I know I’m talking about the people who expected someone. That’s kind of the theme of advent after all. People expecting a deliverer, people expecting the return of a deliverer. But it’s impossible to skip over a group of people who were expecting things the worg way.
Jesus came home for a visit. He reads from Isaiah (see the past few posts). A simple phrase is recorded. And everyone is impressed at how well he speaks. And then they say, “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?”
It is impossible to hear the tone of voice they used. It’s impossible to know exactly what they meant. However, Jesus’ response may show us that their question was loaded. They ask about his dad, and he talks about prophets being rejected at home.
It’s hard to come home. Everyone goes back to being 12 at home. Implied in the conversation is a sense that they could believe Jesus was really the miracle guy they had been hearing about. Implied is the sense that he should have been doing something for them for all these years. Implied is that they could have saved the life, the sight, the job of Aunt Helen and Uncle Dave and Cousin Frank. He could have been a contender right here at home.
And their response to his response is telling. They get angry. They want to kill him.
When people get incredible angry about an observation, it’s a good sign that they know it’s true and that they don’t like the truth.
And these people weren’t happy that Jesus wasn’t the son of the carpenter they thought he was. That Jesus they could handle. This Jesus, rabbi, miracle worker, grown up, unexpected, uncontrollable, unlimited, this Jesus they couldn’t handle.
And that, of course, is the point of being God.
