A Prophet Without Honor
1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,[a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
4 Jesus said to them, “Only in their own towns, among their relatives and in their own homes are prophets without honor.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Note:
v3 – It was a way of pointing out that Jesus had no formal theological training. He was never a formal disciple of a rabbi, much less a prominent rabbi.
v3 – The word carpenter is actually much broader than just one who works with wood. It has the idea of “a builder.” Jesus may have worked with stone as much as with wood, because stone was a much more common building material in that time and place.
v3 – It was contrary to Jewish usage to describe a man as the son of his mother, even when she was a widow, except in insulting terms
v5 – Even though Jesus was rejected, dishonored and not respected by the people in his hometown, Jesus still heal them. This shows how big Jesus heart for the people in his hometown.
v6 – Here the people is not totally without faith. But their faith is not enough, maybe so less that the faith is lesser than the size of the mustard seed. Jesus said, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.” But, here has to be much lesser or smaller than the mustard seed.
Why they lack of faith? What faith they lack of? Faith can have a few definitions. I think over here, the faith they lack of is they lack of faith of what Jesus can do. And I believe that has to do with their lack of faith in who Jesus is. If they have the faith that Jesus is the son of God, they must also have more faith that what Jesus can do in their lives.
I need to have strong faith in what Jesus or God can do in my lives.