1 Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man learn these things, and what is this wisdom that has been given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 Is this not the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are His sisters not here with us?” And they took offense at Him. 4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not dishonored except in his hometown and among his own relatives, and in his own household.” 5 And He could not do any miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He was amazed at their unbelief.
And He was going around the villages, teaching.
TODAY'S TAKEAWAY:
The North American culture often defines a person by their job or position in life. One of the first things people typically ask someone when they first meet is, "So, what do you do for a living?" If someone is still in school, the question becomes, "What is your major?" In other words, what do you hope to do for a living one day?
Unless someone is a career criminal, a career is only about what we do, not about who we are, .And now in society... many people feel that it is important to define themselves by their sex and their sexual orientation, somehow believing that this is their identify. But then if and when anyone disagrees with the unethicalness, they feel like one is trying to kill them as a person. Just like if, for example, someone identified as a carpenter, and society looked down on carpenters, the carpenter would then feel undervalued as a person.
In the verses above, the people who knew Jesus best, from childhood, defined Him by exactly these things, seeing Him "only" as a carpenter, and the son of Mary. They probably considered the reputations of His brothers, and judged Jesus in the same light. Their main issue is that they only saw Jesus as a Man, and not as the Son of God - God, Himself - and knowing THIS would have explained how Jesus could know all these things and perform all those miracles!
In the verses above, the people who knew Jesus best, from childhood, defined Him by exactly these things, seeing Him "only" as a carpenter, and the son of Mary. They probably considered the reputations of His brothers, and judged Jesus in the same light. Their main issue is that they only saw Jesus as a Man, and not as the Son of God - God, Himself - and knowing THIS would have explained how Jesus could know all these things and perform all those miracles!
One's faith in the Lord is all about having a personal relationship with Him, which would include knowing Him. Who is Jesus, what are His traits, and what and who does He represent? As part of the Trinity, Jesus is God, Himself. God is neither male nor female. God is. God is eternal, light, life, love, truth, righteous, holy, sovereign (omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent)...
Jesus came to earth in flesh, to be fully man while still being fully God. He came with a mission: to heal within morally directed faith. The miracles prove who He was and is, and that He had authority as the Lord, to bring about ultimate healing through faith because of His accomplished work on the cross. Therefore, the goal of Jesus, as He went around ministering to people and healing them, was not to impress them, but to demonstrate that His goal is to provide a way to a relationship.
The Lord Jesus in His love will never force anyone to love Him back, or be obedient, therefore, to be spiritually healed requires us to want to know Him, and love Him for who He is, and trust Him because of who He is. This is faith. And the more we get to know Jesus personally, the more we will see and experience evidence of His presence in our lives. As Christians then, who are we? It's not so much as identifying as a "Christian", but that we understand our identity is in Christ!
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