Matthew 13: 53-58 Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
“Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” So they were offended at Him.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”
Until now, Jesus has been ministering all over the Galilee, using the homes of some of his disciples in Capernaum as a base of operations. Crowds in the thousands have been following Jesus everywhere he goes, to the point that he has to climb into fishing boats floating just off-shore so the people coming to hear him won’t crush him. Today he is back in Nazareth. The leaders of the synagogue are curious enough to allow him to teach, and everybody is amazed at his wisdom…but they are also perplexed and angry. What does Jesus mean by coming up with such great spiritual insights? Where does Jesus get the authority with which he teaches?
Popular sentiment tends to support Jesus, but the “buts” start coming. “We should support Jesus because he’s a home town boy…but he is a carpenter…but…he is not from the tribe of Levi…but as far as we know, he has only had basic schooling. Sure, what Jesus is saying makes perfect sense and sure, he is giving incredible spiritual insights….but he shouldn’t be able to come up with such stuff! Where has Jesus gotten his material? Is somebody writing things for him to memorize and repeat in public? Why does Jesus think he’s so special?” The men in the crowd remember when they attended school with Jesus, and they certainly don’t have the depth of knowledge that Jesus is exhibiting.
No audience is harder to please than those with whom you’ve grown up in a small town. Generally, relatives represent an even harder audience because relatives remember when you were a naked infant crawling around on a blanket on the floor. There’s always some auntie who can regale onlookers with stories of how you spit up on her shoulder when she was burping you. Never mind that such stories have no bearing on what you have become; as far as relatives are concerned, familiarity definitely breeds contempt.
Then there’s the response from Jesus’ family members. Even though eventually many of the family are mentioned as followers, in the beginning, the family views Jesus as a major embarrassment. Frankly, Jesus’ brothers and sisters wish that he would stay home and keep the carpenter shop going. Why does Jesus have to show off like this? Doesn’t Jesus understand his place in society?
Why is it so difficult to please a home town crowd containing many of your childhood friends and relatives? For those who have remained at home and who have not distinguished themselves in any way, a returning home town hero is proof that someone from those humble circumstances can make it big. But the corollary is this: if this person has distinguished himself/herself, why haven’t others from the same town or family done likewise? Because these people are allowing themselves to become offended at Jesus’ success, they cannot possibly accept the idea that he is the Messiah and therefore in a different class than they are. Humanity cannot possibly compete with divinity, but these people refuse to believe that Jesus can possibly be divine.
The people of Nazareth have heard about all the miracles Jesus has been doing-healing lepers, raising the dead, opening blind eyes, dumb lips, and closed ears, and restoring withered limbs to wholeness. Now these people are expecting Jesus to put on a show for them; perhaps if he does enough miracles, they MIGHT consider believing in him. But there’s a major problem: unbelief. The people of Nazareth want to be entertained, but their “knowledge” of Jesus blocks their ability to believe that he can actually work miracles. Matthew tells us, “But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”
Notice something: it does not say that Jesus did not do ANY mighty works. Somewhere in the back streets of Nazareth, there were humble people who did believe, and for them, Jesus did accomplish miracles. Jesus was in his home town, knowing the lame, the blind, the deaf and dumb, and the lepers. It’s quite possible that Jesus quietly stole away from the crowd of critics to help the poor who were not offended at him. For years, Jesus had longed to make things right for these people, and now God had given him the approval to do so. While the religious leaders in town were busy organizing a meeting and considering how to get rid of Jesus, Jesus was continuing to bring the Kingdom of God to those who would receive it. You can almost see Jesus stretching out his hand, “Zacharia, come here and let me touch you. You are freed from your leprosy; go report yourself to the priests as Scripture demands. Isaac, can you hear me now? Samuel, can you see those people over there? Mariam, speak to me and tell me what you are thinking?”
The Kingdom of God is unshakable and unstoppable; only unbelief can resist the spread of the Kingdom for a short time. But just as a river will flow around an obstacle, so God’s love will continue to flow also. What does this story tell potential disciples? We must realize that we too may face opposition and unbelief from the very people who feel they know us best. We must be sure of our calling and equally sure that God is inspiring us and moving us to minister; otherwise, when our family members begin to criticize, we might be tempted to quit.
When I received the call to be a missionary in a dream at the age of eleven, nobody else in my family believed me. I learned to keep such things to myself. When we finally began preparing for the mission field, close relatives demanded to know why we couldn’t just do good works at home rather than leaving for Africa. When God had us give away a car to a family who really needed it just as we were about to return to Ghana, my father demanded to know why we didn’t sell the vehicle to raise extra money. We could only answer that God had ordered us to give away the vehicle.
Those who become disciples in Muslim countries have a much worse time. Relatives may kill such people and boast about it, feeling that they are heroes of their faith. Being a disciple is not for the faint-hearted. No matter where you are, you must be sure of your calling.
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow hard after You all the days of our lives, refusing to listen to critics who want us to abandon Your call. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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