TREASURY OF SERMONS
No Prophet Is Welcome In His Own Hometown
By Rev (Dr) Jeffrey Khoo
(Preached at Calvary Pandan BPC Sunset Gospel Hour, 11 Jul 1999)
Text: Matt 13:53-58
Introduction
No prophet is welcome in his own hometown.
"Familiarity breeds contempt." Local chilli is not hot enough. Yes
this is often the case. Jesus Himself experienced contempt when He
was on earth among His own people. Jesus said in v57, "A prophet is
not without honour, save (except) in his own country, and in his own
house."
Exposition and Application
Jesus was at this time in his own
hometown—Nazareth. Naturally, when Jesus was back in his own
hometown where He grew up, and knew the people so well, He desired
to do more for them. He wanted to bless them with a double portion.
But what was their response to His preaching and teaching ministry
in the synagogue? They scorned and did not take Him seriously. So in
v58 we read, Jesus "did not many mighty works there because of their
unbelief." It is a sad episode.
A prophet usually is received with respect and
honour in foreign places, but in his own country, he is despised and
viewed with contempt. When Jesus ventured outside the borders of
Israel, He was received very warmly. One example would be the
Syrophoenician woman in Matt 15:21-28. Jesus was in Tyre and Sidon—modern
Syria—Gentile territory. Now this Canaanite woman met Jesus and
begged Him to save her daughter who was demon-possessed. Look at how
she addressed Jesus; it was with utmost respect, even worship: "O
Lord, thou Son of David, have mercy on me." Jesus ignored her, not
because He did not have compassion, but to test her sincerity. When
she persisted in her pleas, Jesus said to her, "I am not sent but
unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel." But she came again and
worshipped him, saying, "Lord help me." Jesus said to her, "Let the
children be filled: for it is not meet to take the children’s bread,
and to cast it unto the dogs." Jesus likened her to a dog. If you
were this woman, what would you have done? We would probably curse
and swear to salvage whatever dignity is left in us, wouldn’t we?
But look at how this woman humbled herself to the dust, and agreed
with Jesus that she is but a dog: "Yes, truth, Lord: yet the dogs
under the table eat of the children’s crumbs which fall from their
master’s table." In those days, the people dine with their hands,
and after they had eaten, they would use the leftover bread to wipe
their fingers, and this dirty bread is cast to the ground for the
dogs to eat. Look at the kind of honour she had for Jesus. Look at
her faith. Jesus finally commended her, "O woman, great is thy
faith." And her daughter was healed that very moment. It is only
when we strip ourselves of all our pride, and exalt Jesus in every
way, that we receive His blessings. If we want the Lord to do great
works in our lives, He must be everything, and we absolutely
nothing.
But if we promote ourselves, and demote Christ
like these from his own hometown, "Jesus did not many mighty works
there because of their unbelief" (v58). Consider Jesus’ indictment
of His own countrymen in Matt 11:16-24, "But whereunto shall I liken
this generation? It is like unto children sitting in the markets,
and calling unto their fellows, 17And saying, We have piped unto
you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have
not lamented. 18For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they
say, He hath a devil. 19The Son of man came eating and drinking, and
they say, Behold a man gluttonous, and a winebibber, a friend of
publicans and sinners. But wisdom is justified of her children.
20Then began he to upbraid the cities wherein most of his mighty
works were done, because they repented not: 21Woe unto thee,
Chorazin! woe unto thee, Bethsaida! for if the mighty works, which
were done in you, had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have
repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22But I say unto you, It
shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment,
than for you. 23And thou, Capernaum, which art exalted unto heaven,
shalt be brought down to hell: for if the mighty works, which have
been done in thee, had been done in Sodom, it would have remained
until this day. 24But I say unto you, That it shall be more
tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment, than for
thee."
How did the Nazarenes show contempt for Jesus?
First, they questioned his educational qualifications (v54). They
could see that he had great wisdom and was mighty in His deeds, but
they asked this cynical question: "From where did He get them?"
Could they not realise that His wisdom came from heaven, and that
His mighty deeds from the power of the Spirit? Nicodemus, the
pharisee, himself acknowledged in John 3:2 when he told Jesus,
"Rabbi, we know that thou art a teacher come from God: for no man
can do these miracles that thou doest, except God be with him."
Indeed, these Nazarenes could see that Jesus was Someone special,
but they simply refused to accept Him because of they were all too
familiar with Jesus’ background. "Did he not study in Nazareth
primary and secondary school?" "He did not go to the university of
Jerusalem, how could He know all these things? He must be talking
nonsense." Jesus did not do many mighty works because of their
unbelief. They did not trust Him just because He did not have a high
education. Since he did not have a PhD from the University of
Jerusalem, they look down on Him.
Are we not like that? We judge people according
to their credentials and not capabilities. Two persons may be
equally good in what they do, but one graduated from the University
of Singapore, the other from one of the Ivy League
universities—Harvard, Yale, Stanford; or Oxford, Cambridge—these are
accorded with honour, the other is viewed with contempt: "University
of Singapore—local university—local chilli not hot enough!" May we
as Christians not judge a person according to worldly standards. Let
us also not judge a minister of the gospel according to the
standards of the world, but on the standards set by Scripture.
Please also do not think that if a person has a Doctor of Theology
or a Doctor of Ministry, he is therefore a good pastor or teacher.
There are many such doctors who after getting their high degree
become self-inflated. Instead of preaching Christ, they preach
themselves. Please also do not think that someone who studied
theology in the States or in the Continent is better than the one
who studied at our own local Bible College—in FEBC. I receive on and
off letters from fresh PhD graduates from American seminaries asking
for a teaching position at FEBC. They have outstanding credentials,
award winners; but when I ask them: "Can you agree with our position
statement?" They do not reply. The way is too narrow for them. We
must be very careful whom we invite to teach at our Bible College. I
rather appoint one of our own students who has distinguished himself
under our tutelage than these who have high qualifications from
foreign colleges but do not care to stand for the truth. As far as I
am concerned, our local products are very hot—like chilli padi.
Second, they questioned His occupation. In v55,
they ask contemptuously, "Is not this the carpenter’s son?" In Mark
6, we hear them asking, "Is not this the carpenter?" (Mark 6). "He
is only a carpenter, is he not?" "What can a lowly carpenter be good
for?" "Why should a lowly carpenter tell me what to do?" They looked
down on Jesus because he was but a poor carpenter—a blue collared
worker.
Is this the attitude we sometimes have in our
assessment of others? We judge others according to their occupation.
You are a doctor (wow, nice to meet you); you are a lawyer (hello,
happy to know you), you are an accountant (very good), you are a
professor (outstanding), You are an architect (wow), I am a pastor
(oh, um, what is a pastor ah?). I am sad to note that there are
believers who think this way. Test: If your son were to come to you
one day and say, "Dad, Mom, I don’t want to go to NUS but FEBC; I
want to serve God full-time as a pastor or a missionary." What would
your reaction be? Testimony: When I told my church elders I wanted
to study in FEBC instead of NUS after my national service, they
discouraged me. They didn’t discourage from going full-time, but
they said you should study in NUS first. Reasons? Going through
university education will make you more broad-minded, and with a
degree people will respect you more when you become a pastor. Is
this how you think as well? Do you see the pastoral ministry as
something to be despised or to be ashamed of? Someone else can be
pastor, but not my son. How I wish more of our members would pray
that God will call their sons and their daughters into full-time
Christian ministry. More often than not, we pray that our sons and
daughters will enter the university, but if they can’t get in, then
it is OK, we send them to FEBC. Dear friends, as Christians let us
think biblically and spiritually. It is a great privilege and honour
to serve the Lord, to be a minister of the gospel. I wouldn’t
exchange it for anything in the world.
An interesting thing is that God usually calls
the poor, lowly, and despised to do His great work. Look at Jesus’
12 disciples—mostly poor and despised people: fishermen and
tax-collectors. The only one who had a very high education and
prestigious occupation was the Apostle Paul. But Paul himself noted
that it is not the high and mighty that are called. Paul said in 1
Cor 2:26-29, "For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many
wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are
called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to
confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world
to confound the things which are mighty; And the base things of the
world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, ye and the
things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no
flesh should glory in his presence." As for his high education and
high flying occupation, Paul said, "I count all things but loss for
the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, … and do
count them but dung, that I may win Christ" (Phil 3:8). So let us
not measure a person by his profession or occupation.
Third, they questioned His youthful position
(vv55-56). "Is this not the carpenter’s son?, the son of Mary, the
brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? And are not all
his sisters here with us? Whence then hath this man all these
things? And they were offended of him." The word "son" here is
significant. This word is sometimes used in the derogative sense of
someone who is young, inexperienced, still a student or apprentice.
Jesus at this time was just slightly over 30 years old. A very young
man. It was no very long ago that he was just a little boy. The
people in His village watched Him grow up. Many of them were much
older than He was. They were all too familiar with Him. Who is He to
come and teach us how to live? We can just imagine some of them
telling Jesus, "Don’t teach your grandmother how to suck eggs; I’ve
eaten more salt than you have eaten rice." So they dismissed Him.
They did take Him seriously. They were offended of Him.
Dear friends, do we despise youth? Sometimes I
wish I were more elderly with more white hair. People tend to look
down when you are young. I have experienced it. But I encourage
myself in the Lord because Jesus Himself was about 30 years old when
He began His public ministry. I am 35. Timothy faced this problem as
pastor of the church at Ephesus. He was young, and people looked
down on him. Paul encouraged Timothy with these words, "Let no man
despise thy youth; but be thou an example of the believers, in word,
in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, in purity. …
Neglect not the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by
prophecy, with the laying on of the hands of the presbytery" (1 Tim
4:12,14). "Although you are young, don’t forget your spiritual gift
of a pastor-teacher given to you by God and confirmed by man at your
ordination," Paul told Timothy. So let us not view with contempt
youthfulness.
By the same token, youths should not despise the
elderly. They have so much to offer—all the years of experience.
They have gone through the school of hard knocks. The practical
wisdom they have is invaluable. We have much to learn from them. You
know, in the USA, the churches and Bible schools retire their
pastors and their professors at the age of 65. Dr John Whitcomb of
Grace Seminary for example was told to leave when he reached 65 at
the height of his theological career when he had the most to offer.
Conclusion
"A prophet is without honour except in his own
country." I hope this is not the case with us. I hope we give due
honour to our own local pastors. In fact those who labour well in
feeding you the Word of God, Paul said are worthy of double honour—"Let
the elders (or presbyters) who rule well be counted worthy of double
honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine." It is
quite sad that impressionable young people instead of listening to
their own pastors choose rather to listen to foreign pastors, and
they go astray. Lately in our B-P churches we have a problem with
hyper-Calvinism. Instead of reading books on this subject written by
our own B-P pastors who have carefully studied into this subject and
have taught faithfully from God’s Word, they read books written by
foreigners like John Owen and John Gill. So they think that
everything these Puritans write must be pure. So they are pure and
if we do not agree with them, we are impure. The puritans are not
infallible. No one but Christ is infallible. The writings of the
puritans are not inerrant. Only the Bible is inerrant. Search the
Scriptures! They don’t care to read the books written by our own
pastors. So with a little knowledge but much zeal, they run wild,
calling their pastors heretics and apostates. Zeal without knowledge
is a very dangerous thing.
Don’t despise your pastors when they prove
themselves to be genuine servants of God by studying hard, praying
hard, preparing hard in feeding you God’s Word and in watching over
your souls. You see when we despise our pastors whom God has given
to us, we are despising the Lord. Can the Lord bless those who view
Him and His servants with contempt? Jesus could not do many mighty
works in Nazareth because of this. Do not fall into this sin.
Let us not judge a person by the colour of his
skin, paper qualifications, his age, or family background. Judge
righteous judgment. Judge with spiritual eyes according to God’s
Word. Let us pray.
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