Where is Your Brother?

Then Yahweh said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?”

Genesis 4:9

This question is only the second time God asks a “where” question since creation. The first was after Adam’s sin: “Where are you?” (Genesis 3:9). Both questions come after sin and are not asked because God is unaware. The Lord knows everything. These questions serve a moral and spiritual purpose, aimed at confronting the sinner and encouraging repentance before judgment.

In Genesis 3, God’s question reveals the fractured relationship between humanity and Himself. In Genesis 4, His question highlights the damaged relationship between individuals. Sin consistently impacts both, distancing us from God and corrupting our love for others. Cain’s killing of Abel didn’t happen suddenly; it was the result of a heart already consumed by jealousy, anger, and unbelief.

Before passing judgment, God speaks compassionately. "Where is Abel your brother?” prompts Cain to admit his fault and reconsider. Instead, Cain answers rebelliously: “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” This reply exposes the profound corruption of sin—denial of guilt, avoidance of responsibility, and disdain for moral duty.

God’s question still confronts us today. He asks not only, “Where are you before Me?” but also, “Where is your brother?” Scripture is clear that love for God cannot be separated from love for others. As the apostle John teaches, “Whoever does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen” (1 John 4:20).

The gospel answers this question clearly. Jesus Christ is the true and better Brother. Where Cain took his brother’s life, Christ willingly laid down His life for sinners. Abel’s blood cried out from the ground for justice, but “the blood of Jesus speaks a better word than the blood of Abel” (Hebrews 12:24). Abel’s blood demanded judgment; Christ’s blood secures mercy.

Cain refused responsibility, but Christ embraced it fully. He did not ask, “Am I their keeper?” He came “to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). On the cross, Christ bore our guilt, absorbed God’s righteous judgment, and reconciled us to the Father. In Him, God answers both searching questions of Genesis: Christ seeks sinners who are hiding, and He stands in our place as the Brother who would not abandon us—even unto death.

Those who have been kept by Christ are now called to live differently: walking in repentance, humility, and sacrificial love for one another.

Your shepherd,

Pastor Mark