Why would the author of Mark tell such a story?
Mark was the first Gospel written and contains this enigmatic story of Mary and Jesus brothers coming to retrieve him thinking him insane.
Mark/s Mary and Jesus Brothers knew of no miraculous birth stories of Jesus, declarations of Angels to Mary nor Mary's joyous response as we find in Luke. Only Mark notes this embarrassing moment and all other Gospels do not repeat it and did not include it.
In the context, Jesus family (Mary and Brothers) hear about Jesus meeting and went to get him just as one might go retrieve a naughty child at the neighbors and bring them home.
Then to add insult to injury, Jesus rejects their visit, disavows his mother Mary and brothers and tells the crowd that they are his mothers and brothers if they believe on him. It seems Jesus shunned them, in part, because he knew why they had actually come to see him.
Mark already noted Jesus awareness of his family rejection in Chapter 6. Obviously in Mark, his family is not presented as knowing anything about Jesus birth in Matthew and Luke, who don't agree with each other either.
"Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t His sisters here with us as well?” And they took offense at Him. 4ThenJesustoldthem,“A prophetiswithout honoronlyinhishometown,amonghisrelatives,andinhisownhousehold.”5So He could not perform any miracles there, except to lay His hands on a few of the sick and heal them.…
Questions:
1. How could Mary not recall all the miraculous birth circumstances of her own son Jesus including affirming angel, deaths of the infants, fleeing to Egypt not to mention her miraculous impregnation?
2.Why did Mary and his brothers originally believe Jesus was insane?
3. Did Jesus dishonor his own Mother?. (In John 2:4 Jesus snaps at Mary when she notes there is no wine for the wedding, "Woman, what have I to do with thee?" which seems also rather rude and disrespectful)
Matthew 15:44For God said, 'Honor your father and mother'and'Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death.'
It's in the Bible
Asking for a Friend
Mark 3:20-2120Then Jesus entered a house, and again a crowd gathered, so that he and his disciples were not even able to eat. 21When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, "He is out of his mind."
31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him.32 A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.”
33 “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked.
34 Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said, “Here are my mother and my brothers!35 Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”
Mark 3:20-21New American Standard Bible (NASB)
20 And He *came [a]home, and the crowd *gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat [b]a meal.21 When His own [c]people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.”
Mark 3:20-21J.B. Phillips New Testament (PHILLIPS)
20-21 Then he went indoors, but again such a crowd collected that it was impossible for them even to eat a meal. When his relatives heard of this, they set out to take charge of him, for people were saying,“He must be mad!”
Mark 3:20-21Wycliffe Bible (WYC)
20 and the people [and the company of people] came together again, so that they might not [neither] eat bread.
21 And when his kinsmen had heard, they went out to hold him; for they said, That he is turned into madness.