The Unwritten Gospel ~ Mt.13:53-58

Ibelieve that the saddest verse in the Bible is found in Mt. 13:58, “And He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” This sad verse is found at the end of a passage that describes Jesus returning to visit His hometown of Nazareth. You have undoubtedly heard the old saying, “familiarity breeds contempt.” That phrase, while not perfect, is a pretty good description of what happened when Jesus returned to His hometown. the reports about Jesus, but they did square with what they already knew about him. What I am saying is this, “They could not see what could be, because they were blinded by what had been.” The town's folk had reached back into their memories and into the ways they had already characterized Jesus. They said things like, “Isn't this the carpenter's son? Isn't His mother Mary? Aren't his brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?” In their minds it was something like, “Hey, we knew you when you were a kid playing in the street. Don't try to tell us you are some kind of messiah.”

Perhaps we should not be too harsh on the town's folk; we likely would have reacted the same way. Even today entrepreneurs, inventors, and innovators are faced with the almost impossible task of helping people see things in ways they have never imagined them before. Only a rare few have had the insight required to imagine automobiles, airplanes, and smartphones, and when they did, they were doubted also. In the town of Nazareth and in the town of Starkville, people are blinded to what could be by what is. That makes accepting change very difficult.

The thing that has really moved me about this text is that last verse of Matthew thirteen; “And He did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” Do you see my point? There are unwritten paragraphs here in chapter thirteen; it ended before it should have.

“What's missing,” you might ask? I'm not positive.