Matthew 13:53-58
A Prophet Without Honor
53When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. 54Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. "Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?" they asked. 55"Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't his mother's name Mary, and aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? 56Aren't all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?" 57And they took offense at him.
But Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown and in his own house is a prophet without honor."
58And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
Matthew 21:21-22
Faith with No Doubt
21Jesus replied, "I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, 'Go, throw yourself into the sea,' and it will be done. 22If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer."
St. Matthew tells us about Jesus in His hometown...The local people recognize Him...They know He is the carpenter's Son...His father is Joseph and His mother is Mary...Many of these local people would have known Jesus since He was a little boy...So, they from their human standpoint, doubt that He was the Messiah...For the most part, Jesus is rejected in Nazareth, His hometown...On the other hand, He was One of them...His local friends and acquaintances could have respected His newly found ministry as something great and something they could get behind and assist His ministry, after all they knew Him best...However, they refused this idea, and went on to reject Him...
Man does doubt many things, it seems when it comes to old facts are harder to believe than current facts...But here the local people know Jesus and deny Him on current events...God allows those who doubt Him, or do not believe in Him to have fewer miracles, and a weaker faith...God limits Himself to people who do not pray, communicate, and believe in Him...Matthew writes that "And He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith"...
Later in chapter twenty one and verses twenty one and twenty two, St. Matthew tells us that Jesus says that if we have faith and do not doubt we can do and have miracles...If we believe, we will receive what we ask for in prayer...Jesus had this kind of faith...
If we want to receive the Holy Spirit, there is a connection in how we live and what we believe...If we believe in the Father, and believe He sent His Son then we have a chance for miracles...I say chance, because God has a plan for each one of us and He can intervene at anytime and at any place...We do get closer to Him...I actually think our Father is intervening for us everyday...He is so graceful much of our lives, which is repetitive and can be the same day in, day out...God is there, is here all the time...Immanuel means God with us...Immanuel, His Son, Jesus tells us that He does want to give us signs and constantly be doing miracles...He wants our faith to be in the Father...He wants us to believe in the Father...The more we do these things (have stronger faith and stronger belief) the closer we get to the Father...We learn by reading about the hometown people their closeness to God...Their belief was why they were not as close to the Father and Son as they could have been...When we limit our faith, we limit the amount He is in our lives...
Jesus teaches us, faith heals...Jesus tells some (He has healed) your faith has healed you...Praying once a week or praying when we are in trouble and need the Father is a way to communicate with Him...But it is limiting...Jesus constantly taught His disciples and His followers that, we need to have the Father in our lives all the time, not just when we are in trouble...The disciples, it seems realized this after Jesus was resurrected...They then knew that Jesus was who He said He was...
If we want God to be expansive and a large part of our lives we must believe and have faith everyday, all the time...The faith believers have in the Father, is that He is the living God and He is with us everyday...He can heal and do miracles and be present in our lives...The more we sincerely seek the Father and the Son, the more the Father and Son will be in our lives...The more then we will have a rewarding life, and the more we can move mountains and do impossible things in our lives...The more things we can and will be able to do...Jesus' belief in the Father was so strong, that He knew His Father would raise Him from the dead...So as we go throughout our days, we must try to increase the amount of time we spend with the Father and Son, so we can get closer to the Father...Jesus is our model of faith...God was completely in Jesus' life...
We should seek and communicate with God everyday and all the time...