his spiritual relations; which looks with no favourable aspect on the superstitious notions, and veneration of the virgin Mary among the papists; (See Gill on Matthew 12:48).

Mark 3:33 In-Context

31 And his mother and his brothers arrived, and standing outside, they sent [word] to him to summon him.

32 And a crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, "Behold, your mother and your brothers [are] outside looking for you."

33 And he answered them [and] said, "Who is my mother or my brothers?"

34 And looking around at those who were sitting around him in a circle, he said, "Behold, my mother and my brothers!

35 For whoever does the will of God, this person is my brother and sister and mother."

Footnotes

• [a]. *Here "[and]" is supplied because the previous participle ("answered") has been translated as a finite verb
• [b]. Some manuscripts have "and"