A Prophet Without Honor

A collection of vintage blacksmith tools displayed on a wooden table outdoors. Photo by SHOX ART

Christ experienced this reality when He visited His hometown of Nazareth after healing Jairus' daughter (Mark 6:1; see 1:9). During the earthly life and ministry of our Savior, Nazareth was an insignificant village in Galilee where no more than about five hundred people lived. Given the small size of the town, everyone would have known Jesus and His family well. This is somewhat evident in the people's reference to Jesus as "the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon" (6:3). That Jesus had been a carpenter before beginning His itinerant preaching does not mean He worked exclusively with wood, as the term carpenter in the Greek can refer to someone who worked with stone as well. Probably, Jesus was a skilled woodworker and stone artisan.

Any Jewish male could teach in the synagogue, but the residents of Nazareth found Jesus' teaching remark- able (v.2). Coupled with the evidently supernatural signs they knew Jesus had done, they should have seen that Jesus was at least a prophet. And yet they rejected Him, for they could not conceive of how a man with no formal rabbinical training could achieve such insight into the Word of God. First-century Jews did not regard manual labor as an unworthy occupation, but it was unheard of for those without formal theological education to handle the Scriptures so well. The people had no explanation for this, and so they were offended by Christ (v.3).

This article was first published in Tabletalk, the Bible study magazine of Ligonier Ministries. Find out more at TabletalkMagazine.com or try it free for three months today at TryTabletalk.com.