# 71 Saturday Morning Lights

Introduction: We have probably all heard about Friday Night Lights. It’s all about football, right? Many a quarterback has gained popularity from Friday night football games. On the sports page on Monday, they are pictured as throwing the winning touchdown or running the ball into the endzone. Yes, people love Friday Night Lights. Stadiums across Idaho are lit up on Friday nights! Crowds gather and cheer for their favorite teams (Watch the video of Friday Night Lights).

Well, this morning, I want to have a word with you about, Saturday Morning Lights. I want us to look at the time when Jesus returned to His hometown (Nazareth) and taught in the local Synagogue. I am assuming that it was a Saturday as it was Jesus’ custom to go into the synagogue on Saturday (see Luke 4:16-17).

Together let’s dive into our text and see what happens on this particular Saturday. I’ll state upfront that it wasn’t a “Friday Night Lights” event for Jesus. It was quite the opposite. There was no gain in Jesus’ popularity! What we read is that Jesus was rejected by the people of Nazareth.

I. Jesus finishes and departs – 13:53

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

Matthew 13:1 tells us that Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea (Galilee), and then He got into a boat and pushed off from shore. While sitting in the boat He taught His parables that we have studied together (Matthew 13:1-52).

Now we come to verse 53, which is a transitional verse. Jesus had finished teaching His seven parables and He departed from there. Jesus probably walked the 40 miles from Capernaum to Nazareth. It is estimated that He walked about 20 miles a day. Today, Israel’s antiquity department has a trail that tourists can walk that they believe was the route that Jesus Himself took to get to Nazareth (see picture of the trail).

II. Jesus instructs and astonishes – 13:54

54 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?

Jesus departs from Capernaum and He travels towards Nazareth. It is estimated that Nazareth had a population of around 1500 residents. Jesus arrives in Nazareth, and this is where we pick up the story.

Keep in mind that Nazareth was the hometown of Jesus. When Joseph brought Mary and Jesus back from Egypt they settled in Nazareth. It’s the place where He grew up. Most of the people in Nazareth probably knew Him. He was, after all, the carpenter’s son.

As was Jesus’ custom (Luke 4:16-17) He went into the local synagogue and taught the people. He was able to do this because He was seen as a rabbi. Remember that even Nicodemus, a Pharisee called Him, rabbi (see John 3:2).

Jesus’ words were so revolutionary that the people were astonished (amazed). The word “astonished” carries the idea, “to strike out of one’s senses, or to be flabbergasted.” Jesus’ teaching got the people’s attention.

As I read this I thought, it sure would have been nice to have had Jesus’ instruction printed here in this passage of Scripture for us to read today. We don’t, so all we can do is assume that His listeners were amazed by what Jesus shared with them.

Look at what the people said regarding Jesus’ teaching,

Verse 54 - “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

The people knew Jesus. They knew He grew up in Nazareth. They knew His education. They just couldn’t grasp the way He taught, so they asked among themselves,

“Where did this Man get this wisdom…”

John Gill wrote, “They knew his education, how that he had not been put to school, had never learned letters of men, or received any instructions from their learned doctors; and therefore could not imagine, how he came by such sublime and divine knowledge, and by what power he performed such wonderful things; looking upon him to be a mere man, and a very mean, and contemptible one: not knowing that he was the wisdom of God, and the power of God; which had they been acquainted with, there would have been no room, nor reason, for such questions.”[1]

Next, our text says,

And these mighty works?

Did Jesus perform some mighty works in the synagogue that day? The Nazarenes appear to be aware of the works of Jesus. Again, we don’t have that recorded for us, but Jesus did something, or at best His mighty works followed Him. They had heard all about the works of Jesus.

Question: Did these people clap for the words and works of Jesus? Were they elated that the message that day wasn’t boring and dry as day-old bread? One thing we know is that Jesus’ teaching wasn’t dry.

Dr. Howard Hendricks has said, “If you preach and people are thoroughly distracted or bored or miles away or disengaged, don’t pray for God to smite the listeners. Pray for God to strike you with lightning or whatever it will take to be more engaging as a communicator!”[2]

Do you think that Jesus grabbed the people’s attention? I do!

III. Jesus recognized and placed – 13:55-56

55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?”

The people who sat under Jesus’ teachings were astonished at His wisdom and his mighty works, and yet, they knew who Jesus was, and they were aware of His family. Have you ever heard the statement, familiarity breeds contempt? Well, consider how these people do the math on Jesus:

1. Is this not the carpenter’s son? Joseph’s son. Why, He is a local Yoko!

2. Is not His mother called Mary? Yes, the one who often spoke about her virgin birth.

Note: The Roman Catholic idea of the perpetual virginity of Mary is in contradiction to the plain meaning of the Bible.

3. And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? We know those rascals too.

Note: Two of Jesus’ brothers, James and Jude wrote New Testament epistles. And they played important roles in the early church.

4. And His sisters. They knew that Jesus had sisters.

5. Are they not all with us? They lived here in Nazareth, and they worshipped here with us in this synagogue. We are acquainted with this family.

Note: Some Bible teachers believe that Jesus’ sisters may have remained in Nazareth thus the words, “Are they not all with us?”

6. Where then did this Man get all these things? How could this carpenter’s son be so educated? How could He teach so well?

H.A. Ironside penned, “Without scholastic training, He was more profound than the Scribes.”

How did the Nazarenes view Jesus? They saw Him as a “Man”. Underline the word, “Man” and notice that it is capitalized. They are making an emphasis here on Jesus being a mere “Man”. The point is that they saw Jesus as someone common. They knew Him. They had him placed and pegged. And now they are wondering how is it possible for this “Man” to teach with such wisdom? (Wisdom: intellectual understanding).

IV. Jesus offends and is rejected – 13:57-58

57 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.” 58Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

I want us to see three things in this verse:

A. The people’s response towards Jesus – 13:57a

The listeners in the synagogue that day were offended by Him. The word “offended” means, “they stumbled at him,” “They were repelled by him” (Moffatt), and “They turned against him” (Weymouth). Found in Him obstacles to faith.

The people of Nazareth saw Jesus as the boy down the street and nothing more. Surely not a scholar.

I wonder how many people today see Jesus only as a teacher, a good man, or a moral instructor, but nothing more, and because of their view of Jesus, they are offended that He offers eternal life by placing faith in Him. And so they like the Nazarenes reject Jesus Christ.

B. Jesus’ response to the people that day – 13:57b

“A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.”

Isn’t that how many a hometown boy has been received by his community? Why He is only the boy that grew up around us – nothing more!

Also, note that Jesus speaks of Himself as a “prophet”. The word “prophet” means, mouthpiece. The people here in our text understood that word. Jesus made it clear that when He spoke, He was delivering God’s message. Jesus was God’s inspired messenger, and the people of Nazareth had rejected Him.

I would encourage anyone hearing me today NOT to reject the person of Jesus Christ. Don’t reject Him but receive Him into your life to be your Savior and Lord. It will be the best decision you will ever make.

C. Nazareth saw few mighty works of Jesus because of their unbelief – 13:58

58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Jesus did very few supernatural works in Nazareth because of the people’s lack of belief (their faithlessness).

Stuart Weber wrote, “This has to be one of the most sorrowful statements in the Bible. Imagine Jesus leaving his hometown, with many people whom he has loved, unable to find the faith that he found in a Gentile centurion (8:13). His own family and close friends were fulfilling Matthew 13:14–15—hearing, but not understanding.”[3]

The old Puritan commentator John Trapp here remarked that unbelief was “A sin of that venomous nature, that it transfuseth, as it were, a dead palsy into the hands of omnipotency.”[4]

Jesus’ ability to work miracles was hindered by the people's lack of faith. This shows the importance of having an open heart and faith to fully experience God’s power and blessings.

There were no healings and no miracles in the city of Nazareth. They got a goose egg, zilch because of their lack of belief in Jesus Christ.

Conclusion: What are the practical lessons found in our text? I want to pass along six of them to you. They are:

1. When you finish something move on – Jesus did!

2. Share the gospel wherever you may be allowed. Seek to astonish your audience (Don’t bore them). Remember wisdom comes from God.

3. Remember that people will have problems looking past the common. Why? Familiarity breeds contempt.

4. People rejected Jesus, and they may reject you. Don’t be surprised.

5. There is more to Jesus than what you think you know. The Nazarenes saw Him as a “Man”, but He was God’s prophet (mouthpiece).

6. Unbelief will rob you of the miraculous. Don’t you doubt what Jesus Christ can do?

[1]John Gill, John Gill Commentary, Esword [2] https://biblicalpreaching.net/tag/howard-hendricks/ [3]Weber, S. K. (2000). Matthew(Vol. 1, p. 206). Broadman & Holman Publishers. [4]David Guzik, Commentary on Matthew 13