The Meaning of Matthew 12:46 Explained

Matthew 12:46

KJV: While he yet talked to the people, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, desiring to speak with him.

YLT: And while he was yet speaking to the multitudes, lo, his mother and brethren had stood without, seeking to speak to him,

Darby: But while he was yet speaking to the crowds, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him.

ASV: While he was yet speaking to the multitudes, behold, his mother and his brethren stood without, seeking to speak to him.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

While  he  yet  talked  to the people,  behold,  [his] mother  and  his  brethren  stood  without,  desiring  to speak  with him. 

What does Matthew 12:46 Mean?

Study Notes

While
Rejected by Israel, His "kinsmen according to the flesh" (cf) Romans 9:3 our Lord intimates the formation of the new family of faith which, overstepping mere racial claims, receives "whosoever" will be His disciple.; Matthew 12:49 ; Matthew 12:50 ; John 6:28 ; John 6:29 .
For Another Point of View: See Topic 301191
Additional Factors to Consider: See Topic 301372

Context Summary

Matthew 12:38-50 - Opposing Or Doing God's Will
It was an evil and adulterous age. It had no spiritual appreciation, and was intent on getting an outward and sensible sign. Nineveh itself would have condemned it. The queen of Sheba, without the advantage attaching to the Hebrew race, appreciated Solomon; but the people of this generation had no appreciation of the Christ. They were nearing the last days of corruption and reprobation. They were a deserted palace given over to demons. Seven demons possessed them and urged them, as they did the swine in Matthew 8:31, to destruction.
But amid the general apostasy, there were faithful souls who recognized Jesus as the Son of God and drew near to hear His words. They recognized His kinship to the Father and revealed their kinship to Him. Let us not look back to Nazareth and Bethany with longing eyes. See Solomon's Song of Solomon 8:1-2. We are privileged to occupy a closer relationship than that of natural birth. See John 1:12-13; Galatians 4:1-6; Romans 8:16. O Brother Christ, make us more like thee! [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 12

1  Jesus reproves the blindness of the Pharisees concerning the Sabbath,
3  by scripture,
9  by reason,
13  and by a miracle
22  He heals a man possessed that was blind and mute;
24  and confronting the absurd charge of casting out demons by Beelzebub,
32  he shows that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall never be forgiven
36  Account shall be made of idle words
38  He rebukes the unfaithful, who seek after a sign,
46  and shows who is his brother, sister, and mother

Greek Commentary for Matthew 12:46

His mother and his brothers [η μητηρ και οι αδελποι αυτου]
Brothers of Jesus, younger sons of Joseph and Mary. The charge of the Pharisees that Jesus was in league with Satan was not believed by the disciples of Jesus, but some of his friends did think that he was beside himself (Mark 3:21) because of the excitement and strain. It was natural for Mary to want to take him home for rest and refreshment. So the mother and brothers are pictured standing outside the house (or the crowd). They send a messenger to Jesus. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 12:46

Luke 8:11 The seed is the word of God [ο σπορος εστιν ο λογος του τεου]
The article with both subject and predicate as here means that they are interchangeable and can be turned round: The word of God is the seed. The phrase “the word of God” does not appear in Matthew and only once in Mark (Mark 7:13) and John (John 10:35), but four times in Luke (Luke 5:1; Luke 8:11, Luke 8:21; Luke 11:28) and twelve times in Acts. In Mark 4:14 we have only “the word.” In Mark 3:31 we have “the will of God,” and in Matthew 12:46 “the will of my Father” where Luke 8:21 has “the word of God.” This seems to show that Luke has the subjective genitive here and means the word that comes from God. [source]
Luke 8:19 His mother and brethren [η μητηρ και οι αδελποι αυτου]
Mark 3:31-35; Matthew 12:46-50 place the visit of the mother and brothers of Jesus before the parable of the sower. Usually Luke follows Mark‘s order, but he does not do so here. At first the brothers of Jesus (younger sons of Joseph and Mary, I take the words to mean, there being sisters also) were not unfriendly to the work of Jesus as seen in John 2:12 when they with the mother of Jesus are with him and the small group (half dozen) disciples in Capernaum after the wedding in Cana. But as Jesus went on with his work and was rejected at Nazareth (Luke 4:16-31), there developed an evident disbelief in his claims on the part of the brothers who ridiculed him six months before the end (John 7:5). At this stage they have apparently come with Mary to take Jesus home out of the excitement of the crowds, perhaps thinking that he is beside himself (Mark 3:21). They hardly believed the charge of the rabbis that Jesus was in league with Beelzebub. Certainly the mother of Jesus could give no credence to that slander. But she herself was deeply concerned and wanted to help him if possible. See discussion of the problem in my little book The Mother of Jesus and also on Mark 3:31 and Matthew 12:46. [source]
John 7:5 For even his brethren did not believe on him [ουδε γαρ οι αδελποι αυτου επιστευον εις αυτον]
Literally, “For not even were his brothers believing on him.” Imperfect tense of πιστευω — pisteuō with sad picture of the persistent refusal of the brothers of Jesus to believe in his Messianic assumptions, after the two rejections in Capernaum (Luke 4:16-31; Mark 6:1-6; Matthew 13:54-58), and also after the blasphemous accusation of being in league with Beelzebub when the mother and brothers came to take Jesus home (Mark 3:31-35; Matthew 12:46-50; Luke 8:19-21). The brothers here are sarcastic. [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 12:46 mean?

While now He was speaking to the crowds behold the mother and the brothers of Him were standing outside seeking to Him to speak
Ἔτι ‹δὲ› αὐτοῦ λαλοῦντος τοῖς ὄχλοις ἰδοὺ μήτηρ καὶ οἱ ἀδελφοὶ αὐτοῦ εἱστήκεισαν ἔξω ζητοῦντες αὐτῷ λαλῆσαι

Ἔτι  While 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ἔτι  
Sense: yet, still.
‹δὲ›  now 
Parse: Conjunction
Root: δέ  
Sense: but, moreover, and, etc.
λαλοῦντος  was  speaking 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Genitive Masculine Singular
Root: ἀπολαλέω 
Sense: to utter a voice or emit a sound.
τοῖς  to  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Masculine Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ὄχλοις  crowds 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: ὄχλος  
Sense: a crowd.
ἰδοὺ  behold 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ἰδού  
Sense: behold, see, lo.
μήτηρ  mother 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: μήτηρ  
Sense: a mother.
ἀδελφοὶ  brothers 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ἀδελφός  
Sense: a brother, whether born of the same two parents or only of the same father or mother.
αὐτοῦ  of  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
εἱστήκεισαν  were  standing 
Parse: Verb, Pluperfect Indicative Active, 3rd Person Plural
Root: ἵστημι  
Sense: to cause or make to stand, to place, put, set.
ἔξω  outside 
Parse: Adverb
Root: ἔξω  
Sense: without, out of doors.
ζητοῦντες  seeking 
Parse: Verb, Present Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Plural
Root: ζητέω  
Sense: to seek in order to find.
αὐτῷ  to  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
λαλῆσαι  to  speak 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: ἀπολαλέω 
Sense: to utter a voice or emit a sound.