You have heard of home-field advantage. Sports teams are much more likely to win at home than on the road. Even though all basketball goals are set at ten feet, players adjust to the court and rims where they play. When my friend Rob and I were training for a marathon in Hershey Park some years ago, we had a saying if someone wanted to pass us, “Not today.” We went faster to keep from being passed. You should not lose on your home court, right?
What would we expect about Jesus when he returned to his hometown of Nazareth? He taught and healed with power everywhere he went. People put their faith in him and he delivered, time and again. Then he went home. This might have been his finest hour in teaching and healing. But it was not. Why not?
The people of Nazareth were amazed at his success, but they were still unimpressed. After all, they had seen Jesus grow up. His dad was just a carpenter. His mom was Mary. They saw his four brothers often. His sisters too. They took offense at him. How dare Jesus be the Messiah?
Driving through Hearne, Texas on Highway 6, I noticed the expression of local pride. Home of John Randle, NFL star. The people of Hearne are so proud of their hometown hero. But not Nazareth. Not Jesus. Jesus was honored everywhere he went except for Nazareth where the people diminished him to their own ability to understand. Jesus quoted the axiom, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.” Earlier his family had tried to take him home (Matthew 12:46-50). They thought he had gotten ahead of himself.
Jesus did fewer miracles in Nazareth than anywhere else. Why? The people there did not trust him in faith. Given their greatest opportunity in history, they missed it. Is Jesus at home in our homes? Do we trust him? Or have we figured him out? Some of the great Bible scholars among us have constructed a tight system to understand God. In their own minds, they have him figured out. There is almost no mystery about God for them. Their understanding of scripture is so complete that everyone who disagrees with them is a heretic. The irony is their utter dependence on rationalism, as they claim to have figured God out.
We may be certain about this: God is infinite. Our minds are finite. Of course, the scriptures are true. Our understanding is still incomplete. We should not be surprised if God often explodes our expectations and sometimes surprises us. But if we refuse to believe in him, the surprise will be how much we miss. As usual, songs help us: “Come and make my heart your home.” And this one: “Only believe. Only believe. All things are possible if we only believe.”
