Mt 10:34—11:1
[Jesus said to the Twelve,] 34“Do not think that I have come to bring peace upon the earth. I have come to bring not peace but the sword. 35For I have come to set a man ‘against his father,/ a daughter against her mother,/ and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law;/ 36and one’s enemies will be those of his household.’
37“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; 38and whoever does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. 39Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.
40“Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. 41Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is righteous will receive a righteous man’s reward. 42And whoever gives only a cup of cold water to one of these little ones to drink because he is a disciple—amen, I say to you, he will surely not lose his reward.”
1When Jesus finished giving these commands to his twelve disciples, he went away from that place to teach and to preach in their towns.
MORE THAN FATHER OR MOTHER: In the cultural world of Jesus, the family (kinship) is the central institution. Kinship provides the economic, religious, educational, and social foundations of life. To leave one’s family is to risk losing all.
The Hebrew word for “family” is beth-ab, meaning “house of the father.” The family is patriarchal or father-centered. “Father” refers to one who holds the authority, be he the father, grandfather, or great-grandfather.
The mother loves the children, instructs and disciplines them, and is concerned with their relation to God.
The family also includes sons, daughters, grandparents, and other kinsmen. The household is really a “clan.” And in a world where there is little or no social security, the family provides for one’s protection and social identity.
Jesus’ requirement that his followers love him more than they love their father, mother, and other family members is shocking to his listeners. To leave one’s family is equivalent to suicide.
Jesus, however, sets up a “replacement”—a surrogate family, composed of people not linked by blood ties but by bonds of commitment to him. Those who do the will of the heavenly Father become his mother, brothers, and sisters (Mt 12:50).