A Study of Mathew: Missing the Miracle

Good morning!

I am David Hewkin, pastor of The Assembly in Jamestown, Missouri. We are snowed in today, but rather than just canceling service, we decided to go online to share what God has given for us to look at in his word.

We are back in our study of the book of Matthew. As you may remember, Matthew was an apostle of Jesus. He was formerly a tax collector, hated by the Jews for working for the Romans before Jesus called Matthew to follow him.

Matthew is writing this book to the Jews to help them understand that Jesus is the Messiah that had been prophesied throughout the Old Testament. As we have gone through the book, we have seen how Jesus’ life, everything he has done and said, has lined up with prophecy. We also got into Jesus’ teaching. We had the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus pointed out the hypocrisy of the Jewish religious leaders and taught that real righteousness is more than just following rules—it comes from a righteous heart that only God can put in us.

The people marvelled at the authority with which Jesus taught. Jesus further demonstrates that he has authority over disease. He touches unclean people like lepers and the woman with the issue of blood, but instead of him becoming unclean, the people he touches become clean. Jesus demonstrates authority over nature when he calms the storm. He demonstrates spiritual authority when he casts demons out of people.

Along the way, Jesus ends up at odds with the religious leaders, because he shows how powerless their man-made rules are and he will not play their games by their rules. Things have reached the point where the leaders have decided to kill Jesus.

Jesus goes on to teach more parables about the kingdom of God before he heads back to his hometown in Nazareth, where our passage takes us today.

Matthew 13:53–58 (ESV)

And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there,

and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?

Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas?

And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”

And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”

And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Jesus and his apostles are back home, doing what they normally do. Jesus goes to the local synagogue to teach, like he has done in every other town he’s visited. And, just like everywhere else, everyone recognizes the wisdom and authority of Jesus’ teaching.

But as they recognize the authority Jesus is demonstrating, they have a strange reaction.

Verse 57 says that they took offense at him! Why are they so offended?

Look at what the people said:

Matthew 13:55–56 ESV

Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”

These people can’t handle the fact that Jesus came from their town. They know that Jesus didn’t go to theology school. They may even know that Mary was pregnant with Jesus BEFORE she and Joseph were properly married. So their attitude is, who does he think he is to tell us about the kingdom of God? Where does he get off telling us about righteousness? Wasn’t he conceived in sin?

Matthew 13:57–58 ESV

And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.

Now, there are those who try to make out that Jesus was not able to do miracles in his hometown because there was not enough faith to fuel his power. It’s the kind of thinking that says, if you believe in something enough, it will be real. That is not biblical! That makes it sound like faith is some sort of magical power source. Jesus was not powerless in that community. It’s just that he was not given the opportunity to do much. These people resented Jesus too much to let him help them.

And maybe it wasn’t even resentment. Maybe they just had a preconceived idea of who Jesus was because they remembered him as the local kid. I picture some of those shows I’ve seen on TV where some big name movies star or musician goes back home. You see the ones who are so proud of the person’s success. You see some who are maybe jealous. You see the ones who are still puzzled about how THAT guy turned into such a big deal. But, over and over again, you keep hearing people saying things like, “Just remember, no matter HOW big you get out there, back here you will always be just plain old you.”

The point is, these people had the Son of God in their midst, and they couldn’t see past their own preconceived notions of who Jesus must be. They wouldn’t accept him as Messiah. Do you know why Jesus wasn’t able to do miracles? It was because they didn’t go to him for miracles. It didn’t even occur to go to him with their problems.

Today, I’m afraid we often do the same thing. Many people are professing Christians, but they live like atheists. They believe in Jesus to save their souls, but they don’t give him room to do anything else in their lives. At the first sign of trouble, they are in a panic. Even as they call out to God for help, they don’t really expect an answer. In fact, they see prayer as the last resort after everything else has failed.

I want to give God room to do what He wants to do in my life. I want to live with expectancy. I want the miraculous to be an everyday occurrence in my life.

But how do I do that?

First, I have to quit just trying to know ABOUT Jesus and get to KNOW Jesus. Those people in Nazareth were familiar with Jesus and his family. They knew him on a casual level. But if they had just taken the time to develop a real relationship with Jesus, they would have known who he really was. I suspect that the miracle that did happen in Nazareth took place among those who knew Jesus pretty well. They may not have completely understood everything, but they knew he was different. They saw that he had authority. They knew his integrity. If he said he could heal them, they believed him.

Second, I have to stop trying to fix everything by myself first. How can Jesus be Lord of my life if I’m running the show? We can’t both be in charge. This goes back to knowing him. I have to learn how to listen to his voice so that I can discern his will for my life and whatever situation I am in.

Remember how, in the early chapters of Matthew, we saw that the people who should have immediately recognized the Messiah DIDN’T? They knew scriptures. They knew religion. They knew traditions. They knew all the rules. But they didn’t know the heart of God. The Pharisees and other religious leaders had focused on knowing God’s laws. They argued and debated the laws. They studied the technicality of the laws. They found ways to get what they wanted without technically breaking the laws. And how many in here would agree that, when we start thinking in terms of what we can get away with, how close we can get to the edge of sin without actually crossing the line, we’re already in trouble!

I think most of us would admit that, when we first came to Christ, it was mainly out of fear about going to hell. But, when we asked Jesus to come into our hearts, we were amazed by the peace and joy that immediately came over us. Remember how close you felt to Jesus at that moment? We knew that our salvation was only by his grace. We sought God’s will for everything. But, somewhere along the way, we often forget that God is the one in control. We start thinking that we have this thing figured out. Don’t get me wrong—God gave us a brain, and he wants us to use it, but an important part of using that brain is to know when to get out of the way and let God do his thing.

Some people think that, by doing good works, they somehow earn the favor of God. “God’s going to bless me for this!” Really? If you couldn’t earn your salvation, what makes you think you can earn extra blessings? Jesus not only died on the cross for you—an act you did NOT deserve—he also is preparing a mansion for you in his eternal kingdom. A MANSION, which you also do not deserve. Every good thing you are doing is something you SHOULD be doing because you call yourself a Christian. Do you think Jesus is going to get all impressed by you doing what he already called you to do?

Jesus doesn’t bless us because he owes us anything. We owe him everything! Jesus blesses us because he LOVES us!

This is what makes it so frustrating. Jesus loves us, and he wants to work in our lives. He wants to do miracles for us. But we get in the way of what he wants to do when we try to control the situation ourselves. We get in the way when we treat Jesus like our backup plan that we only go to when every other option has been eliminated. We get in the way when we choose to do things our way instead of his way, and then expect him to get us out of the jam that we created.

The people in Nazareth thought they had Jesus all figured out, and they got it all wrong. They didn’t even give him a chance to show what he could do, and because of that, they missed out on the miraculous. Let’s not make the same mistake.

Lord, forgive us for the times when we thought we had everything figured out, and missed opportunities for you to do the miraculous in our lives. Forgive us for the times when we weren’t looking. Forgive us for when we weren’t listening. Forgive us for the times we arrogantly assumed you would work things out exactly the way we wanted them to. Forgive us for the many times when we were looking for your help instead of just looking for you.

We are thankful for everything you do for us. But we are even more thankful just to have you in our lives. Thank you for loving us.

We ask you to open our eyes to all that you are doing around us. Open our hearts to receive what you have for us. Empty us of agendas and attitudes that keep you from working in us and through us to reach others. We submit ourselves to your will, so that your will may be accomplished. We invite you to do what you want to do so that you may be glorified. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Thank you for joining us today. Remember, Jesus wants to do things in your life. He knows what you need, and he desires to give you what you need. Even if the road you’re on seems dark, Jesus will get you through. Keep trusting him, and let him do what he needs to do. He’s got you.

Blessings!