The Bible Says
Luke 8:19-21 Meaning

The parallel Gospel accounts for Luke 8:19-21 are Matthew 12:46-50 and Mark 3:31-35.

As Jesus was teaching, possibly to the large crowd from various cities (Luke 8:4), members of His family came to Him.

And His mother and brothers came to Him, and they were unable to get to Him because of the crowd (v 19).

The Gospel of Mark indicates that this event, or a similar one, took place in Capernaum shortly after Jesus returned to the city and a crowd filled the house (possibly Simon Peter’s) to such an extent that they were unable to eat their homecoming meal (Mark 3:20).

Jesus’s Family

Jesus’s mother was Mary. She miraculously conceived Jesus as a virgin, while she was betrothed to Joseph when the Holy Spirit came upon her (Luke 1:26-35, Matthew 1:18-25).

Jesus’s brothers were really His half-brothers. They had the same mother, but their father was Joseph. At least some of Jesus’s half-brothers are named in Matthew and Mark: “James and Joseph (or ‘Joses’), and Simon and Judas” (Matthew 13:55, Mark 6:3). According to Mark, Jesus also had half-sisters but they are left unnamed in the Gospels (Mark 6:3b).

Jesus's earthly father, Joseph, is not mentioned in the Scriptures beyond Jesus's childhood (Luke 2:41-51). It is predominantly assumed that Joseph died before Jesus began His earthly ministry.

Jesus’s half-brothers did not believe in Him during His earthly ministry (John 7:5).

Soon after His resurrection from the dead, Jesus appeared to His half-brother, James (1 Corinthians 15:7). This seems to have had a major impact in his belief in Jesus. Jesus’s half-brother James would go on to lead the Christian church in Jerusalem (Acts 15:13, 21:18). And he was the author of the Epistle of James where he describes himself as “a bond-servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ” (James 1:1). According to Josephus, James was stoned to death and martyred for his faith.

Jesus’s half-brother Jude was the author of the Epistle of Jude. He too described himself as “a bond-servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James” (Jude 1:1).

Presumably, James and Jude were with Jesus’s mother and half-brothers when they came to Him as He was teaching on this day.

What Happened when Jesus’s Family Arrived

The arrival of Jesus’s mother and half-brothers makes it possible that this event took place near Nazareth, Jesus’s hometown. The parallel record of this event in Matthew makes it apparent that He would not have actually been in the town of Nazareth since it reports that Jesus later departed from there and went to His hometown (Matthew 13:53-56). Clues from the parallel account of this event in Mark’s Gospel suggest that it was Capernaum (Mark 3:20).

But His mother and half-brothers were unable to get to Him because of the crowd. This indicates that so many people had come to hear Jesus teach that it was difficult for anyone, including His family, to get near to Him in this moment.

But even though they could not get to Jesus because of the crowd, they could send a message to Him through the crowd.

And it was reported to Him, “Your mother and Your brothers are standing outside, wishing to see You” (v 20).

The report that His family members were waiting outside wishing to see Him, indicates that Jesus was teaching inside. While it is possible  He may have been teaching in a synagogue-which was a place for Jewish rabbis to teach-He also could have been teaching in someone’s home or another sort of building. Mark suggests that it was someone’s home (Mark 3:20).

Jesus’s family members were wishing to see Him. The nature and motive behind this visit is not disclosed in Luke or Matthew, but it is explained in Mark’s parallel account.

Mark’s gospel suggests that they were trying to take Jesus away to keep Him from getting into further trouble with the religious leaders. It seems that Jesus left Capernaum for a time in order to elude the Pharisees who were trying to destroy Him (Mark 3:6-7). But when Jesus returned, a large crowd gathered to Him (Mark 3:20):

“When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, ‘He has lost His senses.’”
(Mark 3:21)

Jesus had not lost His senses. But His family members seem to have been baffled or frustrated that Jesus would allow a crowd to gather around Him and attract the attention of His enemies. Perhaps they were confused or concerned for Jesus because they did not understand His mission, or because some of them did not believe in Him (John 7:5).

Instead of going outside to meet His family immediately, Jesus uses this moment to teach an important lesson.

But He answered and said to them, “My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it” (v 21).

This statement conveys that Jesus has broadened the definition of His family to include anyone who does the will of God.

Jesus’s statement as recorded in the three synoptic Gospels reveals how their writers expressed it in such a way as to be best understood by their different audiences.

The statement in the Gospel of Matthew, which was likely the first of the four Gospels to be written and was addressed to the Jews, reads:

“For whoever does the will of My Father who is in heaven, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
(Matthew 12:50)

Matthew did not directly name God as God. Directly naming God as God may have been a stumbling block to Jewish sensibilities. Instead, Matthew described God as “My Father who is in heaven” (Matthew 12:50a).

The Gospel of Mark, which was a condensed version of Matthew and addressed to the Romans, is more direct-which is a Roman way of speaking. Mark wrote:

“For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
(Mark 3:35)

Both Matthew and Mark describe the action as doing “the will of God/Father in Heaven” (Matthew 12:50a, Mark 3:35a). The Jews were concerned with doing the will of the LORD. And the Romans, whose national virtue was pietas-devotion, duty-highly valued doing the will of the lawful authority.

The Gospel of Luke was the last of the synoptic Gospels to be written. It was addressed to the Greeks. Luke recorded Jesus’s statement for his Greek audience in this way:

My mother and My brothers are these who hear the word of God and do it (v 21).

Luke inverts the statement, by stating the outcome first, and the process second. Luke also refers to God as God (as does Mark, who also wrote for Gentiles). But instead of saying whoever does God’s will (like Matthew and Mark), Luke writes that it is these who hear the word of God and do it.

This expression as recorded by Luke would have appealed to the Greeks who prized their independence and bristled at taking orders. The Greeks liked to hear words. The Greeks thought of themselves as listening and considering (hearing), and acting upon (doing) a wise word. God’s word is wise. The path to the Good Life is to hear and do it. The will of God in heaven is expressed in His word-the Bible.

The meaning in all three records of Jesus’s statement is the same in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, even as the synoptic Gospels use different expressions to convey it to their respective audiences (Jews, Romans, Greeks).

Jesus says whoever does God’s will and obeys His word are members of His spiritual family.

Jesus may have been indicating that His spiritual family are those who are willing to follow Him and identify with Him-and not those who are ashamed of Him, as perhaps His half-brothers who did not believe in Him (John 7:5) might have been.

Whoever follows Jesus and obeys God’s word are His family and share intimacy with Jesus.

Conversely, those who do not do God’s will do not share the intimacy with Jesus and His Father as cooperative family members.

Jesus’s family is composed of those who are under the headship of God as the Father.

In the Biblical model, a family lives together, facing and overcoming life's trials as one unit. They share resources, support one another’s endeavors, and care for each other. Even though Jesus had a family by blood, He is teaching that He also has a spiritual family. This spiritual family consists of these who hear the word of God and do it. His point is that anyone who follows God, His Father, is part of His spiritual family, regardless of where they live. In essence, whoever follows God is considered a member of Jesus's heavenly household.

This idea gives insight to a passage from Mark, where Jesus speaks of the rewards for those who walk in obedience to His commands:

“Peter began to say to Him, ‘Behold, we have left everything and followed You.’

Jesus said, ‘Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life. But many who are first will be last, and the last, first.’” 
(Mark 10:28-31)

In this passage, Jesus promises great rewards for those who have given up worldly things for His sake-a "hundred times" as much as was lost. Within His list of things gained, Jesus mentions that we will receive a hundred mothers for every mother we lost. How can this be? It is being suggested that believers are meant to be one another's reward.

When we hear the word of God and do it, this faithful obedience also builds a bond of fellowship among followers of Christ. In God's family, we gain brothers, sisters, mothers, and children-spiritual family members who care for, support, and share life with us. This spiritual abundance transcends the losses we may endure for the sake of the gospel.

In the broadest spiritual sense Jesus’s family are as many as those who receive Him by faith:

“But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”
John 1:12-13)

Being born of God through faith is an act of grace that is a blessing associated with the Gift of Eternal Life.