HE IS JUST A CARPENTER
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people.
Mark 6:1-6 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
What an interesting passage. Jesus goes to His hometown and is rejected. They are amazed by Him because of the miracles they had heard about and the authority of His teaching. But they couldn’t connect this kind of miracle working authority with the simple carpenter they had known for thirty years. They were offended that Jesus would have this much wisdom and miracle working power. There is an old saying that predates Christ, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” It is often the case that because we know someone’s past, we fail to see their potential. We put them in a box built out of our expectation of who they are and what they can do. Jesus’ hometown crowd had a problem because they could not explain Jesus. To them He was a plain carpenter with a regular family in Mary and her other children. They were offended that He would assume some role of teacher and miracle worker. They failed to see the hand of God working through Jesus. They were amazed at Jesus’ words and works, He was amazed at their lack of faith. Hearing His words and seeing His works they still could not believe that anything this good could come from the hometown carpenter. Because they failed to honor Jesus, they restricted His ability to perform many miracles among them. Their unbelief and lack of honor blocked the supernatural. When we fail to honor God in our lives, we block His ability to work in and through our lives. We must be people who are honoring God with every part of our lives.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit please help me to honor God in every part of my life. With my finances, my time, my tongue, and my actions let my life be honoring to God.
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