Sermon for Sunday, May 3rd, 2026 at First Presbyterian Church at Unionville, NY (BPC)
Old Testament Reading:
[Psalm 27:10-14 ESV] 10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the LORD will take me in. 11 Teach me your way, O LORD, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies. 12 Give me not up to the will of my adversaries; for false witnesses have risen against me, and they breathe out violence. 13 I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! 14 Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
New Testament Reading:
[1 Peter 2:4-10 ESV] 4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 6 For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” 7 So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. 9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. 10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
Gospel Reading:
[John 15:18-25 ESV] 18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. 19 If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. 20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours. 21 But all these things they will do to you on account of my name, because they do not know him who sent me. 22 If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have been guilty of sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father also. 24 If I had not done among them the works that no one else did, they would not be guilty of sin, but now they have seen and hated both me and my Father. 25 But the word that is written in their Law must be fulfilled: ‘They hated me without a cause.’
Sermon Text:
[Matthew 13:53-58 ESV] 53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there, 54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” 57 And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” 58 And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.
Introduction
Going back to your hometown can be an uncanny experience. Things change there. Buildings that once were, are now gone. New buildings are in their place. Some people are gone. Some remain. Many new people reside there.
And if you have been gone since you were a child, when you come back, they’ll still think of you as that child. It is not likely that you will be easily respected.
In Christian ministry, I don’t hardly know any pastors who are pastors in the towns they grew up in. That would be difficult.
Your hometown can be a wonderful place to go back to, but may not be the best place for success.
In this account from Matthew’s Gospel we now find Jesus going back to his hometown and facing difficulties there. In fact, his claims will there be REJECTED. We’ll see that this was the mistake of the people. And we’ll see how Jesus handled rejected. And finally, we’ll see what we can learn about handling rejection.
So we have Jesus “Rejected in his Hometown.” That is the title of the sermons this morning.
I. Jesus Rejected in His Hometown
53 And when Jesus had finished these parables, he went away from there,
From where? He went away from the Sea of Galilee, from Capernaum his home base. And Jesus goes back to his home town, the place where he grew up.
54 and coming to his hometown he taught them in their synagogue
Here Jesus is in his hometown, the place where previously he was a child and where adults had authority over him, telling and teaching HIM. Now, HE TEACHES! He’s a man, an adult, but still a young man at something like 33 years old. Certainly not someone, who by age, would be considered an experienced elder or a prominent rabbi. We don’t know WHAT he taught exactly, but IT WAS IMPRESSIVE no doubt.
they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?
This man. To the people there, Jesus is a man. They know nothing of his divinity nor of his being the messiah. They recognize his wisdom and his mighty works (or miracles), but they don’t know where these things have come from. So,
they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these mighty works?
55 Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not his mother called Mary? And are not his brothers James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? 56 And are not all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?”
Here the family and familiarity of Jesus is referenced. He was known to them. His father – so it was supposed – had been a carpenter. His mother and siblings were specified. Incidentally, here it is debated between Protestants and Catholics over the nature of these “brothers.” Catholics have a doctrine of the PERPETUAL virginity of Mary necessitating that they understand these to be cousins, not brothers and sisters. And the words indeed could mean “male cousin” and “female cousin.” But look at the context. His father and mother are mentioned. It is his nuclear family that is in view; not his extended family. It is unnatural to think that these are cousins; they are his natural brothers and sisters, born to Mary and Joseph some time after the birth of Jesus.
But the familiarity of these things is then used to conclude in their incredulity. They can’t believe that Jesus, who is from among their own people, can have such “wisdom and mighty works.” They say “Where then did this man get all these things.”
Jesus didn’t study with the great Pharisees or have wealthy connections. He (so they thought) could not be the MESSIAH! So
“they took offense at him.”
Perhaps the people of Nazareth thought that Jesus had learned such wisdom from the “black arts;” from divination. This wouldn’t be the only time that someone claimed Jesus had a demon. When they happened, we remember, Jesus wisely pointed out the impossibility and absurdity of the suggestion, for a house divided against itself cannot stand. Jesus isn’t preaching truth and life and goodness by the power of evil. Nor did he get his knowledge from the Devil. If the people really thought through this – considering that Jesus did not have training yet had great wisdom – they would have made the proper conclusion: his wisdom is from GOD!
Instead “they took offense at him.” They rejected him.
II. Why was Jesus rejected?
Why did they take offense at him?
Why did they REJECT him?
Perhaps they figured that Jesus was not wise but arrogant. They could not reconcile his ordinary upbringing with his claims of being the Messiah.
And, perhaps it was insulting to think that a prophet had been sent to THEM! Aren’t prophets to be sent to unbelievers! (whether in Israel or outside?) The prophet’s Jonah and Nahum were sent to the unbelieving Assyrias asking for repentance. The prophets Amos and Hose warned the Northern Kingdom in its wealth and false security that destruction was coming from Assyria. And the prophets Isaiah and Jeremiah warning the “deaf and blind” of Israel that there was a coming destruction – that the Babylonians would destroy Jerusalem.
Now, a PROPHET (Jesus) is being sent to US in Nazareth? Are we not believers!
Instead of coming to that conclusion and repenting, the people of Nazareth say, “No, it is Jesus who is wrong.” And they take offense.
Ultimately, they don’t recognize his true nature, though they have no excuse. This is a microcosm (a small example of the larger pattern) of the Jews themselves and of the World not accepting Christ.
We hear about that in John’s Gospel
[John 1:10-11 ESV] 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
JESUS was rejected!
And then at the end of Matthew’s Gospel, the ultimate rejection
[Matthew 27:22-23 ESV] 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why? What evil has he done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let him be crucified!”
Jesus Christ, the Holy One of God! Our only hope. REJECTED! Can you believe it?
Yet all this rejection was predicted:
[Isaiah 53:3 ESV] 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Naturally, we are to learn OURSELVES NOT TO REJECT JESUS. Jesus said:[Matthew 11:6 ESV] 6 And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.” We ought to see him as a more than a carpenter’s son. If that’s all you think he was – a carpenter’s son, a great teacher – then you are mistaken, because Jesus was far more than that. He divinity is all over the pages of this Gospel of Matthew. And his influence in the world attests of his divine power, change lives THEN and NOW. So we ought not to reject Jesus. That much we learn here.
But also, I think we can learn about rejection itself, as we see Jesus’s response to rejection.
III. Jesus’s response to this rejection.
The rejection did not surprise Jesus. He knew of it from the Old Testament.
And you can see in his response that the rejection was not a surprise. It was natural, in a way.
But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.”
This is the core verse of the passage. The most memorable verse; the most quoted.
Jesus says “a prophet is NOT WITHOUT honor EXCEPT in his hometown.” That can be confusing because it is a sort of DOUBLE NEGATIVE. (I’m not criticizing Jesus’s grammar. The grammar is fine.) But it might be easier for us to understand if we say simply: “A prophet is without honor in his hometown.”
Jesus is saying a prophet has honor EVERYWHERE, but not his hometown.
So you can see that he expected this reaction in his own hometown because it is the case with prophets in general.
But where in the Old Testament do we see that? There is no explicit quote that he is taking, but there are examples of prophets not being accepted in their hometowns, especially with Jeremiah (11:21-23, 12:6) and Ezekiel (2:1-5).
There are some examples, but it more likely that Jesus is just referring to a general way of man to undervalue things that are common or from your hometown. As the saying goes “familiarity breeds contempt.” Neighbors and family member found it difficult to accept that someone they grew up with now has a message of divine authority.
I want to give an example of this idea of “undervaluing things locally.” In various places I’ve lived I’ll ask the locals – people who grew up there and spent their whole lives there – “where is a good hiking trail” and they might know the answer, but they’ve never hiked the trail themselves, because “they could do it anytime.” They undervalue it. Local stuff is “no big deal.” The greatest building or monument in your area is not one that you visit; that is for tourists! And so you undervalue it.
So Jesus is not surprised by the rejection.
But we should look more at his response to this rejection to see what we can learn.
This is the application: how are we to handle rejection?
Application: How are we to handle rejection.
And let no one say that this is not a PRACTICAl subject, for we all experience rejection. In fact, I believe the feeling of rejection is one of the strongest emotions that we face.
I have experienced numerous and great rejection. Some of you have had much worse. It is not something we desire by any means. Rejection is something we even avoid to an extreme. But it is part of life. You HAVE and you WILL experience rejection with family relationships, with romantic relationships, and in employment, among other avenues.
And we ought to know how to handle rejection well.
So we ought to look at how Jesus handled rejection.
What can we learn about how Jesus handle’s rejection?
1. Know that rejection happens.
Jesus understood that the cause of offense was nothing wrong that he had done.
Now we, unlike Christ, are sinners and we may experience rejection as a product of our ill-deeds and mistakes. We might call that a “necessary rejection” from which we are to learn to correct our behavior.
But there is also what I might call “an unfortunate rejection,” where you are rejected for no fault of your own. In such a case we are to realize, like Jesus, that “this is the way it is.”
This is not to be fatalistic, but to recognize that any protestation we might offer will be of no value.
When we are rejected and nothing we can do can change that situation, then we must accept it.
Jesus knew of his own rejection as prophesied in the Scriptures.
And we are also warned that we will have difficulty – even rejection – in this world.
Jesus tells is in Joh 15:18
[John 15:18 ESV] 18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
So as Jesus understood that he was rejected for no good purpose, we too should expect rejection at time in life even if the one who rejects us has no good reason for it.
We should expect (some) rejection. Rejection is part of the mission of Christ. And it is part of our lives.
Then,
II. Stay calm.
You don’t see Jesus getting worked up when his old townspeople reject him. He stays calm.
His response was not vicious.
He did not turn on them. Yes, he did fewer miracles therefore in their presence, but he still did miracles!
So we ought to learn, in times of rejection, no matter what emotions you are feeling, stay calm. Do not burn bridges. Do not respond in unkindness.
A commentator says of Jesus’s response to rejection:
It did not trouble his heart. It appears he was not much concerned at it; he despised the shame, Heb. 12:2. Instead of aggravating the affront, or expressing an offence at it, or returning such an answer to their foolish suggestions as they deserved, he mildly imputes it to the common humour of the children of men, to undervalue excellences that are cheap, and common, and home-bred.
III. Continue your mission elsewhere.
Then, continue your mission elsewhere.
Jesus’s mission is to preach the Gospel in many places.
Your mission, given to your by the urging of the Holy Spirit in you, might be to find a marriage partner, or to be accepted into a college, or to be employed by a certain type of firm.
Rejection is the reality that these choices are not your own to make. You’re only one-half of the decision making process.
And when the other half doesn’t agree, you must move on.
It is hard when you have you mind set on 1 person, 1 college, or 1 job. But where the rejection is final, it is of no value to have resentment and to dwell forever on the what-ifs. We must move on.
Jesus did so. Nazareth rejected him. But there were other people to proclaim the Gospel to. There were other cities in which to perform miracles. His mission continued.
So we ought to also. It is not easy. It is one of the hardest things imaginable, but we must continue on.
And finally, I want to conclude with this:
IV. Remember that Christ Experienced Rejection Too.
You’ve been rejected?
JESUS has been rejected.
He knows your pain.
Jesus did not live an easy life. He was a man of sorrows.
And, Hebrews 4:15 says
[Hebrews 4:15 ESV] 15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin.
Jesus (JESUS!) was rejected.
We are in good company when we experience the same.
So let us pray for the Lord’s comfort, even as we experience rejection in this world, knowing that IN CHRIST we are FULLY ACCEPTED by the Lord; That Christ was rejected that we might be forever embraced in the arms of the Lord.
Let us pray.