And they took offense at him.
Taking offense at Jesus happens more times than we would like to think. How often do we think that Jesus should do something, He doesn’t, and we get angry and hold it against Him? How often do we think that Jesus should heal someone, and He doesn’t? How often do we expect the Savior of this world to save us from our circumstances, and He doesn’t? How often do we take offense at Jesus?
The people of Nazareth watched Jesus grow up. In this community, they knew His family. They knew His habits, His humor, and His favorite foods. They knew He was human. Imagine their surprise when Jesus showed up as Savior of the world, Lord of the Sabbath, sage, Son of God, and miracle-worker? They knew that they knew Jesus, yet here He was being more than they could wrap their minds around.
How many of us think that we know Jesus? Because we have experiences with Jesus, we have read about Jesus, and we have heard things about Jesus, we think we know all about Him. What we know about Him allows us to build expectations for Him, and when He doesn’t fit into the box that we have created, we take offense.
Knowing a lot about Jesus without obeying Him brings a familiarity that causes us to take Him for granted.*
“I know Jesus,” we say. “I have Him figured out,” we think. Knowledge without faith and faith without action does not matter for much when Jesus begins doing the unexpected. When Jesus shows Himself as more to us than we can understand, what will we do? When He does things that break the mold of who we think we know Him to be, how will we react?
If we are disciples, if we are people who trust Him and follow Him, we will simply continue to do what we have always done: trust, follow, and share Him.
Today, take a step.
Maybe today the one step God wants you to take is to forgive Jesus for not fitting into your box of expectation. Perhaps God wants you to allow Jesus to be Jesus. Maybe today God wants you to increase your trust in Jesus to follow Jesus into places unexpected. Perhaps Jesus is even greater than you can wrap your mind around, and He wants you to trust that He is who He says He is.
Whatever the step, ask God to direct it. Take a moment to take that step. Invite Him to speak. He will.
Life is a long road. Walk it with Jesus. Take a step today… just one is fine.
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*Leon, Morris, The Gospel According to Matthew. Pillar New Testament Commentary (Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1992), 364–367, and Keener, C. S., Matthew (Vol. 1, Mt 13:53–58) (InterVarsity Press, 1997).