Hebrews 2:11: “Both the one who makes men holy and those who are being made holy are of the same family. So Jesus is not ashamed to call them brothers.”

God wanted to make us part of his family, and so his son made himself a part of our family. 

God didn’t start over with a new lump of clay from some untainted world in another universe to fashion Jesus’ human body and soul. He didn’t merely speak his human body into existence. Jesus chose to be born of a human woman. He drew the genetic material for his flesh and bones from Mary’s. 

Maybe when they stood next to each other, you could see her eyes in his. Maybe that chin or that nose was her father’s—his grandpa’s. The blood flowing through his veins was the blood of generations of Jewish kings and patriarchs before them, and this world’s first citizens before them. Somewhere, his family tree intersects with ours. Both the one who makes men holy and those who are made holy are of the same family.

Yet, he is not ashamed to call us brothers. There is an old saying that you can choose your friends, but you can’t choose your family. Jesus did. What’s even more amazing is that he chose his family in spite of all the baggage our human race has to offer.

Have you ever done genealogical work, hoping to find that you’re descended from some hero you can be proud to claim as your ancestor? Of course, the opposite is true as well. There’s always the risk that some lowlife, criminal or thug made a contribution to who you are today. 

We also feel shame when a living relative does something to disgrace our family’s name or create a public spectacle.

But not Jesus. He knew what he was getting into when he joined humanity and became our sacred sibling. He knew about the murderers, adulterers and perverts. He knew about the liars, cheaters and thieves. He knew about the self-righteous, the smug and the snobs. He knew about the backstabbers, the unscrupulous and the hypocrites. He knew about us all. He knew that he would be accused of the same shortcomings that ran in the family. He joined it just the same.

Jesus loved us too much to pity us from afar. He became our brother so that he could be accused of all the family sins. Then he suffered not only their shame, but their punishment as well. At the cross, he cleared the family name forever. He has cleared your name forever, and he is not ashamed to be called your brother.

Can we imagine a greater glory, this side of heaven, than to claim Jesus Christ as our own flesh and blood? 

Nourish your faith in between Sundays by reading more of John’s writings at BitsOfBread.org.