A CARPENTER’S SON?
Opening Prayer
Loving Lord, may your grace bolden and empower me, deepen and expand me, for all you have for me today.
Read Matthew 13:53–58
A Prophet Without Honor
53 When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54 Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. 55 “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56 Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”
58 And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
As you read about Jesus’ words and actions as he walked on earth, how does it help you understand who he is?Here, Matthew’s account illustrates the unbelief (v 58) and opposition explored in the preceding parables (see 13:13–15). In Nazareth, the people who knew Jesus when he was a boy now acknowledge his wisdom and power (v 54), yet still reject him with indignation and offense (v 57). Who does he think he is?! Reading this brief narrative makes me wonder about Jesus’ childhood incognito: what was it like for him growing up in a village, a family, experiencing ordinary life in the world he’d created, being the presence of God in human form? If he is just the carpenter’s son, where has his authority come from (v 55)?
Previously in Matthew, Joseph is presented as honorable, righteous (see 1:19), obedient to God, and significant in Jesus’ earthly identity. At the beginning of his Gospel, the writer establishes Jesus’ identity as heir of David’s throne through Joseph’s place in the genealogy (see 1:1–16), and through Joseph’s dream, as the one who ‘will save his people from their sins’ (see 1:21, also 2:13, 2:19). There is a sense of dramatic irony here: the reader who has seen the events of Jesus’ life unfold knows him not as the carpenter’s son but as the Son of God.
Apply
Have you read and heard about Jesus so much that familiarity has numbed a sense of wonder or intrigue? Where do you need refreshing in your relationship with him?
Closing prayer
Father, inspire me with fresh insight and a new vision of you. I battle a divided loyalty and a waning trust.
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