Matthew Sermon 45 – Mat 13.53-58 – Jesus and His Hometown

Jesus comes to His hometown, and in spite of His mighty works and great wisdom, His hometown folks are offended at Him (Mat 13.57). We are shocked at their reaction, but Jesus isn’t: “A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and in his own household.” (Mat 13.57.) In other words, this is a general phenomenon of human behavior. There is a name for this reaction, just as there is a name for the reaction we saw earlier from the scribes and Pharisees, and the name for both is the same. But Matthew will not give us that name until near the end of the story when these reactions culminate in the crucifixion of Christ. At that time, Matthew will tell us that the reason the leaders and the people delivered Christ up for crucifixion was because of envy. (Mat 27.18; Mark 15.10.) If envy played that kind of central and destructive role in the wickedest act of human history, what kind of role does it play in our daily lives? I hope you enjoy the sermon. Thanks for listening. -Alan Burrow