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The Rejection of Christ at Nazareth, His Hometown. Matthew
13:53-58
From Capernaum to Nazareth. Matthew 13:53
13:53 "And it
came to pass that, when Jesus had finished these
parables, he departed from there."
As far back as Matthew 4:13 Jesus had left Nazareth and
made His center of ministry outward from Capernaum. After
the Sermon on the Mount He came down again and entered
Capernaum (8:5). Subsequently He sent out the Twelve
(10:1-23) and did some itinerant preaching Himself,
according to 11:1. In chapters 12-13 He is back at
Capernaum, until 13:53, when He departs for Nazareth "where
he had been brought up" (Luke 6:16). His teaching in
parables was finished; He had done everything He intended
to do in Capernaum, because of their hardness of heart.
Reaction in His Hometown. Matthew 13:54-58
Astonishment at His Power. 13:54
13:54 "And
when he was come into his own country, he taught them in
their synagogue, insomuch that they were astonished, and
said, From where hath this man this wisdom and these
mighty works?"
If the account of His visit to Nazareth in Luke 4:16-32 is
an earlier one, it would have been some months before, and
they would have had time to hear of His teaching and
miracles. If it was the same occasion, He still
could have taught in their synagogue and performed some
miracles, as Mark 6:5 indicates. In addition, His Galilean
ministry was near enough to Nazareth for them to have
heard of His fame. In any event, they were astonished at
His obvious power and wisdom; thus the question, "From
where did these come?
Offense at His Person 13:53-57a
13:55-57a "Is
not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother’s name
Mary? And His brethren, James and Joseph, and Simon and
Judas? And his sisters, are they not all with us? From
where, then, hath this man all these things? And they
were offended in him."
It is rather amazing to read that they rejected His
obvious proofs of Deity, namely, wisdom and might; yet
even more puzzling that they would still somehow ascribe
this rejection to His family background. Did not Jesus say
on another occasion, "The same works that I do, bear
witness of me that the Father hath sent me" (John
5:16); and in John 14:11: "Believe me for the very
works’ sake." What they refused to understand was that
God would use one who was not trained in the rabbinical
school, but was merely one of their hometown young men.
The Jews in Jerusalem used this same argument: "We know
this man from where he is" (John 7:27). But these were
only half-truths. The Old Testament prophesied that
Messiah would come from David’s family and be born in
Bethlehem (John 7:42), but that He would also show Himself
to be "the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father"
(Isaiah 9:6).
Their specific mention of His family members proves that
the perpetual virginity of Mary is wrong. There is
absolutely no evidence that these brothers and sisters
were any other than the younger siblings of Jesus through
Joseph and Mary. Four brothers are named, and at least
three sisters (pasai, "all") are included,
not simply "both."
As for His profession they reminded themselves that Jesus
was a mere tekton, one who worked on wood, a
carpenter. Where could such a man get "all these things?"
The text does not say so, but it is not impossible that
these people of Nazareth were thinking the same as the
Pharisees in 12:23, that Jesus was not "the son of
David, the Messiah," but that He was empowered by
Beelzebub (12:24). His own friends (Mark 3:21) and His
family (John 7:4-5) thought He was beside Himself.
The word "offended" here in 13:57 is from
skandalidzo, indicating their scorn for Him as a
person. He would certainly not qualify as Messiah; a
carpenter, indeed!
Unbelief in His Position. 13:57b-58
13:57b-58
"But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without
honor, except in his own country and in his own house.
And he did not many mighty works there because of their
unbelief."
This is a well-known principle; someone who has grown up
in a small town will always be one of the boys, no matter
how prominent he becomes. It would be harder still to
convince them that He was a prophet, speaking for God,
since they had not had a prophet for four hundred years.
It is no wonder that He did not perform many mighty works
there. It was not that His power was weak, but that their
unbelief was strong! Still, as Lenski remarks, "He was
ready to do many, as elsewhere, but could only do few.
Note, however, that He did do some. It has become
traditional to assume that faith precedes every miracle,
although this tradition is forgotten every time a miracle
is wrought where faith is plainly not present." (R.C.H.
Lenski, The Gospel of Matthew, pp. 536-537).
Such hardness of hearts and offensive attitudes with
regard to our Lord, will result in a Christless eternity,
"in the fulness of time."
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