Rejected at Home

He returned to Nazareth, his hometown. When he taught there in the synagogue, everyone was amazed and said, "Where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles?"

Matthew 13:54

Jesus had been going around in Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God and doing mighty works of power. But when he returned to his hometown of Nazareth, those who had known him as a boy scoffed, unwilling to accept his teaching or his authority. They were stuck with an image of the Jesus they had in their heads, and couldn't get past it. Thus Jesus wasn't able to do many miracles there because of the unbelief of his former friends.

As we grow in our faith and begin to give more of our lives to the Lord, sometimes our family and close friends provide strong support. But in many cases, even Christian families become nervous and critical. They're just fine if you're a normal, lukewarm, occasionally church-going Christian. But if you become a committed disciple of Christ, if you begin to live out your faith in every sector of your life, you may find that some of those closest to you can't take it. Such lack of support from close friends and family members can hurt us deeply and weaken our resolve to follow God's will for our life.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: Have you ever experienced anything like Jesus did in Nazareth? When? How did you respond? How can you remain solid in your discipleship when your friends and family do not support you?

PRAYER: Lord Jesus, from one perspective, it seems incredible that those who had known you for so long weren't able to see who you really were and what you were doing. Yet they had you in a box and just couldn't let you out. How this must have saddened you!

Lord, you know that sometimes we experience this very thing when we seek to serve you with all that we are. We step out in scary obedience, only to have our families criticize us. Or we seek to live out our faith at work, and even our Christian colleagues look askance. When we experience such lack of support, it's comforting to know that you understand because you went through something similar.

Help us, dear Lord, to live as your disciples no matter what. When those around us let us down, may we turn to you and your people for encouragement. Amen.