⁵⁰ Anyone who does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother!”

²¹ Jesus replied, “My mother and my brothers are all those who hear God’s word and obey it.”

³⁵ Anyone who does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother.”

¹⁴ You are my friends if you do what I command.

¹¹ So now Jesus and the ones he makes holy have the same Father. That is why Jesus is not ashamed to call them his brothers and sisters.^{[a] 12} For he said to God,

¹³ He also said,

¹⁴ Because God’s children are human beings—made of flesh and blood—the Son also became flesh and blood. For only as a human being could he die, and only by dying could he break the power of the devil, who had^[d] the power of death. ¹⁵ Only in this way could he set free all who have lived their lives as slaves to the fear of dying.

¹⁶ We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. ¹⁷ Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters,^[e] so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.

²⁹ Jesus told them, “This is the only work God wants from you: Believe in the one he has sent.”

²⁷ As he was speaking, a woman in the crowd called out, “God bless your mother—the womb from which you came, and the breasts that nursed you!”

²⁸ Jesus replied, “But even more blessed are all who hear the word of God and put it into practice.”

¹⁰ Then Jesus said to them, “Don’t be afraid! Go tell my brothers to leave for Galilee, and they will see me there.”

²³ And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. ²⁴ Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.

²¹ So get rid of all the filth and evil in your lives, and humbly accept the word God has planted in your hearts, for it has the power to save your souls.

²² But don’t just listen to God’s word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are only fooling yourselves.