“He went away from there and came to His hometown, and His disciples followed Him. And on the Sabbath He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to Him? How are such mighty works done by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?’ And they took offense at Him … And He marveled because of their unbelief.” (Mark 6:1-3, 6a ESV)
Sometimes a PhD in English isn’t much use. When my son was about eight years old, he had questions about his grammar homework. I tried to help him, but he wouldn’t trust me. “You’re just my Mom,” he said. “But Mrs. X is a real teacher!”
I stifled my laughter until I was out of earshot. But the same thing happened to Jesus, didn’t it? The people of Nazareth heard His wisdom and saw His miracles, but none of that was good enough. They couldn’t get past the fact that He was a close neighbor—a hometown boy whose family still lived among them.
We do this to Jesus too, don’t we? As long as God is creating worlds and throwing lightning, we listen to Him wide-eyed. But let Him come down into our world, as a human being just like us—well, that’s a different matter!
And yet that’s the greatest miracle of all—that God would love us so much He would humble Himself to become a man, to live and to suffer and die upon a cross—all to make us His family. In that love He offers us a share in His eternal, resurrected life, for us to receive with joy.
THE PRAYER: Lord, thank You for humbling Yourself for me. Amen.
Reflection Questions:
* Did anyone ever underestimate you because they knew you too well?
* Is it easier or harder for you to trust a stranger on important matters?
* What makes it hard for the people you know to trust Jesus?
Lenten Devotions were written by Dr. Kari Vo.
(To view the entire “Lenten Devotions” mini-series, please click here.)
