Please read the passage before the commentary.
Much of the previous chapter has Jesus redefining his family. While his mother and blood relatives were standing outside seek to see him, Jesus was calling his inner circle around him (3:13-19; defending himself against those who would attribute to demons his healing power (3:22-30).
In today’s passage, we can also see separation. Those who have gathered around are actually on the shore while Jesus and his inner group are in the boat. Members of Jeus’ family understand the parables, while the outsiders do not understand the meaning of the parables. Family members will be saved, and they will understand the parables. The others, who think that they understand the parables, will find themselves unconverted and unsaved.
Family members will bear fruit, thirty, sixty or a hundred-fold; the others will not. The family is safe harbor, protection, and security. The family gives strength, life, and vitality to its members.
If we are independent and not in the inner circle of Jesus’ family, then we are not in the family. We must have the communal bond of Christ’s family to enable us to bear fruit as members of the family. If we are cut off from the family of the Church, we are on rocky ground and cannot bear fruit that will last.
I wonder how much we are family members in actuality. We are in the family of Jesus or we are not: there is no middle ground.