Friday 4 Aug 2023

August 4: Matthew 13:54-58

Key Verse: Matthew 13:57
And they took offence at him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honour except in his own town and in his own home.’

Devotion:
One of the things about going away to learn something and returning home is the people you know before you went away expect you to come back being the same as when you left! They know you have gone away to learn things, but they expect you to still be the same – that’s just the way we are. As they get used to you with your new-found knowledge, they will change their views of you. But if you come back a very changed person and have greater knowledge or wisdom than they do, they may take offence!

When Jesus returned to His home town, He faced a lot of people who expected Him to be “the carpenter’s son” still and did not expect a level of wisdom and knowledge which would outshine their own. When Jesus stood u and started teaching the people in the synagogue, they were probably a bit upset someone could come in an have such wisdom when the people who had gone through much learning and studying were the ones they expected to have the wisdom.

So we have two sets of people being upset with Jesus. The teachers who had spent their lives studying so they could teach; they being the ones who got upset because this “uneducated” person came in with so much wisdom. The other set being the people who had known the family as carpenters and expected them just to be carpenters and nothing more.

Each of us will face someone in our lives who expects us to be the underdog and will get upset with us when we prove them wrong. Because we are brought up in societies where we are encouraged to be the best, being anything else hurts our pride. If we are not willing to put aside our pride and accept others can be better than us, we will always struggle in life. Christ reminded us we are all different and we will all excel in different ways!

Points to Ponder:
Do you always measure yourself against others?

Will you accept God made you unique?