John 2:12

John 2:12
12 After this He went down to Capernaum, He and His mother and His brothers and His disciples; and they stayed there a few days.

I thought I would go ahead a post the whole verse today since there is only one.  This will obviously be a short post.  I debated skipping this verse or adding it to the next section, but the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to just focus on this verse this morning mostly because I have really never noticed it before.  I think that it is interesting that after the wedding Jesus stayed on with His family for a few days and He took His disciples with Him.  The dynamic between ministry, family and discipleship is worth our consideration and is an example from which we can learn.

DISCIPLESHIP INCLUDES FAMILY: If my understanding (or Bible Hub’s) of the order of events is correct, at this time Jesus only has a small group of disciples.  They would be Andrew, John, Peter, Philip and Nathanael and perhaps James.  It seems that the others were called after these events.  No matter how many of the disciples were at the wedding, it seems that following the days of celebration at the wedding, Jesus wanted to spend time with His mother, brothers and disciples together.  We don’t know why Joseph is not mentioned.  Jesus is known as the son of Joseph but we don’t hear any more about him.  The Bible does not record that he died but that certainly seems like a possibility.  Whatever the case about Joseph, Jesus wanted His family and His disciples to be together.  At this point in time His brothers do not yet believe that He is Messiah.  Perhaps Jesus wanted His disciples to share with His brothers about what they had witnessed so that they would believe.  We know the Jesus’s brothers; James and Jude would eventually become believers and wrote the books of the Bible that bare their name.  Perhaps Jesus wanted His disciples to see how He interacted with His family members.  Ministry often involves spending time away from our family members but that does not mean that we cannot include our family in ministry.  Our families benefit from being included in ministry and our ministries benefit from the inclusion of our family.  It is true that family can distract us from ministry and that ministry has caused many to be negligent of family.  Balance, wisdom, discernment and much understanding on both sides of this issue are desperately needed.  I think that it is significant that this verse is included in Scripture because it demonstrates that Jesus did not abandon His family when His ministry started and it demonstrates that He didn’t abandon His ministry in order to be with His family. 

DISCIPLESHIP INVOLVES TIME: This family/disciples time together lasted for a few days.  This was not just a visit for a couple of hours but they all spent a period of days together.  We don’t know what all they did during that time but we can assume that they spent time eating, talking and getting to know one another.  Discipleship is like dating in many ways.  We want to observe and be observed in a variety of settings.  We need to spend time with the people we are looking to disciple.  Later on we will see that Jesus spent time with the families of His disciples too.  There is a dynamic to discipleship that can only be achieved by living life together.  Open homes and open schedules are essential to the task of discipleship.  Too often our schedules are so full that our homes become a sort of refuge to which we flee to be protected from the demands of people.  Our homes should be tools for ministry and the context in which part of discipleship occurs.  There is something about sitting around a table and eating as we share life with one another that adds an invaluable aspect to discipleship.  Discipleship is not scheduling an hour a week with a person; it is become a part of one another’s life.  I think that it is interesting that when Paul goes through the qualifications for ministry, he includes hospitality.  Discipleship requires time spent together and some of that time should be in one another’s homes.


APPLICATION: Pray for wisdom to be able to find a biblical balance in the ministry family dynamic.  Don’t see ministry and family as being exclusive of one another; they should be beneficial to one another.  Have an open home in which people can come, be refreshed as well as hear and see the Word of God being lived out.  Spend time in the homes and get to know the families of the people in whom you are investing your life.

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