Matthew 13:57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to the, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”
People can be a very unpredictable lot. We are fickle, changing our minds and moods at the drop of a hat. And in our easily offended, easily triggered culture, having a discussion is like walking into a mine field. You never know what is going to blow up in your face.
And the burden of avoiding the explosion is always placed in the lap of someone other than the one who gets offend. They have the “right” not to never be offended, or at least that is what they claim. The fatal flaw with this “right” is that communication between human beings will bring offense, especially when offense is defined as feeling uncomfortable with the subject matter.
But this unpredictable, fickle attitude is nothing new. Jesus even faced this with those who were most familiar with Him. When he went back to his home town, his reception was the same as it had been other places. People were amazed at his wisdom and the miracles he performed.
They heard Jesus speak and saw Him act, and they couldn’t dispute the results. But then it happened. They began to take offense. We don’t know why specifically they became offended, just that they did.
We do know that when they saw and heard Jesus, they were amazed. And then when they considered His family they changed their minds. Sometimes great leaders have families that don’t seem to fit!
They looked at Jesus’ family and at Jesus Himself and they saw a mismatch. How could this teaching and these miracles come from this family? It seems as though Jesus family was not a seedbed of wisdom and miracles. It was a family of fairly normal people, much like yours and mine.
There seems to always be a mismatch between the family that raised a prophet and the prophet himself. That is because the role of prophet is something not born in a family, but in the heart of God and in the response of an individual. The LORD needs a spokesperson, and He empowers those who are willing to be different than the crowd in word and deed.
That means that prophets can come from any background. Some of the best spokespeople for the LORD come from the least likely backgrounds. Drug addicts, prostitutes, thieves, liars, drunks, violent. These are perfect prophets when they have been changed by the LORD. Then everyone knows something miraculous has happened and they see God’s power at work.
Perhaps our professional status given to our pastors has led to a lack of power. Those who have been radically changed by the Gospel have a platform from which to speak that a professionally trained person doesn’t have: a life visibly transformed. The Holiness movement of the past emphasized the changed life and the power of God to use that changed person to reach others.
Perhaps it is time to allow those changed individuals to speak.
The Arnold Journey 