Family in the Early Jesus MovementThe historical Jesus clearly had family issues. But that's never been unusual. He also liked to use hyperbole. It's a good way of getting attention.
Why did the historical Jesus reject traditional family ties? There are a couple of possibilities. First, it is feasible that he did so because his family attempted to thwart his activities…. It is also possible that, regardless of his own family’s attitude, Jesus felt that traditional family ties were insignificant compared to proclaiming the arrival of the kingdom of God (which Jesus no doubt identified with the will of God). One was to make a choice: family or the kingdom.
See Also: Jesus Followers in the Roman Empire (Eerdmans, 2017).
By Paul B. Duff
Professor of Religion
The Columbian College of Arts and Sciences
The George Washington University
December 2018
How good? Ponder the fact that Jesus' most hyperbolic sayings have survived all this time and are still well known, even though most everyone knows better than to try to carry them out.
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