Not much attention is given in the gospels to Jesus' relationship with his earthly family. But he was very much part of it for the first 30 years of his life. He was submissive to his parents (Luke 2:51). Before he had done any miraculous sign, his mother expected him to take care of a situation which could otherwise have been an embarrassment for a bridal couple (John 2:3, 5, 11). After this he went to Capernaum with his family and disciples (John 2:12).
When Jesus became popular his mother and brothers must have thought he had become too fanatical and attempted to calm him down (Mark 3:21, 31). In Nazareth he was known as the carpenter who was part of a family (Mark 6:3). On occasion his brothers gave him their advice on how he should go about his ministry (John 7:3-5). Jesus showed concern for his mother even as he was dying on the cross (John 19:26-27).
Jesus would have loved to adopt the nation of Israel as his own family. When he sent out the twelve, he told them to only reach out to the "lost sheep of Israel" (Matthew 10:5-6). He used the same phrase when he initially refused to heal the daughter of a Canaanite woman (Matthew 15:22-24). When he cried over Jerusalem Jesus was revealing his love for God's chosen people (Luke 19:41-42; Matthew 23:37). This was a sentiment the prophets had attributed to God over and over (Isaiah 40:11). The prophets denounced the "bad shepherds" of Israel (Jeremiah 23:1-2; Ezekiel 34:1-2). They promised that God would send them someone who cared for them (Ezekiel 34:23-24; Micah 5:4). In his denunciation of the Pharisees Jesus used words to the effect that they masqueraded as shepherds of Israel while persecuting the true shepherds (Matthew 23:33-36). He defended his disciples against the attacks of the religious elite (Matthew 12:1-7, Mark 7:1-13).
Jesus had compassion for all the marginalised people he came across, seeing them as "sheep without a shepherd" (Matthew 9:36). Luke 15 has been called the "lost chapter" because it contains the parable of the lost sheep and the prodigal son. In it Jesus reveals the heart of God towards all who have gone astray. He anticipated that people from other nations would be added to his flock (John 10:16) as prophesied in Isaiah 49:6-7. Probably the first person from another nation to whom Jesus revealed his identity was the Samaritan woman he met at a well (John 4:25-26).
The prophets often described God as the Shepherd of Israel (Genesis 48:15; Psalm 23:1; 80:1; Zechariah 9:16). Jesus' love for Israel proved that he was their Good Shepherd. He encouraged people to come to him to find peace for their souls (Matthew 11:28-30). He was obviously familiar with the "forbidden chapter" Isaiah 53 and knew he came to fulfil that prophesy. That is why he said that he had come to give his life for the sheep (John 10:15, 17). After he was raised from the dead Jesus instructed Peter to take care of his sheep (John 21:16). Anyone who makes claims like the above is either divine or suffers from delusions of grandeur.
