Home, Cynical Home, Part 2

When sharing Christ with friends, do you ever feel defeated? Do not think that because you have spoken of Christ, and it wasn't received, that it will never be meaningful to them.

Your words, no doubt, will never be forgotten. Our brains have a way of creasing them into their selves. At Christ's most difficult turning points, we remember things that we were told.

When a hometown hero returns to where his life began, it's not unusual for friends and neighbors to host a parade or at least a party to celebrate the occasion. We love it when one of our own achieves notoriety and success. But that's not what happened to Jesus. When he made the trek home to Nazareth, we're surprised to learn that friends and neighbors treated Jesus with disregard. Today on Insight for Living, Chuck Swindoll recounts this defining moment and the application for us today.

Chuck titled his message, Home Cynical Home. Our Father, we step aside from the busy activities of our lives to be still, to be quiet, to listen and to learn. Help us, our Father, as we journey 20 centuries back to a scene that was familiar to our Savior but is unfamiliar to most of us today. May it be as though we were right there with him. May we relive the account as though his hometown were our hometown.

May we feel the barbs that came from those who thought they knew him and though they had spent 30 years alongside him, did not know him at all. In the process, Father, I pray that you would guard us from a perfunctory spirit where we are around the familiar but we lose the significance because of the familiarity which has bred contempt. Encourage us, I pray, as we see through this story and we learn from it lessons for life. In the journey from earth to heaven, there are many things we must learn, some of which are learned the hard way and I pray for those going through a hard time. Some have loved ones who are desperately ill, others have lost those that meant the most to them in recent days.

There are some who struggle with addictions, they're going through a time of fractured relationships and others who simply have lost their zest for life. May we realize, our Father, that your son Jesus has the magnificent ability of transferring his triumph to us and his ability to conquer can be ours as well. But remind us again and again, Lord, that that's a process and we learn some of life's best lessons slowly and painfully. Pain often plants the flag of reality in the fortress of a rebel heart, so I pray today for those who are rebels. I pray that you will break through, get their attention, turn their hearts toward you.

I pray that Christians will not get in the way of this, that will be part of the answer rather than the problem, that we'll know how to be a friend to those who are awash. Give us patience, grace, understanding, forgiveness, mercy, and a dozen other traits that don't come easily or naturally as you minister through us to those who have lost their way. We are grateful, Father, for the change of seasons and the reality that nothing in you changes. You are the same yesterday, today, and forever.

You have no winter temperament or summer or spring or fall. You are always the same. We never interrupt you, we never catch you off guard, you're never surprised by what we do, but you are sometimes grieved. I pray that you will touch us in a deep way, minister especially to those who need encouragement. May we be reminded that our help comes from the Lord and really only from you, that kind of help that is life changing. Because of that transformation, we've learned to be generous and that's why today we give with such joy. And we've learned that we are not the center of attention, that your son is, that he has first place in everything. And whatever crowns that may come our way, we will crown him with many crowns, the lamb upon the throne, whom we worship and adore, to whom we give today. And for his sake alone, we pray these things. Everyone said, Amen. This is Insight for Living.

To study the book of Matthew with Chuck Swindoll, be sure to download his Searching the Scriptures studies by going to insightworld.org slash studies. And now the message from Chuck called Home Cynical Home. Pressure isn't going away. The crowds of his followers, they're enlarging and he is doing a wonderful work among them. He is healing the sick, even a paralyzed hand, he gave life to it. And those with demons, he delivers them. And those who are hungry, he feeds them. And his ministry is just packed with people and how they must have come. Sometimes by the thousands. And if you've ever ministered to people in large numbers and you've done it day after day, week after week, you know the meaning of the word exhaustion.

It's draining. And you love the people and yet those needs never end and they're always, those expectations are always greater than the ability to supply, except in his case he could meet whatever the need. But it drained him of his energy. Now on top of all of that, there were those who despised him, never doubted. Even when he has done no wrong, they found wrong. When he and his disciples ate grain on the Sabbath, they found fault in that, though it wasn't breaking the law. He confronted them and he refused to be intimidated by them.

That also is energy draining. And then they'd had enough, according to Matthew 12 and verse 14, they called a meeting and they plotted how to kill him. I don't know if you have ever been stalked, but I know what it's like. Some of you may.

I don't know that anyone ever wanted to kill me. But they did him as pressure. In fact, that seems to be the way we get into the story at the end of Matthew 13. When Jesus had finished telling the stories and illustrations, he left that part of the country and he returned to Nazareth, hometown.

So he took the journey. They walked, of course, about a two-day walk until they finally came to that little sign that says Nazareth. Maybe it didn't mean as much to the disciples as it did to him because it was there he had spent almost 30 years of his life working in Joseph's carpenter shop. It was there he went to school and the synagogue. It was there he met the neighbors and they knew him. It was there Mary had her other children, four boys and a number of girls.

We're not told how many or ever told their names. It's a big family. They lived in this little place and all the things you went through, he went through. It was there he played with his buddies. It was there that his mom called him to supper. It was there his dad whistled when it got dark. It was there that he earned a living. I'm sure he built fine furniture and very comfortable yoke for oxen, perhaps even cabinets. It's where his brothers and sisters lived. I'm taking my time here because I want you to feel what the people of Nazareth felt.

It's easy to forget old Nazareth and it's easy to forget all of the memories that surrounded him there. Several years ago I was buying a car and while the paperwork was being done I sat in the little office of the salesman. I've never known him before and haven't seen him since but while we were together you strike up a conversation as all of you know and we got on the subject of where we were reared. I said to him where were you? I knew he was from another country and he said actually I'm from the Middle East. I said are you really? I'm intrigued by that.

Where in particular? He said well I'm from a little town called Nazareth. Really? I go have you ever seen the J&J carpenter shop when you were in Nazareth there? No, he said I never have. You ever see a name carved into a tree named Jesus? You ever see? He said name what?

Never heard of him. So we had a chance to get a little better acquainted. It was a great talk we had. Very unguarded as he learned a great deal about the one who also was reared where he was reared. It's there that Jesus formed his earliest impressions about life. It was there life made up its mind for him. So he returned to Nazareth his hometown. You know what's interesting is that the synagogue where he went all of his growing up years still there except in those days he was a part of the congregation.

But it's not uncommon to this day when a guest is fairly well known that the rabbi will invite the person that's known to speak to the congregation to be the guest preacher if you will that day. So that happened. No doubt word had traveled. His name was by now a household name all over what they call then the Romans called Palestine. Israelites hate it when we call their country Palestine.

It's Israel. But his name was known all over Israel and of all things this man comes back. But remember their memory is not of the great crowds and all the significant words that he had spoken that their memory is 30 years of growing up. They remember when he played on the Nazareth Neanderthal soccer team.

They played the Cana Cougars and beat them and won the trophy. They remember that. He's just another guy who happened to somehow gain a following and a hearing 40 miles away and beyond. But this is in Nazareth. So word traveled among the community and did you hear that Mary's son is going to preach. No doubt Joseph is dead.

Never mentioned in his adult life. So Mary gathers the family and no doubt many of them were were married by now. And having grown up with Jesus they had the standard brother opinion and sister opinion. And there he stood. They had had their meals with him for almost 30 years.

They had seen his work, conversed, argued, had the standard relationship you have. But now he's standing in the synagogue and he speaks with such wisdom and authority. It says, look at it, they were amazed. The Greek word means to be filled with such amazement that one is overwhelmed. Whoa!

They were blown away. He never talked like this when he was having supper with us. We don't remember speeches that he gave or great works he did. And so they naturally ask, where does he get his wisdom?

The power to do miracles. They even scoffed and said he's just a carpenter's son. By the way, Joseph had nothing to do with his conception. But, of course, they thought Joseph was his daddy. And we know Mary, his mother, and we know all the brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas. And by the way, none of them believe in him. And we know all of his sisters. I mean, come on.

And then we read they were deeply scandalized. I like the way Eugene Peterson captures the essence of all this. Who does he think he is? They got their noses all out of joint.

Yeah. It's like you would if it were your brother or my brother. Who does he think he is talking like this? Frankly, they didn't really have a clue. A.T. Robertson in his fine work Word Pictures in the New Testament writes, what the people of Nazareth could not comprehend was how one with the origin and environment of Jesus here in Nazareth could possess the wisdom which he appeared to have in his teaching.

That has often puzzled people how a boy whom they knew could become the man he apparently is after leaving home. They stumbled at him, good rendering of Scandalizzo. Cause to stumble. They stumble over his words. Moffat renders that they were repelled by him.

Weymouth renders it. They turned against him. Robertson adds, it was unpardonable for Jesus not to be commonplace like himself. Who does he think he is? For what it's worth, and it will mean more to some of you than others, the most difficult people to convince of your faith in Jesus is your own family.

Don't answer out loud, but how many of you have attempted to tell them of how your life has been changed through the power of Jesus Christ? Who do you think you are telling me this? It's not that they desire to be offensive or to appear inhospitable. It's just beyond their ability to comprehend.

I love scenes like this because it breaks it all down into a way that everybody can get it. They were offended by him. And we read they refused to believe in him. There it is. By the way, that didn't last forever.

Aren't we encouraged by that? Jude, named earlier, is the one who, Judas, who wrote the book of Jude just before the end of our Bible, just before Revelation. Not only did he believe in him, but he wrote a letter. And James did as well, and he didn't believe until the resurrection.

And then when he believed, he really did, went full bore and became a leader in the early first century church. So they came around. It gives us hope, doesn't it? Doesn't it give you a little encouragement, you who have tried to reach your brothers and sisters and moms and dads and family members to no avail? Let me give you a little illustration that I hope you won't forget.

It helps me. Witnessing to those who aren't ready to receive it is a lot like tossing a log onto a frozen lake. It hits the ice, bounces around, and lies there. More snow, more ice, more sleet sits on top of the lake.

Until one day, the sun begins to shine, and the weather turns warm, and the lake falls, and the log sinks in. Do not think that because you have spoken of Christ, and it wasn't received, that it will never be meaningful to them. Your words, no doubt, will never be forgotten.

Our brains have a way of creasing them into the cells, and sometime at life's most difficult turning points, we remember things that we were told. When we get a cool reception from someone who seems indifferent to the gospel, it doesn't mean his or her story is finished. And one day God may use the words we've spoken to melt the heart of someone who wants to join his family. You're listening to Insight for Living.

Keep your place right here in Matthew chapter 13 because there's much more to learn in this passage. To learn more about this ministry, please visit us online at insightworld.org. I'd like to thank those who've responded to Insight for Living in the last several weeks.

As you know, we're coming up on an important deadline. June 30th marks the end of our financial year, and your comments and your financial gifts have been a tremendous encouragement to Chuck and the entire staff at Insight for Living Ministries. It's amazing to receive feedback from all around the globe. In fact, when I last looked, we had comments coming in from your fellow listeners in places like the Philippines, South Africa, and Papua New Guinea, and of course all across this country. Chuck, we often remind our listeners that they're not alone when receiving these daily programs. In reality, we're joined by a multicultural audience and some who speak a different language than our own.

That's true, Dave. Many in our listening family are surprised to learn that Insight for Living can be heard in eight additional languages other than the English language. Of course, no one is more surprised than I am, believe me. When we started this media ministry back in 1979, I had no clue how God would expand our influence around this world. Gratefully, God has supplied the resources and the expertise of godly colleagues to help us translate Insight for Living into languages not only in English, but Arabic, Mandarin, Portuguese, Spanish, and Russian. Several years ago, this momentum inspired us to declare an audacious goal that only God could achieve. We called it Vision 195, and it's our dream to cultivate biblical knowledge and application to all 195 countries of our world.

There hasn't been a global pandemic, an economic crisis, a national election that has deterred our determination to proceed with gusto. In fact, I'm pleased to report that we're moving full steam ahead with the course God has set before us in Vision 195. And so today, I'm not hesitant to invite you to join me in this mission by giving generously. Before the financial deadline of June 30th, the largest portion of your gift will be applied to providing this daily program to your station and in this country.

A fraction of your donation is all that's needed to provide Insight for Living beyond your borders and in the heart language of those who listen. Here is our contact information, and I look forward to hearing from you very soon, like today. Yeah, if you're listening in the United States, call us at 1-800-772-8888, our phone number once more, 1-800-772-8888, or to give a donation online, go to insight.org slash donate. We appreciate your partnership. From all of us here at Insight for Living, thank you for generously supporting this nonprofit ministry. And to join us for Sunday morning worship, remember you can view Chuck Swindoll's preaching and participate in the sacred music online. You'll find all the information at insight.org slash Sundays. Join us again Monday when Chuck Swindoll continues our study in the book of Matthew, right here on Insight for Living. The preceding message, Home, Cynical Home, was copyrighted in 2016 and 2021, and the sound recording was copyrighted in 2021 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights are reserved worldwide. Duplication of copyrighted material for commercial use is strictly prohibited.