If the proverbs that says “familiarity breeds contempt”
is any clearer, it is here. In these verses, we find Jesus returning to His
hometown after teaching a series of parables of the Kingdom by the Sea of
Galilee. Here, He began teaching in the synagogue. Not only were His teachings
clear but the insights that came with it were powerful and explosive. We
surmise from the people’s reactions that it must have been spoken right into
the heart and calculated to elicit changes to one’s lifestyle. The exactness of
His demands and the truths that He spoke, must have pricked the conscience of
His hearers. For people who were steeped in their past, it was hard to respond
to Him positively.
Thus, they tried to find reasons and rationales to
deny the truths and the power He demonstrated. They knew His earthly father was
none other than Joseph, that ordinary carpenter of the city. They knew His
mother, Mary not as someone special, but just a very ordinary woman. Then there
were His earthly brothers, James, Joseph, Simon and Judas, the children of
Joseph and Mary – all very human. How can He be the Messiah, the one sent from
God? These were their much too common conclusion. John 1:11 affirms this: He
came to His own but those who were His own did not receive Him. And just
because they knew His earthly family, they took offence with the truths He
brought, despite the authority and miraculous demonstration that came with it. However,
these verses point beyond the shadow of a doubt that although 100% Divine,
Jesus is also 100% human.
Knowing their rationales, Jesus concluded that, “A prophet is not without honor except in His hometown and His household.” This verse suggests that even His earthly family took offence with Him. In all these, it was not a case that He could not do but that He did not do. When the signs were so clear, and in Jesus’ ministry elsewhere they were in abundance, to reject Him and His message was not simply a case of one being off track. It was a case of denying God the opportunity and avenue to pour out His blessings. From these, we must learn never to take God’s presence for granted. We must grow in awareness of His presence and cultivate gratefulness and gratitude, so that we will not shut out His presence. Be mindful that the moment we shut out His presence in our life, it will leave us high and dry!
Knowing their rationales, Jesus concluded that, “A prophet is not without honor except in His hometown and His household.” This verse suggests that even His earthly family took offence with Him. In all these, it was not a case that He could not do but that He did not do. When the signs were so clear, and in Jesus’ ministry elsewhere they were in abundance, to reject Him and His message was not simply a case of one being off track. It was a case of denying God the opportunity and avenue to pour out His blessings. From these, we must learn never to take God’s presence for granted. We must grow in awareness of His presence and cultivate gratefulness and gratitude, so that we will not shut out His presence. Be mindful that the moment we shut out His presence in our life, it will leave us high and dry!
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