Getting the Cold Shoulder at Home Hunch 36
Jesus
left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 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, that he even does miracles!
Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James,
Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took
offense at him. Jesus said to them, "Only in his home-town, among his
relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." He could not
do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.
And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from
village to village.
In a Nutshell
Jesus went back to His home town and did His usual teaching. Some were very interested, but others were annoyed by Him a lot. Jesus was amazed. "It seems I can find people to teach when I am not at home" He said. He went to other villages instead.
Questions
What was the wonder at which Jesus marvelled?
By putting Himself out for Jairus' family, Jesus was showing His disciples about the kindness and care that is the Kingdom of God. Mark then tells us He went to His home town where everyone knew Him quite well. Think about how Jesus must have looked? People would have said "Oh doesn't he look like His mother!" Some might have said He looked like Joseph! How would Mary have explained that? What would you have said if you were her? I have a hunch that Joseph, Mary's husband, had been a great help to Mary in those early years after the family came back from Egypt. But by the time Jesus began teaching in Galilee we don't hear anything directly about him anymore. What we hear is how Jesus had a hard time from the people in His family's village; these were His neighbours. We are also told that His own family, His own brothers and sisters, didn't believe in Him at that early stage. Think about that! What if your older brother was Jesus? Would that be easy? I doubt it. For one thing you had the same mother. Before you were born you developed in the same tummy where Jesus was. Wouldn't it be natural for you to say: "What's so special about him?"? And what if the next door neighbour's son was the famous Rabbi called Jesus? How would you think then?
When people compare themselves and their family with others they tend to make themselves feel more important. It was the same in Jesus' time. But the way people responded to Jesus was a little different from that. It seems that the people who had been close to Him in His early life, later on felt embarrassed to be part of His life. Some of Jesus' family, His next-door neighbours and the people up the street, thought they knew who He was so they didn't think it mattered what He was doing or what He was saying! They knew all they needed to know about Him. So they thought. "Oh him. He's the son of the carpenter." Some would have assumed that because Mary's husband Joseph was a carpenter that Jesus also would be a carpenter, too. That's why they called Him the carpenter. In those days a man did what his father did and who your father was determined your life a lot. The people in Jesus' home town thought they knew Him because they knew His family background.
But there was more. Which carpenter? Joseph? Oh yeah. Joseph of Nazareth? That Joseph? Wasn't there some story about them? Matthew tells us that the mumbling crowd referred to Jesus not just as the carpenter, like Mark does, but as the carpenter's son. There was resentment toward Him even though, by this time, Jesus had begun known as a teacher who helped people understand God's law. These know-it-alls from His home town didn't have to pay attention to what He taught because they knew all they needed to know about Him. It might well have had something to do with what they thought they knew about Joseph. People are like that sometimes. Cruel gossip can stay around for decades.
And so, because they thought they knew who Jesus' father was, that was enough for them to decide they weren't interested in what He was teaching. They knew what He was like and that was that. It is all very sad, really. Mark tells us: "They took offence at Him." They closed their minds because they thought they knew enough. It is called prejudice.
Here is Jesus. He has just arrived from the nearby town where He had protected the household of the Synagogue Ruler. Peter, James and John were there when He had raised the little girl. And now He is at His home town, and the people there don't want Him. An evil and malicious spirit makes them ignore Him. Jesus' comment helped His disciples think about this: God's messenger always finds it difficult to get home-town respect.
Jesus experienced the hurt that we feel when communities pick on those with special gifts. The people in Jesus' home town missed the One they thought they knew so well. They pushed Him away. And something very strange happened. Something very strange indeed. Jesus was amazed. He was dumbstruck.
In the Bible the word "marvel" usually describes how people reacted when they saw a miracle. When Jesus healed someone, the people marvelled. On this occasion, when the people rejected Him, Jesus marvelled. Mark says that for Jesus the response of the people from His own home town was a kind of "miracle."