They were astonished and said,
“Where did this man get such wisdom and mighty deeds?
The words of Jesus were not normal words and his reputation for mighty deeds had to be accounted for in some way. It seems that at first people were legitimately impressed by what he said, since we read in Luke that, "all spoke well of him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from his mouth" (see Luke 4:22). They were meant to receive "that gracious word of his that can build you up and give you the inheritance among all who are consecrated" (see Acts 20:32), about which Paul spoke in Miletus. But they attempted to explain Jesus only at the human level, based on natural causes, as things appeared to them.
Is he not the carpenter’s son?
Is not his mother named Mary
and his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?
Are not his sisters all with us?
As far as they could see he was no different than any of them. He had even grown up in their midst, so there didn't seem to be anything particularly mysterious about him on which they could pin his unusual behavior. There may even have been a hint of scandal due to the rumors about the unusual circumstances of his birth. In any case, the crowds at Nazareth seemed to feel that Jesus must have had an inflated ego to suddenly return and act, from their point of view, so superior. Yet although Jesus did return to them as one with something to give that they themselves did not possess he did not do so from an attitude of superiority but rather of service. And perhaps this humility was even more provocative. They were willing to be freed from oppressive occupiers by a mighty conqueror but not willing to be freed from their sins by a gentle savior. It was as though he desired to wash their feet and they were simply unable to bear it.
But Jesus said to them,
“A prophet is not without honor except in his native place
and in his own house.”
We almost inevitably build up assumptions about people based on what we know about their past. But sometimes this limits the freedom they have to act in the present moment, to express parts of themselves with which we may not yet be familiar. This isn't a good idea with anyone. But it is particularly problematic with Jesus himself. This is because we will never fully exhaust all of his capabilities or potential. Our limited experience were never be more than a tiny percentage of all of the possibilities that are found in him. The more we attempt to apply pre-existing labels, even those of prophet, teacher, and healer, the more we potentially limit his freedom to express himself in other ways. The only assumptions we need to maintain about Jesus are the fact that he is good and that he loves us. Beyond that, we should try to give him the freedom to be himself. This disposition, that looks to Jesus, and not to our assumptions and stereotypes is an important characteristic of living faith, if our faith is to be in a real person, and not merely a mental construct.
And he did not work many mighty deeds there
because of their lack of faith.
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