Jesus without Honor?

Mark 6:4-6 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. NKJV

The Prophet Isaiah told the entire contingent of Jewish people and the rest of the world 700 years before the angel visited Mary to announce to her that she had been chosen to give birth to the Son of God when he said, “He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.” The thought to those of us that have been born again/redeemed that our Lord Jesus Christ was then and is still now despised by people and without honor before them is hurtful, horrific, and haunting to realize that they have such a veil of sin over their hearts that blinds them to His glorious beauty. As we have seen earlier in the gospel of Mark, our Lord was from the very beginning of His earthly ministry hated by the Scribes, Pharisees, and Sadducees because they felt threatened by Him as they were fully aware that He was a far greater Teacher (who taught with Authority) than any of them, yet they never knew of any place where He studied letters and this perplexed them, but it did not make them see Christ as God.

John 7:15 And the Jews marveled, saying, “How does this Man know letters, having never studied?” NKJV

They were afraid that He would bring undue attention to the Jews from the Romans that would make them want to remove some of their freedoms and thereby take away the Jewish religious leader’s ability to rule freely. Our Lord was never concerned with earthly treasure or honor from men for He did not even own His own home and was sustained by the loving generosity of some of the women and others who followed Him. The religious rulers were greedy and covetous and would not stand for anyone coming and upsetting their cash flow from the people and so it is understandable that they gave our Lord no honor ever and as the 3 years of His ministry progressed they worked hard every day to suppress His influence over the Jewish people. Therefore, His own country of Nazareth did not honor Him for fear of the Pharisees and other religious leaders (see article entitled "For they loved the Praise of Men more than the Praise of God", http://www.faithwriters.com/article-details.php?id=86322).

John 9:29 “We know that God spoke to Moses; as for this fellow, we do not know where He is from.” NKJV

John 12:42-43 Nevertheless even among the rulers many believed in Him, but because of the Pharisees they did not confess Him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God. NKJV

The heart of our Lord was filled with truth because He is the truth. So He says that even among His relatives in the flesh those who lived with Him were too without honor toward Him. This is remarkably astonishing to me because His sisters and brothers in the flesh had to witness the love, virtue, truth, compassion, kindness, self-control, patience, righteousness, and all the other endless qualities of His Divine character every day of His life. It is often in a family that the closeness of upbringing and seeing one do the mundane task of life day in and day out far too often obscures a view of the relative of the person being elevated to a higher or more lofty status in society and the world at large by the will of the people.

Matthew 10:34-36 “Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law’; and ‘a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’” NKJV

John 7:2-5 Now the Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles was at hand. His brothers therefore said to Him, “Depart from here and go into Judea, that Your disciples also may see the works that You are doing. For no one does anything in secret while he himself seeks to be known openly. If You do these things, show Yourself to the world.” For even His brothers did not believe in Him. NKJV

Let us reflect back to the life of Joseph and how he was despised by his brothers for coming to them with his dreams he received from God that were interpreted to show him being ruler over His brothers and they subject to him. As we know from that account in Joseph’s life, it infuriated his brothers so much that they sold him off into slavery and went back and lied to their Father Jacob saying he was killed by some wild animal. We know that everything Joseph spoke of from his dreams came to pass exactly as it was given to him by God.

Genesis 37:8 And his brothers said to him, “Shall you indeed reign over us? Or shall you indeed have dominion over us?” So they hated him even more for his dreams and for his words. NKJV

Like Joseph our Lord was miss-understood by his relatives and perhaps looked upon and thought of as just one of the normal guys in the family and neighborhood because He did not hold Himself back from any of the normal activities of a Jewish boy growing up into manhood. Our Lord went to the same Jewish schools as His brothers and sisters and no doubt participated in school sports and other recreational activities like fishing, swimming, and other things that all the kids enjoyed. It is not stated directly in the gospels that Joseph and Mary told their other children about our Lord’s supernatural conception and His birth. I believe they being parents who sought to live and walk blameless under the Law of Moses would have told their other children when they were of appropriate age. It still was hard for the siblings to believe their words for they ate, slept, and played with Him and could not foresee Him working these great miracles and teaching such truth, it just did not register with them in their hearts.

Isaiah 53:2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him. NKJV

“He partly excused it, as a common thing, and what might be expected, though not reasonably or justly. Some exceptions there may be to this rule; doubtless many have got over this prejudice, but ordinarily it holds good, that ministers are seldom so acceptable and successful in their own country as among strangers; familiarity in the younger years breeds a contempt, the advancement of one that was an inferior begets envy, and men will hardly set those among the guides of their souls whose fathers they were ready to set with the dogs of their flock; in such a case therefore it must not be thought hard, it is common treatment, it was Christ's, and wisdom is profitable to direct to other soil.” Matthew Henry 1662-1714

 “He gave “sufficient” proof of His mission, and left them in their chosen unbelief without excuse. It is also true, in spiritual things, that the unbelief of a people prevents the influences of the Holy Spirit from being sent down to bless them. God requires faith. He hears only the prayers of faith. And when there is little true belief, and prayer is cold and formal, there the people sleep in spiritual death and are unblessed.” Albert Barnes 1798-1870

If you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...

Sincerely in Christ,

Clifford D. Tate, Sr.

Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader, Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…