Jesus' family values: He comes before family

Jesus teaches that his Kingdom News will split up families. And that he is to come first.

Matthew 10:34-37 34 "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. 35 For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; 36 and one's foes will be members of one's own household. 37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me;

Do we ignore Jesus' teaching to expect that families will be split over living out his Kingdom?

Note: Jesus teaches several times in the gospels that when we choose to follow him, he becomes our brother. And all of his followers become our mothers, sisters, and brothers (we only have one father - and that is God). We are to have an even deeper relationship with followers of Jesus than we do with genetically related family members. Of course, the best of all worlds is that our blood relatives would be his followers too and we would all live out his kingdom teachings together. But he warns us that this will not be the case all of the time. Jesus is telling us here that the old patriarcal social order is different from Kingdom living. Kingdom living has to do with following Jesus together (as brothers, sisters, and mothers), not falling back into an old accepted social order at home.

Matthew 12:46-50 46 While he was still speaking to the crowds, his mother and his brothers were standing outside, wanting to speak to him. 47 Someone told him, "Look, your mother and your brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to you." 48 But to the one who had told him this, Jesus replied, "Who is my mother, and who are my brothers?" 49 And pointing to his disciples, he said, "Here are my mother and my brothers! 50 For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother."

Matthew 19:29-30 29 And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields, for my name's sake, will receive a hundredfold, and will inherit eternal life. 30 But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

Matthew 23:9 9 And call no one your father on earth, for you have one Father-- the one in heaven.

John 19:26-27 26 When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved standing beside her, he said to his mother, "Woman, here is your son." 27 Then he said to the disciple, "Here is your mother." And from that hour the disciple took her into his own home.