Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

Christ preaching in the synagogue at Nazareth, Vatican manuscript (Vatican, Biblioteca. Cod. Gr. 1613, p.1)

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.  When He had come into 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?  Is this not the carpenter's son?  Is not His mother called Mary?  And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?  And His sisters, are they not all with us?  Where then did this Man get all these things?"  So they were offended at Him.  But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house."  Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

- Matthew 13:53-58

All through chapter 13 of Matthew's Gospel, Jesus has been preaching in parables, and has introduced into His ministry the preaching of parables.  In yesterday's reading, we read that Jesus taught:   "Again, the kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant seeking beautiful pearls, who, when he has found one pearl of great price, went and sold all that he had and bought it.  Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet that was cast into the sea and gathered some of every kind, which, when it was full, they drew to shore; and they sat down and gathered the good into vessels, but threw the bad away.  So it will be at the end of the age.  The angels will come forth, separate the wicked from among the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire.  There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth."  Jesus said to them, "Have you understood all these things?"  They said to Him, "Yes, Lord."  Then He said to them, "Therefore every scribe instructed concerning the kingdom of heaven is like a householder who brings out of his treasure things new and old."

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.  When He had come into 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?  Is this not the carpenter's son?  Is not His mother called Mary?  And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?  And His sisters, are they not all with us?  Where then did this Man get all these things?"  So they were offended at Him.   But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house."  Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.  My study bible points out this paradoxical response to Christ which is, in fact, something typical in Christ's ministry.  People are both astonished and offended at Him.  Interestingly He is now in His hometown of Nazareth, so this is in contrast to His preaching in parables to the crowds of strangers who come to hear Him which we've been reading so far throughout chapter 13.  But here, where they know Him as Jesus the carpenter's son, son of Mary, He is rejected.  Let us consider also His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas, who may well be sons of Joseph from an earlier marriage, or possibly cousins (in Hebrew use, as throughout the Near and Middle East today, "brother" is used for extended family).  The townspeople cannot understand how He could be blessed with such wisdom and mighty works.  That a prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house is a statement made in all four Gospels (see also Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24, John 4:44).  My study bible explains that His being rejected in His own country is a fulfillment of the rejection of the Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha (see Luke 4:25-27).  It foreshadows Christ's rejection by the entire nation at His trial before Pilate.  But Christ must accept this rejection, as He will accept His death according to the Father's will.  He did not do many mighty works in Nazareth because of His townspeople's unbelief.

What does it mean that Christ is rejected?  What does it mean especially that those familiar with Him, who know Him from His hometown of Nazareth, reject Him?  There is first of all the surprise of His gifts, the divine power that is at work in Him.  People are astonished at His wisdom.  Where did it come from?  He's not known as a scribe or biblical scholar, He has not studied with a famous rabbi.  He is not a ruler of the synagogue nor a member of the parties which rule the religious establishment and life of the nation.  Where did His wisdom come from?  And then there is the question of His mighty works, His acts of healing.  How are those possible through such a man as the carpenter's son?  The reaction of the townspeople is at once rather typical, and at the same time a picture of the worldly response to the Gospel.   The people reflect their assumed and accustomed hierarchies and structures of their society, and all of a sudden the action of the holy in their midst has shaken all of that up.  Christ's ministry bursts in as a surprise which disturbs all of their assumptions about Jesus and His place in their society.  But this is, indeed, a part of the work of holiness, of the Spirit, to interject itself and shake up what our lives are all about.  Life as lived on the surface and within the social structures of the world is not a restriction on the work of holiness, on the action of the Spirit.  We may be led to reject the assumptions with which we've been raised, the restrictions placed on what we may think and do.  Jesus teaches, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:31-32).  That freedom is the freedom to respect and to live the will of God, the action of the holy within us, the work of the Spirit which is the indwelling of the Kingdom that Jesus brings into the world.  We should not be surprised, even at this late stage in the lengthy history of the Church, that this action among Christ's townspeople is both astonishing and offensive to them.  For such it might indeed be, even in our own lives.  Just as for the prophets who came before Christ, service to God may mean not "going along" with norms and social "rules" that do not sit well with where our faith leads us.  As Jesus says Himself,  "A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master" (10:24).  What He goes through is a pattern, a prefiguration of what His followers may go through.  We might find our faith calling us out to be different from the society in which we live.  Our own growth and even spiritual understanding may "astonish" others, and yet offend as well.  But Christ's Kingdom is born into a struggle in the world, and underneath the surface is always the spiritual struggle with the one whom Christ calls "the ruler of this world"  (John 12:31, 14:30, 16:7-11).  Therefore our faith is also one of struggle, even as Christ's ministry suffers rejection from the "worldly."  Throughout the history of our faith and from the beginning, our understanding of discipleship involves sacrifice, the carrying of a cross, and personal change.  It is a transforming and transfiguring power that Christ brings with Him into the world, even as both He and John the Baptist before Him preached repentance -- an act of change.  St. Paul writes, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God" (Romans 12:2).  Let us consider our growth in His truth, and in the Spirit sent to us, and have the understanding that this does not guarantee everyone will embrace that truth.  But our faith nevertheless gives us the peace and joy that is not of this world, a delight in the beauty of the things of God, and a depth of love in the communion Christ brings to us.