There is no doubt that the influence of godly parents has a profound effect on their children.  God intends parents to teach their family about Him and what He requires of people (Deuteronomy 6:4-7).  So where did Jesus, the Son of God, receive His understanding of His Father?  Certainly, Mary and Joseph would have taught Him from the Old Testament Law, but when He was only twelve, Jesus debated with the Temple leaders (Luke 2:46-50) with knowledge, wisdom and authority that was implicit in His relationship with Father God.

In these verses, Jesus had just quashed the allegations that His power came from the devil (Luke 11:14-26).  He was then applauded by an anonymous woman who dared to speak out.  Instead of saying how wise He was, and that He spoke the truth from God, she assumed that His character and wisdom must have come from His mother; and how proud she must be of Him.  Mary was indeed blessed (Luke 1:46-50), but not because she was the source of the Saviour's wisdom.  Her blessing came from God because she humbly allowed God's Word to come alive in her (Luke 1:38).

It may have been that the admiring woman wished that she could have had a son like Jesus and could bathe in His reflected glory.  If so, Jesus' next sentence would have been a huge encouragement to her when He told her that the blessing of God belongs to all who receive His Word and displays its truth by obeying what God says!  Blessing always follows humble submission to God's Word.  Mary had certainly modelled that, but the blessing was not exclusively hers: it is for all of Jesus' true family - as He said in Luke 8:21, "My mother and brothers are those who hear God's word and put it into practice."

Family is important, but the words of Jesus point us beyond our precious human relationships to the supremacy of His Father and ours.  They point to the blessing to all in God’s family who receive His Word and do it (Matthew 7:24-27). Although the religious leaders of Christ's time claimed that their human descent from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob made them a part of the Divine family, Jesus challenged them by saying that only obeying what God said (including accepting Jesus as their Saviour) could give them the family blessing (John 8:39-42).  For us, this needs to be a daily practice: we cannot spiritually surf the waves of our human family's relationship with God, or even the memory of our own precious encounters with the Lord.  Each day requires a fresh commitment to hear and obey what He says to us (James 1:22-25).