August 4 - Matthew 13:54-58
Daily Reading & Meditation
Friday (8/4): "Is this not the carpenter's son?"
Scripture: Matthew 13:54-58
54 and coming to his own country he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, "Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter's son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all this?" 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house." 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.
Meditation: Are you critical towards any of your family members and neighbors you grew up with? No critics are more severe than kin and neighbors who have known you for a long time - maybe even from childhood. Jesus faced a severe testing when he returned to his home town of Nazareth where he grew up, not simply as the carpenter's son, but now as a rabbi with disciples. It was customary for Jesus to attend the weekly synagogue service wherever he went and on many occasions he was invited to read the scriptures and comment on them to the people. His hometown folks listened with rapt attention on this occasion because they had heard about the miracles he had performed in other towns. What sign would he do in his hometown? Jesus startled them with a seeming rebuke that no prophet or servant of God can receive honor among his own people. The people of Nazareth took offense at him and refused to listen to what he had to say. They despised his preaching because he was someone they had known as a laborer who worked with his hands, the son of a carpenter, a mere layman, with no distinguished family background. Don't we often do the same? How easy it is to look down on somone you know and to despise that person because you are familiar with their upbringing or their family. Jesus could do no mighty works in his hometown because those familiar with him were closed and disbelieving towards him. If people have come together to hate and to refuse to understand, then they will see no other point of view than their own and they will refuse to love and accept others.
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