Why did Jesus tell his disciples to leave their families?

Question

Wiki User · Answer

Yes. Mark 1:30 mentions Simon Peter's wife right at the beginning of the mission of Jesus, but she is never mentioned again, as Peter follows Jesus. The other disciples would also have had wives. but there is no mention of them in the gospels. Jesus actually mentions followers leaving their families and gives support for this, both by his own example and by exhortation, as we can see from the following table:A . John explains the coming of Jesus (Mark 1:1-8)

B .The baptism of Jesus (1:9)

C . The voice of God from heaven, "Thou art my beloved son" (1:11)

D . The forty days in the wilderness as an allusion to Elijah and Moses (1:13)

E . The people were astonished at what Jesus taught (1:22)

F . Jesus casts out an unclean spirit (1:23-26)

G . Pharisees took counsel with the Herodians how they might destroy Jesus (3:6)

H . Demons, whenever they see Jesus, fall down and say that he is the Son of God.

-- Jesus commands that they tell no one of this (3:11-12)

I .. Jesus calls the 12 disciples (3:13-19)

J .. Jesus rejects his own family: he has a new family, his followers (3:31-35)

K . Jesus rebukes the wind (4:36-41)

L . The demoniac, wearing no clothes (5:15), cries out that Jesus not torment him and Jesus sends out the demons (5:1-20)

M . Jesus comes into his own country (6:1)
-- Where he was brought up

N . The people misunderstand Jesus and he can do no mighty work (6:2-6)

O . Jesus sends out the disciples and curses those who will not receive them (6:7-11)
-- in sending the disciples with authority and expecting all to receive them, Jesus is asserting his own authority

P . Herod thinks that Jesus is John the Baptist risen from the dead (6:14)

Q . Herodias and her daughter conspire to kill John the Baptist (6:16-29)

R . Feeding the thousands, and related miracles and discourses (6:33-8:21)

S . Who do people say that I am (8:27)

T . Peter affirms faith in Jesus as the Christ (8:29)

U . Whosoever shall be ashamed of me: of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed (8:38)

V . The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and scribes (8:31a)

W . Be killed and after three days rise again (8:31b)

X . Prophecy of second coming (9:1)- Jesus tells the disciples that some of them would not taste death until they saw the kingdom of God coming with power.

B' .The Transfiguration of Jesus (9:2-3)

C' .The voice of God from heaven, "This is my beloved son" (9:7)

D' . Jesus talks to Elijah and Moses then to the disciples about Elijah (9:4-13)

E' .A great multitude was amazed at Jesus (9:15)

F' .Jesus cast out a dumb spirit (9:17-27)

G' .They shall kill the Son of man and he shall rise on the third day (9:31)

H' .Jesus clarifies his divine status, saying that he is not God: "Why call me good? There is none good but God" (10:18)

I' . Peter says the disciples have left all and followed Jesus (10:28)

J' . Those who have left their family for Jesus have a new family: all Jesus' followers (10:29-30)

K'. Jesus rebukes the 'sons of thunder', James and John (10:35-45 - cf 3:17)

L' .Blind Bartimaeus cries out for mercy and casts off his clothes, then Jesus heals him (10:46-52)

M' .Jesus comes into Jerusalem (11:1-10)
-- Where he will die

N' .Jesus misunderstands the fig tree that can provide no fruit (11:13-14)

O' .Jesus casts out them that sold and bought in the Temple and curses them for making the Temple a den of thieves (11:15-17)
-- Jesus is asserting his authority

P' .Jesus asks whether the baptism of John is from heaven or of men, and the priests, scribes and elders can not answer (11:30-33)

Q' .Parable of husbandmen who conspire to kill the vineyard owner's son (12:1-9)

X' .Prophecy of second coming (chapter 13)

-- on clouds of glory, within the lifetimes of some of those to whom he was speaking

R' .The Last Supper (14:17-25)

S' .Art thou the Christ, Son of God (14:61)

T' .Peter denies Jesus three times (14:66-72a)

U' .And when he thought thereon, Peter wept (14:72b)

V' .The chief priests, elders and scribes delivered Jesus to Pontius Pilate (15:1)

-- Delivering Jesus is a similar concept to rejecting him.
-- Both parts of the pair involve chief priests, elders and scribes

W' .Jesus dies and on the third day rises again (15:37, 16:6)

A' .The young man explains the departure of Jesus(16:6-8)

The above table represents the framework parallel structure of Mark's Gospel. A parallel structure is a literary sequence in which an opening set of events is contrasted with another, parallel set of events that mirrors the first, and its purpose in ancient literature was to link two events by association and thereby create emphasis or develop a theme that was not otherwise apparent.

In event J (Mark 3:31-35), Jesus speaks dismissively of his family who came to see him, saying, "Who is my mother, or my brethren?" He has a new family, his followers. In the matching event J' (Mark 10:29-30), Jesus says that those who leave their families to follow him will receive family a hundred-fold. The first event, Jesus' dismissal of his family, comes forward as an example for his exhortation in the second event. In an apparent oversight, Mark mentions 'persecutions', which is evidence this was really written about a much later period, when the proselytising Christian preachers were being persecuted by Romans or Jews.

Wiki User · Answer

Family was very important in biblical times. People were expected to care for their parents and other family members, just as family was later the only means of support for a person as he or she grew older. However, the gospels say that Jesus set out to change all this, in the name of Christianity. In Mark 3:31-35, Jesus speaks dismissively of his family who came to see him, saying, "Who is my mother, or my brethren?" He has a new family, his followers. In Mark 10:29-30, Jesus says that those who leave their possessions and families to follow him will receive family a hundred-fold. Jesus was encouraging his disciples and his followers to leave their families in order to teach the gospel.

This radical new concept can best be seen by looking at those passages in the parallel structure of Mark's Gospel (a parallel structure is a literary sequence in which an opening set of events is contrasted with another, parallel set of events that mirrors the first):A . John explains the coming of Jesus (Mark 1:1-8)