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, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 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.”

You may think that your children embarrass you from time to time, but I think it is more common that parents embarrass their children. As you grow older it can get worse. Particularly If you visit home as a young adult after being gone for awhile.           

The first thing my mother did was want to show me off to her friends. I appreciated Mom’s love in wanting to do that but the moment you walk into her group of friends I hear, “Oh, we’ve heard so much about you….Ruth, Is this the one who is a minister?  And I felt like I was on display.  

Jesus went home after he had been away for over a year. The ministry of Christ had begun from the time of his baptism and continued with the calling of the disciples. They witnessed the calling out of demons, the calming of storms, the healing of the sick, the lame, and the blind. They heard His teachings of salvation by faith and the parables about the Kingdom of God. They studied the run-ins with the religious leaders and now crowds were following Him wherever He went, particularly after he raised the dead to life!

Jesus returned to Nazareth with His disciples to home town with his mother, brothers and sisters and to His hometown synagogue. What kind of reception does He get? Well, He stands up in the synagogue and begins to preach. It doesn’t say, but if we assume Christ was preaching the kinds of things that were recorded, we do know He preached, we can safely assume on the Kingdom of God and He was the fulfillment of the prophecies. His followers would no doubt pass on the word of His healings, and teachings. The surprising thing to Jesus was the reaction of the hometown people. They completely turned against Him. They refused to believe! They took offense. They were blinded as to who He really was by their unbelief. Why? What happened? Why couldn’t they accept Jesus like the rest of Judea?

It seems they were bound to certain things that until they freed themselves from some of the attitudes, Jesus would be nothing more than the home town carpenter boy. That was His label, and it stuck.

Application:  What do people think about you when you return home after a number of years?

Prayer:  Lord, in lieu of all of this, may I do as Jesus and use every opportunity to teach others of Your Kingdom.