Going back home - not easy?!?

(John 4:43-54 NIV)
Returning home for a visit after decades away is awkward. You’ve changed. Your friends seem to have changed. Why is it so hard to pick up where you left off? Why is it sometimes discouraging when you share what Christ has done in your life, but they don’t seem to “get it!

Jesus returned to his home region of Galilee. In verse 43, John recalls that Jesus had talked about the awkward nature of returning home – a prophet has no honor in his own country. Why is that? On the surface, things appear fine. When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they had also been there. Jesus’ reputation was preceding him. Yet, he had stated that a prophet had no honor in his own country.

Three explanations of what Jesus may have meant:

First, people in our hometown or region may be familiar with us or our family. It has been said (Mark Twain, Shakespeare, Aesop, Apuleius) that “familiarity breeds contempt.” Having seen us grow up or in knowing our family, they may ask, what’s so special that I should hear from you.

Second, significant occurrences may be rare in our hometown or region. We seem to go to both extremes on this one. I’m amazed at how many people vote for a presidential candidate simply because he is from their state – one extreme. Nathaniel replied to Philip when he heard of Jesus of Nazareth, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” – the other extreme.

In Jesus’ case, the remainder of the passage gives us another reason that is perhaps more plausible for him. The townspeople wanted something from him – so much so, that they missed his true purpose for coming. As he returned to Cana where he had attended a wedding and turned water into wine, a royal official approached him on behalf of his sick son. Jesus’ response reveals their self-centered perspective, “Unless you people see miraculous signs and wonders, you will never believe.” At this point, people were following Jesus because of what he could “do” for them, not because of "who” he was. Fortunately, for this official, he ultimately saw the pieces fit together and understood, “So he and all his house-hold believed.”

As believers and seekers, we should be careful not to allow our familiarity with Jesus to cause us to become complacent. Our Savior is the King of Kings, and Lord of Lords; worthy is the Lamb that was slain. Because of who he is, we should seek to know him more intimately, and to pursue to know his desires for us, so that we might live a life devoted to him.