Scripture Passage
Scripture Focus
And so he did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief. (Matthew 13:58 NLT)
Observation
These readings from the gospels are astounding glimpses not only into the life of Jesus Himself, but into the lives and perspectives of those who knew Him—those who interacted with Him as He walked this earth. In today’s reading, Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth where “…everyone was amazed and said, ‘Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?’” (Matthew 13:54 NLT) Their amazement, however, soon turned to scorn:
Then they scoffed, “He’s just the carpenter’s son, and we know Mary, his mother, and his brothers—James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas. All his sisters live right here among us. Where did he learn all these things?” (Matthew 13:55-56 NLT)
Because of what they knew about Him, they thought they knew him. But what they knew blinded Jesus’ hometown friends from the truth—kept them from seeing who Jesus really was.
We’re the same way. Ever had a friend really “go somewhere” in life—really “do something big”? Most of the time, we’re amazed. “Never saw that coming! Who’d have thought *he’d* have ever made something of himself!” How foolish—given the potential God’s packed away in every one of us.
Worse still, I wonder who we’ve held back—who we’ve kept from achieving what God had in store for them by our own belittling expectations. Jesus Himself “did only a few miracles there because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58 NLT). Wow—if an atmosphere of “small expectations” was so limiting to Jesus, how difficult must it be for the rest of us to overcome the disparaging attitudes of others?
Perhaps worst of all, I wonder how much our attitudes still limit Jesus today. It’s remarkable to consider—that the One with unlimited power…the very power over sin, sickness, disease, the demonic that we’ve been observing in recent readings…finds His freedom to manifest that power limited by the scornful attitudes of people. Critics, scoffers, disdainers, and doubters seem to get what they expect. What are you expecting?
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1 comment:
pastor, What about the possibility of Jesus needing to move away from HOME BASE and get out on the road where he could "Open her up."(that's POI Talk I know) If He were to stay in one small town, among so few People how would his message get sent to all four corners of the Earth. Yes, it would have been nice for him to become the Home town hero, While he was there, but his Audience was going to be much greater away from Nazareth. Martin
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