Jesus knows all who accept His name and abide in Him. He endeavors to draw them out of the bond of their clan, and out of nest of their favorite family, or out of the culture of their people. He knows that the blood relationship is often stronger and more valuable according to the customs than religion is, and neighbors would not let their relative follow Jesus easily. They choose to live in deviousness and impurity rather than be born again in Jesus.
Those of the tender sex shall become persecutors and persecuted. The mother will be against her believing daughter, where natural affection and filial duty, one would think, should prevent or quickly resolve the quarrel. No marvel then if the daughter-in-law be against the mother-in-law, where, too often, the coldness of love seeks occasion of contention. In general, “a man’s enemies will be those of his own household” (v. 36). They who should be his friends will be incensed against him for embracing Christianity, and especially for adhering to it when it comes to be persecuted, and will join with his persecutors against him.
In His sermon on spreading the divine kingdom, Jesus testified twice that the severest pain a man can experience in life is his separation from his family by reason of honoring the name of Jesus. Our membership of God’s family is more important than our continuance in the earthly family. When your parents and neighbors prevent you from following Jesus, you ought to obey God rather than men for Creatures cannot be obeyed in their disobedience to the Creator. Sometimes the parents suffer! They love their children and exert pressure on them to leave Jesus and join the anti-Christ party, but God’s love overcomes even our emotions.
He who goes through these trials deserves our prayers, support and fellowship in every respect, since we became his new family after he had left his relatives and kindred.