And it came to pass as he spake these things, a certain woman, lifting up her voice out of the crowd, said to him, Blessed is the womb that has borne thee, and the paps which thou hast sucked.
A woman in the crowd calls out a blessing on the mother who carried Jesus. Her words raise a question the church has argued over ever since: is closeness to Christ a matter of birth, or is it open to anyone?
She calls out while He is still speaking. That says something about the effect of His words.
What He was saying seems to have pressed with moral power on the heart of one who was listening. So, "as He spoke," she lifted up her voice and said, "Blessed is the womb that bore you, and the breasts at which you nursed." This was a testimony to the power of the words of our divine Teacher, which is His glory in this Gospel.
She was right that closeness to this Man brings blessing. She was wrong about how that closeness comes.
She had realised that Christ was not like others, that He stood out from the crowd, and that there was blessing in being associated with Him. What she had not understood was how this could happen. The best she could think of were natural bonds, and so His mother would be blessed above all others. She was indeed blessed among women. But there were blessings for others, and these were even higher than Mary's: "blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and keep it." The key to being linked with Christ was not a natural relationship but a spiritual one.
The Lord's reply starts by agreeing with her. That first word matters.
A woman in the crowd saw something of His excellence, and called His mother blessed. This He accepted, for the first word of His reply was, "Yes." Yet He indicated something more blessed still. The truest blessedness for us lies in receiving and keeping the Word of God. The spiritual link formed by the Word is more intimate and enduring than any link formed in the flesh.
Mary's place was real, and no small thing to her own heart. It was still not the highest blessing.
Of course it was a blessed thing to be the mother of the Lord. Yet it was only a natural relationship, though a miracle. And it could not have been a small thing to her heart. Still, it was not equal to the blessing of the word of God bringing a soul to Himself. Beloved friends, only let the pure word of God stay in your hearts. You will find that it sweeps away all the cobwebs of the flesh.
Writers also see a safeguard in this reply. Admiration can slide into honour that belongs to God alone.
Our Lord plainly meant His hearers to understand this. No mere emotional admiration of Himself or His words could take the place of faith, godliness and a holy life. It is not fanciful to suppose that the Saviour was guarding against lifting the creature too high. The human heart leans that way. In short, it is right to count Mary favoured. It is a serious wrong to pay her honours due only to God. And it is a mistake to forget that even spiritual blessedness goes beyond any honour in the flesh.
The woman spoke out of the instincts of her people. The answer she gets opens the door far wider than she imagined.
The Jewish woman was true to the instincts of humanity and the traditions of her people when she saw the Messiah casting out demons. The gospel makes it plain and certain. It is no question of a relationship after the flesh, but of the authority and blessing of the divine word. So it is as open to the Gentile as to the Jew. To believe it is the obedience of faith. It is to be in living association with God, which cannot be otherwise.
People are impressed by power. The Lord points past it to what outlasts it.
Power has effects that last only for a time — even power as great as that which Jesus wielded over man or the enemy. But "whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17). And "whoever believes in the Son has eternal life" (John 3:36). The Word of God is the link between man on earth and God above.
- Words, not wonders. Her cry broke out while He was teaching. It was His words that gripped hearts.
- Yes, then higher. He agreed that Mary was blessed; He only refused to let that be the highest blessing on offer.
- Flesh cannot compete. A natural bond with Christ, real as it was, is not equal to the word of God bringing a soul to Himself.
- Open to all. Since the link is the word, the blessing reaches Gentile as much as Jew — anyone who hears it and keeps it.
- What lasts. Power delivers for a time; the word ties earth to heaven and abides forever.
But *he* said, Yea rather, blessed are they who hear the word of God and keep [it].
A woman in the crowd shouts a blessing on the mother who bore Jesus. He answers by moving the blessing somewhere else. His reply raises one question: what really ties a person to Christ?
The little phrase that opens the Lord's answer is a single Greek word, and it carries a particular tone. One writer traces its use across the New Testament:
Menounge is used only three times in the New Testament... It has something of the sense of "yes, indeed, if you talk of that." So in Luke 11:28, "If you talk of blessing, such and such are the really blessed."
He does not contradict her. He raises the subject to its true level:
A woman in the crowd that was listening to Him lifted up her voice and said, "Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts that You have nursed." And He answers, "Yes, rather" — so it is, indeed, but there is a greater blessedness — "blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it."
The woman assumed that closeness to Jesus runs through family. The Lord sets that whole way of thinking aside:
They speak of the honour of being His mother. No, we would say, that has nothing to do with it. The closest connection with the Son of Man is not equal to keeping the word of God. Religious people make a great deal of natural affection. It is blessed in its way, but it is nothing compared to the life of God in my soul.
She was right about the blessing. She was wrong about the route:
She had realised that Christ was not like others, that He stood out from the crowd, and that being linked with Him brought blessing. What she had not understood was how that link is made. The best she could think of were natural bonds... She was indeed blessed among women, but there were blessings for others, and these were even higher than Mary's... The key to being linked with Christ was not a natural relationship but a spiritual one. It all hinged on receiving God's word, hearing it and keeping it.
One writer weighs the power Jesus used against the word of God:
Without denying the value of divine power in such a world as this, yet, said our Lord, "rather blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it."... The world is in a bad state, and so are the people in it. That very badness is the occasion for God to bring in what never passes away — what will last when the world is gone. There is nothing here below that introduces the eternal like the word of God. Power lasts only for a time in its effects, even power as great as the power Jesus used over man or the enemy; but "whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17). And "whoever believes in the Son has eternal life" (John 3:36). The word of God is the link between man on earth and God above; it is the seed of imperishable life that lives and lasts forever.
If the link is the word, the blessing reaches far past one family. One writer says so while praising Mary:
Of all the women who have ever lived, not one had such a blessed privilege as Mary. She was indeed "highly favoured." But as we write these words we recall again the Lord's reply to the woman who cried out from the crowd... "Yes, rather," He answered, "blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it." This blessedness is open to every one of God's people.
The verse also fences off an error. Admiration that stops at feeling falls short, and so does honour paid to a creature:
Our Lord plainly meant His hearers to understand this. Admiration of Himself or His words, if it is only emotional, cannot take the place of faith, godliness and a holy life... In short, it is right to call Mary favoured. It is seriously wrong to pay her honours that belong to God alone. And it is a mistake to forget that spiritual blessedness rises above any honour in the flesh.
The Lord names two things: hearing and keeping. Keeping shows up in daily life:
Every true lover of God will treasure up His word in the heart. Where the word is treasured with love like that, its holy influence will show in the whole life, character and conduct. God gave His word so that it may govern our conduct, form our character and shape our way. If His word does not have this practical effect on us, it is pointless for us to speak of loving Him.
- Rather. Christ does not deny her blessing. His one word "rather" moves blessing off the family line and onto the word of God.
- Route. She was right that nearness to Christ brings blessing. She was wrong about how it comes: the link is spiritual, not natural.
- Reach. Because the tie is the word, no family line has a monopoly. This blessedness is open to every one of God's people.
- Ranking. Power over man and the enemy works for a time. The word of God brings in what lasts when the world is gone.
- Result. Keeping means the word treasured in the heart until it shapes conduct and character. Without that, talk of loving Him is empty.