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Matthew 13:53–58
“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” (vv. 57–58).
Theologians regularly explain the work of Christ on behalf of His people under the rubric of His threefold office—namely, that He is our Prophet, Priest, and King. This threefold office finds expression in the confessional standards of the Reformed churches in places such as Westminster Confession of Faith 8.1, where we see that God appointed the Lord Jesus to a prophetic, priestly, and kingly ministry in His work as our Mediator.
We will begin our look at the threefold office of Christ by considering Him as our Prophet. Several biblical texts give us vital information about our Savior’s prophetic work. Deuteronomy 18:15–22, for instance, features the prediction that God would raise up for Israel a prophet like Moses from among the people. This passage established that there would be prophets to succeed Moses, but in light of Moses’ role as mediator of the old covenant, it could find its ultimate fulfillment only in One who would be both a Prophet and a covenant Mediator. The various old covenant prophets who ministered between the time of Moses and the coming of Jesus served a vital purpose in God’s covenant dealings with Israel, but none of them were covenant mediators as Moses was. Our Savior, however, is “the mediator of a new covenant” (Heb. 9:15; 12:24) and therefore the Prophet in whom Deuteronomy 18:15–22 finds its fullest realization.
In other passages, Jesus Himself claims to be the Prophet sent to God’s people. Matthew 13:53–58 describes the offense that the residents of Nazareth of Galilee, Jesus’ hometown, took at our Lord’s message. In responding to this offense, Jesus notes that a prophet has no honor in “his hometown and in his own household” (v. 57). By this statement, Jesus identifies His prophetic ministry and its continuity with the work of the prophets of old. We remember that under the old covenant, God raised up many prophets for His people Israel from among the Israelites and then, after the division of the kingdom, from the Judahites as well. The majority of the old covenant community, however, rejected the teaching of these “hometown prophets” who came from Israel and Judah. Consequently, the people went into exile (2 Chron. 36:15–16). Jesus, the Prophet par excellence, was likewise rejected by His own people in Nazareth and Galilee, demonstrating how His prophetic work was in line with the old covenant prophets and fulfilling Isaiah’s prediction that the Messiah would be “rejected by men” (Isa. 53:3).
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
John Calvin comments that “it is truly extraordinary that a prophet of God, whom others warmly receive as a newly-arrived stranger, should be despised in the place where he was born.” Jesus was rejected by many of His own people but was received gladly by others. Because we are not greater than He is, we should not be surprised if we are rejected as well when we proclaim God’s truth. Let us also not allow such rejection to keep us from speaking truth.
For further study
- 2 Chronicles 24:20–22
- Jeremiah 35
- Mark 6:1–6
- John 4:19
The bible in a year
- Psalms 90–92
- Romans 11:1–16