When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his home town 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. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, “Only in his home town and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”
And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
Matthew 13:53-58Matthew 13:53-58
English: Contemporary English Version (1999) - CEV
The People of Nazareth Turn against Jesus 53 When Jesus had finished telling these stories, he left 54 and went to his hometown. He taught in their meeting place, and the people were so amazed that they asked, “Where does he get all this wisdom and the power to work these miracles? 55 Isn't he the son of the carpenter? Isn't Mary his mother, and aren't James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? 56 Don't his sisters still live here in our town? How can he do all this?” 57 So the people were very unhappy because of what he was doing. But Jesus said, “Prophets are honored by everyone, except the people of their hometown and their own family.” 58 And because the people did not have any faith, Jesus did not work many miracles there.
WP-Bible plugin, NIV
If you have a family that is firmly planted in the Lord, then that is a wonderful thing. But today, I am going to speak to those who don’t have that family life – who have felt the struggle of trying to share Jesus with their family. Even Jesus, once back at home, was faced with sneers and ridicule. People could see clearly God’s power displayed. There was no doubt that what they saw was new, something worth noting. But the response, in the end, was not always positive.
This should be comforting to us. Being an example to our families, both in our words and our actions, can be difficult. And with siblings and close relatives, a long train of emotional and physical baggage can weigh us down, impacting our ability to share the simple truth of God’s love. The comfort comes not in some promise of success, a guarantee that our efforts will be fruitful. The comfort comes in not having the weight of expectation on our backs. Jesus himself struggled back home. He was jeered at and doubted. And if the Son of God, displaying miraculous powers to seal his message, didn’t always get through their hard hearts, we can identify with Jesus and sigh with relief.
Our brothers and sisters are often very important to us. They have helped us become the kinds of people we are, either for the good or the bad. They may have encouraged us, supported us, challenged us, even wounded us. But often, even when we don’t have stellar relations with them, their opinions can have the power to inspire us or tear us down.
And they have seen us as we grew, testing our muscles, our skills. All the clever masks we wear are often transparent before the eyes of a sibling. This can make it uncomfortable to speak; the cries of hypocrite can silence us, even when we know that God has since changed us. Sometimes it makes us put on a false face of piety, spirituality – we try to hard to show our faith, and it becomes little more than a pageant, easily mocked and easily brushed aside.
Faced with the knowledge that there is no guarantee of success, some have just given up. It simply is too hard, too costly, to share God with family, they say. But if we really do love them, then we need to prove it. Success is not up to us. What is up to us is sincere love. That is what Jesus offered, what he modeled for us. It is something worth some intense and concentrated effort. It’s worth a little jeering, a little ridicule. It’s worth some hard conversations, laced with kindness, full of patience.
This week, start off by praying for your siblings. Whether they are near or far, close to Christ or distant, pray that God would reveal himself in their lives.
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