Who are my mother and my brothers? by Rudolf Yelin d. Ä. (1864–1940)
This is the only image in this series which doesn’t include Mary, but she’s definitely at the heart of the story. Matthew, Mark and Luke all record an incident where Jesus’ mother and brothers come to try to stop him preaching, aware that he is stirring up opposition which will lead to trouble for him (and possibly for them too). Jesus’ response is to declare that his family will be made up of those who follow him. The crowd in this picture are dressed in clothes contemporary to the time of the painting.
Jesus' question might sound rather shocking to us. What do we think Mary thought and felt when she heard it? Why do we think it might have been important to the early Christian community to record it in the Gospels, remembering that Mary seems to have been known and valued in the early church, along with some of Jesus' brothers.
Use the questions
in the right hand sidebar to help you reflect on the picture, or there is a
video version, with the questions, and time to reflect, below.
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