Home truths

‘Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t Mary his mother, and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers? Aren’t all his sisters living here? Where did he get all this?’ And so they rejected him.

Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is respected everywhere except in his home town and by his own family.’ Because they did not have faith, he did not perform many miracles there. (verses 55-58)

Read Matthew 13:53-58

This story rings so true, doesn’t it? Local boy made good, returns home, but fails to impress the locals. A mixture of envy, unbelief and contemptuous familiarity prevents the people who knew Jesus all his life from seeing clearly who he is. We can just see them shaking their heads, muttering behind their hands and raising their eyebrows.

It’s interesting also to get a bit of an insight into Jesus’ family background. There’s not a lot about it in the Bible. From this account it’s obvious that he was truly human, so much so that people couldn’t see what was special about him.

The important truth, however, is that Jesus is also more than just a man. He has emerged from his conventional home background to assert his divine nature and calling. Even though the locals are loath to accept it, he has taken on his role as their Saviour-and the world’s.

Dear Jesus, I embrace you as a brother and a fellow human being, but I also accept you as the Saviour of the world. Amen

by Richard Hauser, in ‘Renewed Hope for each Day’ (LCA, Openbook, 2000)

Visit the Daily Devotion archives page.