And His mother and brothers came, and standing outside, they sent someone to call Him.
Here the narrative returns to the theme that had been hinted at earlier. Christ’s family comes and wants to call Him outside. This scene is human and understandable. His relatives wanted to come near Him and probably, in some way, to intervene in the situation. But Mark places this episode in such a way that it takes on a deeper meaning. External kinship is now to be compared with the spiritual bond that Christ is about to reveal. Standing outside has a symbolic tone in itself. They are close according to the flesh, but at present they are outside the circle where Christ speaks and acts. Soon the Lord will show who is truly near to Him.