53 When Jesus finished telling these parables, he left that place 54 and went back to his hometown. He taught in the synagogue, and those who heard him were amazed. “Where did he get such wisdom?” they asked. “And what about his miracles? 55 Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t Mary his mother, and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? 56 Aren’t all his sisters living here? Where did he get all this?” 57 And so they rejected him.
Jesus said to them, “A prophet is respected everywhere except in his hometown and by his own family.” 58 Because they did not have faith, he did not perform many miracles there.
Read Matthew 13:53-58 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
One thing I find amazing in the Bible is how we learn about prejudices people had at that time. On one hand, there were people who rejected Jesus because He grew up in Nazareth, but in this passage from the gospel of Matthew, it seems that a great number of people living in Nazareth also rejected Jesus.
In this passage, Jesus returns home to Nazareth and He visits the synagogue. The people present were impressed by His preaching, but it seems they “knew too much”. Many of these people watched Jesus grow up, and while that shouldn’t make a difference, it would seem that Jesus’ developing years were not spectacular enough to have made an impression of divinity on these people.
“When Jesus finished telling these parables, he left that place and went back to his hometown. He taught in the synagogue, and those who heard him were amazed. ‘Where did he get such wisdom?’ they asked. ‘And what about his miracles? Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t Mary his mother, and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? Aren’t all his sisters living here? Where did he get all this?’ And so they rejected him.” (v. 53-57a)
Seeing Jesus grow up actually seemed to hurt His reputation in the people of Nazareth’s minds. While they were among the closest to His family, these acquaintances were not open to the idea that God’s Messiah would have been chosen to grow up in their midst. While Jesus needed to mature somewhere, they had written off the possibility that it would be in their small town.
And by writing this possibility off, they chose to reject the amazing gift God sent them. They had the opportunity to know Jesus before He was famous, and before He was the celebrity. But as it turns out, knowing Jesus and just thinking He was a good person with some good things to say doesn’t lead people into a life-transforming faith. Those living in Nazareth were stuck in their belief of Jesus being a carpenter’s son and nothing more.
There are people living today who believe like those living in Nazareth. These people believe Jesus was a great preacher, and He was famous, but His life 2000 years ago is not important or relevant to us today. Don’t let your preconceived ideas about who Jesus was impact who the Holy Spirit inspires Him to be to you. The people of Nazareth rejected Jesus because they thought they knew who He was, but in their rejection, they gave up the amazing gift God had given them that millions of people living afterwards would have loved to have: They got the chance to know Jesus before the fame and the ministry.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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