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

 

 Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there.  When He had come 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?  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 

 

In yesterday's reading, 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 had 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 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 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?  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.   Jesus' own country is Nazareth in Galilee.  Although born in Bethlehem in Judea, He was brought up in Nazareth.  Note that those who've known Him as One who grew up in their town are both astonished and offended at Him.  My study Bible suggests this is a frequent occurrence in those who encounter Christ (see also Luke 4:22-30, 11:14-16; John 9:16).  Being rejected in His own country is a fulfillment of the rejection of Old Testament prophets such as Elijah and Elisha, and my study Bible comments that it foreshadows His rejection by the whole Jewish nation at His trial before Pilate (John 19:14-15).  Regarding Jesus' brothers, Mary's only child was her Son.  However, family structure in the ancient world was such that an extended family lived together by tradition.  To this day across the Near and Middle East, the term "brother" is used for cousin and a host of other relatives, as it often is in the Bible (for example, Lot is Abram's nephew, but he's called "brother" in Genesis 14:14; and Boaz calls his cousin Elimelech "brother" in Ruth 4:3).  These brothers and sisters of Jesus to whom the Nazareth townspeople refer are either children of Joseph from an earlier marriage, or they are cousins.  Indeed, when Christ puts His mother in the care of His disciple John at the Cross (John 19:26), it's an affirmation that she had no other children to care for her; otherwise such an action would have been unthinkable.  

Christ's statement, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house," is significant enough that it appears in all four Gospels (Mark 6:4, Luke 4:24, John 4:44).  Here in Matthew's Gospel, we may pause to consider that this rejection comes right after Christ's telling of the parables of the Kingdom in Matthew 13.  Particularly striking in this light are the parables which essentially are about judgment, such as the one in yesterday's reading (above).  Jesus' rejection in His hometown comes right after He's taught about the angels coming at the end of the age, and separating the good from the wicked.  Set in the context of the treasure that is the kingdom of heaven, we may consider in that light that rejection of such a gift constitutes an alienation from God.  This would be fully consistent with the Hebrew Scriptures and the understanding of the Law as given through Moses, particularly as set out in the Book of Deuteronomy.  This is explicit in Deuteronomy 30, in which blessings and curses are named as consequences by Moses, and we read of the way of life and the way of death (Deuteronomy 30:15), a theme which was significant as well in early Christian teaching (such as in the Didache, the earliest teaching document we know of in the Church).  Therefore, in the context of Jesus' preaching, the rejection of a prophet was not simply a figure of speech, but highly significant and understood to meet with serious consequences, as the whole story of Israel attested in Scripture.  So, when Jesus speaks of the rejection of a prophet, it is something of a warning, for it comes in the context of the rejection of treasure given by God (as in the theme of yesterday's parable).  His neighbors are both astonished and resentful that such "pearls" can come from the person they used to know, and who lived among them without, apparently, attracting the kind of attention He has now through His public ministry.  If we observe it, we can see that an immediate effect of this rejection is that He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.  Effectively, without faith, those works cannot be done.  Let us consider in our own lives the warnings we're given through Scripture and the teachings we know about what is good and what is not, and about what we might choose to dismiss -- even when all our neighbors might be doing the same.