For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.
The saying declares that a prophet has no honor in his own country. Those who knew Jesus judged him by his humble birth, plain clothing, and daily labor instead of recognizing his sinless character. That judgment measured him by worldly standards and missed his true worth. The people of Nazareth did not believe in him.
The verse means people are naturally reluctant to acknowledge remarkable admirable growth in one who has lived quietly among them and whom they have known intimately since childhood, while they may become wildly excited over the claims of a stranger and adventurer. Jesus had spent his youth and early manhood at Nazareth. At Nazareth he announced himself in the synagogue as the Anointed One and was received unfavorably. Because of that unfavorable reception at Nazareth, he left to preach where people would listen and receive his message.
He spoke the saying to his disciples as he left Samaria after two days to continue to Galilee. For that reason he did not visit Nazareth on his way to Cana. He deliberately did not stay at Nazareth but sought more fruitful fields where ears would listen and hearts would receive.
The saying stands in the setting of his return from Judea to Cana in Galilee, where news of his arrival, works, and miracles spread throughout Galilee and the region round about and made him known and drew faith in his power to heal. In that setting a father from Capernaum sought him because he believed he could heal his son. In that setting a Jewish nobleman from Capernaum sought him to heal his dying son, showing that reports of his miracles made him known in Galilee even where the saying about no honor is left unexplained. A man of honor from Capernaum with a dying son believed that the one who had changed water into wine and driven the desecrators from the temple could restore his son even from the brink of the grave, so he left home for Cana to plead in person for him to come to his son's bedside.
The saying declares that a prophet has no honor in his own country. Those who knew Jesus judged him by his humble birth, plain clothing, and daily labor instead of recognizing his sinless character. That judgment measured him by worldly standards and missed his true worth. The people of Nazareth did not believe in him.
The verse means people are naturally reluctant to acknowledge remarkable admirable growth in one who has lived quietly among them and whom they have known intimately since childhood, while they may become wildly excited over the claims of a stranger and adventurer. Jesus had spent his youth and early manhood at Nazareth. At Nazareth he announced himself in the synagogue as the Anointed One and was received unfavorably. Because of that unfavorable reception at Nazareth, he left to preach where people would listen and receive his message.
He spoke the saying to his disciples as he left Samaria after two days to continue to Galilee. For that reason he did not visit Nazareth on his way to Cana. He deliberately did not stay at Nazareth but sought more fruitful fields where ears would listen and hearts would receive.
The saying stands in the setting of his return from Judea to Cana in Galilee, where news of his arrival, works, and miracles spread throughout Galilee and the region round about and made him known and drew faith in his power to heal. In that setting a father from Capernaum sought him because he believed he could heal his son. In that setting a Jewish nobleman from Capernaum sought him to heal his dying son, showing that reports of his miracles made him known in Galilee even where the saying about no honor is left unexplained. A man of honor from Capernaum with a dying son believed that the one who had changed water into wine and driven the desecrators from the temple could restore his son even from the brink of the grave, so he left home for Cana to plead in person for him to come to his son's bedside.