Unbelief...

Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!  Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.”  Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.  And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

Dear Girls,

This is very sad...Jesus went home...to the place and the people among whom he grew up and worked.  They responded to Him in not only offense but also active antagonism.  In the Hebrew culture a son was always identified by his father's name whether that father was living or dead.  By calling Jesus the "Son of Mary" they were not saying here that they believed in His virgin birth, but instead were insulting Jesus by saying that they did not know who His father was and implying He was illegitimate. Their proximity to Him blinded them to who He really was.  As a result of their hardness of heart and unbelief, Scripture tells us that He could do no mighty work there, except to heal a few sick people.

Here is what I know.  If there were people there that came to Jesus for a touch...just by coming and asking they would be demonstrating faith and Jesus would heal them.  Our God is a God of the individual.  He did not need the crowd to believe...just the person being healed.  What is sad then is that only a few people came to Him...The Son of God was in their midst and had already performed great miracles in other places, but because of unbelief they refused to come to receive the help they needed.  How much loss in Nazareth that day because of pride!   How many people today could be saved from eternal damnation if only they would put aside their pride and believe?   SIGH...

Love
Mom