But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” (Mark 6:4, N.K.J.V.)

With the exception of the times when I was attending Appalachian State University and Fruitland Baptist Bible Institute, I’ve lived my entire life in Mitchell County. It’s a small, rural county located in the mountains of northwestern North Carolina. We have a population of approximately 15,000 people.

Despite our small size, we have our fair share of churches. I haven’t seen any exact figures lately, but the number is probably somewhere a touch under 100. The primary denomination is Southern Baptist Convention, but that’s not to say that other denominations aren’t represented. Basically, in Mitchell County you can find whatever kind of church you are looking for as long as you aren’t looking for a megachurch.

I have served as a pastor here for over thirty years. Therefore, I speak with quite a bit of experience when I say that Jesus knew what He was talking about when He said, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house” (Mark 6:4). It’s hard to describe in precise words, but there really is some dynamic at work that hinders a God-called preacher from carrying the spiritual weight he should with those who have known him all his life.

No doubt some of the problem stems from mistakes the preacher made before he went into the ministry. For example, someone might say, “How can that guy be a true preacher? I remember that time back in high school when he…..” The reputation of the preacher’s own family is another factor. If that reputation isn’t sterling, the man will typically be looked upon with distrust because he “came from a bad bunch.” Yet another factor is some peoples’ strange jealousy over a friend, neighbor, or acquaintance bettering himself. Trust me, “getting above your raising” is a cardinal offense with some people.

Would you believe that even Jesus Himself was hindered by this problem? The gospels give us the record of two separate visits He paid to His hometown of Nazareth after He began His public ministry. The first visit took place in the early days of His ministry, shortly after He was tempted by Satan in the wilderness. Mark 1:14 and Luke 4:14-15 tell us that in the days following that temptation Jesus made His way up to Galilee, the northern part of the land. There He ministered in the synagogues that dotted the region. That circuit inevitably took Him to Nazareth, where He continued with His custom of going into the local synagogue on the Sabbath and preaching. That synagogue in Nazareth was the one He had attended His whole life.

Jesus’ text that day was a portion of Isaiah 61:1-2, which was a Messianic passage foretelling that the Messiah would preach the gospel to the poor, heal the brokenhearted, proclaim liberty to the captives, give sight to the blind, free those who were oppressed, and proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord (Luke 4:18-19). The gist of Christ’s sermon was, “Today you are looking at the fulfillment of these words because I am the Messiah of which they speak” (Luke 4:21). The attendees marveled at this assertion and asked the obvious question, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” (They might as well have added in, “Aren’t you that kid who used to play out there in the streets? How can you be the Messiah?”) It was at that point that Jesus launched into a lecture on how a prophet’s ministry is greatly hindered among his fellow countrymen (Luke 4:24). He did this as a way of explaining to them why He couldn’t perform the healing miracles there He had performed in nearby Capernaum (Luke 4:23).

By way of illustrating His point, Jesus referenced a couple of Old Testament examples. The first one involved Elijah’s ministry. Even though there were many hurting widows in Israel during the three-and-a-half years of drought and famine in Elijah’s day, God didn’t send Elijah to help any of them. Instead, He sent him outside Israel to a Gentile widow in Zarephath, a Phoenician town in the region of Sidon (Luke 4:25-26). The second example involved the ministry of Elijah’s successor, Elisha. Even though there were many lepers in Israel during the days of Elisha’s ministry, he didn’t cure any of them. The only leper he cured was Naaman, a Gentile from Syria (Luke 4:27).

Well, you can imagine how those people in Nazareth’s synagogue responded to their local boy not only claiming to be the Messiah but also saying that He couldn’t heal any of their citizens because they wouldn’t give Him the honor due a prophet. Luke tells us they were filled with wrath and led Jesus out of the city, up to the brow of the hill upon which the city was built. Their intent was to kill Him by throwing Him off that cliff (Luke 4:28-30). It takes quite a preacher and quite a sermon to evoke that kind of response from a crowd of church goers! Maybe Jesus should have preached on the Old Testament law’s 6th commandment: “You shall not murder.” At any rate, He didn’t allow Himself to be killed that day because that wasn’t the right time or place for His death. In some way that Luke doesn’t fully explain, Jesus passed through the midst of that bloodthirsty mob and went on His way (Luke 4:30).

But I told you the gospels give us the record of two visits that Jesus paid to Nazareth. So, what about the other one? It came much later in Christ’s ministry and we find the account in Matthew 13:53-58 and Mark 6:1-6. For that visit, the same pattern was set into motion. Jesus went into the synagogue on the Sabbath and taught (Matthew 13:53-54; Mark 6:1), and the people were astonished at His words and immediately started asking, “Where did this man get this wisdom? How does He do the mighty works that are attributed to Him? Isn’t He the son of Joseph the carpenter? Isn’t Mary His mother? Don’t we know His brothers and sisters?” (Matthew 13:54-56; Luke 6:2-3)

Matthew’s account and Luke’s account both say the people were offended at Him (Matthew 13:57; Luke 6:3). You see, it was always Jesus’ background that tripped them up. They had watched this kid grow into manhood. They knew Him well. He was the illegitimate son of Mary and Joseph, conceived before they were married, right? How could such a person be God’s Messiah?

That’s why Jesus again gave them the applicable line: “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house” (Matthew 13:57; Mark 6:4). Obviously, nothing had changed in the months that had passed since His first attempt to minister there. Matthew says that He did not do many mighty works there (Matthew 13:58), which implies that He did do a few, and Mark reports that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them (Mark 6:5). Overall, though, He couldn’t do work there that He would have classified as “mighty” (Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:5). Even Jesus “marveled because of their unbelief” (Matthew 13:58; Mark 6:6). At least they didn’t try to kill Him this time!

You say, “Okay, Russell, I understand what you are saying, but I’m not a preacher. And so how does all this affect me?” It affects you by way of the spiritual influence you can have on not only the residents of your hometown but also your own family members. If you find that your influence is somewhat limited, you’ll understand now that there is a biblical explanation for it. You’re up against a dynamic that even Jesus, Elijah, and Elisha couldn’t overcome. This doesn’t mean that Jesus doesn’t want you to minister to those who know you best, but it does mean that it will never be the easiest soil to cultivate.