Matthew 13:53-58
⁵³When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there.
⁵⁴He came to His hometown and Began teaching them in Their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and Said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and miraculous powers?
⁵⁵Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things? “
⁵⁷And They Took offense at Him. But Jesus Said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸And He did not do many miracles there Because Of Their unbelief.
Annoyance
People can get annoyed by someone who knows, or can do, anything better than they can. And often it does not even matter if he presents it in a bad way or not. Because someone stands “above” us, we are going to feel small.
We then can feel the need to bring to the other down.
That’s actually what happens when Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth. The people there know him from childhood. They know his mother, his brothers and sisters, and they also saw Jesus grow up as a ‘normal’ guy. He was one of them (Matthew 13.55,56a).
Because of that, they felt He was therefore no more than they were.
They could not see anything special in Him, because of His ‘normal’ origins .
And yet she noticed something about Jesus in what was different. When He taught in their synagogue, He spoke as one having authority, and not as the scribes (cf. Matt. 7: 28,29). Everyone had to admit, whether he wanted it or not, that Jesus possessed extraordinary wisdom (Matthew 13:54).
The way he explained and applied the Old Testament, aroused admiration.
But … it aroused no faith.
The admiration went no further than the outside.,The content of Jesus’ preaching, that He was the promised Messiah, they did not allow into their hearts (Luke 4:16-30).
The reason is annoyance. “Can anything good come from Nazareth (cf. John. 1:46,47). The Redeemer of Israel, only the son of a carpenter and not a king?
We do not want to accept this ordinary man from amongst us, to be the Messiah! ‘ Jesus sees this rejection of Him, that He receives so close to His home. One can not believe that God came to them in this way.
That is why Jesus does not do signs amongst them. Because without openness to His message and His person, He can show nothing of Himself and His unique relationship with the Father to them (Matthew 13.57,58).
Jesus can show His great love for us if we really open up for Him.
If we no longer regard him as just ‘one of us’, but as the unique Son of the Father, who shows us His heart.
Question
Why do so many still take offense at Jesus today? (Eq 1 Corinthians 1:18-25)
Prayer Suggestion
Ask God to break through our offenses
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