Jesus departed from there and came to his native place, accompanied by his disciples. When the sabbath came he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What kind of wisdom has been given him? What mighty deeds are wrought by his hands! Is he not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and the brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his native place and among his own kin and in his own house.” So he was not able to perform any mighty deed there, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Gospel Trivia:
The usual curious question in this gospel passage is whether Jesus had siblings. Let's answer this question before getting to the main message of this account.
Did Jesus have brothers and sisters? Early and contemporary Catholic scholars explain this verse as follows:
- the Greek word for brother (adelphios) had a broad application beyond blood siblings, and can include a cousin, and even those especially closed to one's family, as in our contemporary use of the word "brother" and "sister" for close church members;
- the "children of Mary" refer to children of Mary of Clopas, Jesus' aunt and his mother's sister, making them cousins;
- two of the brothers mentioned here -- James and Joses -- are again mentioned in Mark 15:40 with specific reference to "Mary the mother of the younger James and of Joses, and Salome". Then, like now, "Mary" was quite a common name.
- these siblings were children of Joseph from a previous marriage; note that Joseph is mentioned only in the birth narrative, suggesting that he was much older and had died.
Now, to the main message of the gospel:
This account follows a series of miracle accounts from the previous Sundays: the cure of Jarius' daughter, the calming of the sea, and cure of the hemorrhaging woman. Followers then flock to him, amazed at his power and persuasiveness.
And now, this:
- Jesus is rejected and insulted in his native place. Being referred to as the "son of Mary" instead of the customary "son of Joseph" is considered a low blow;
- the verse "Jesus was not able to perform any mighty deed" does not suggest a limitation in his power or that there is a prerequisite link between faith and miracle (as in faith healing); but instead to the meaninglessness of performing a miracle amidst a crowd of skeptical, non-believers.
This passage is the antithesis of the previous accounts: without faith, there are no miracles. Its purpose is likely to address and encourage the early evangelizers who expectedly met more than a few of the unavoidable failures and rejections as they spread the Christian faith.
When we are ridiculed by what we believe (whether our faith or our principles of justice and fair play), we hang on our faith that Jesus' intent shall prevail.
References:
- Nil Guillemette, SJ, A Kingdom for All (Manila: St. Paul Publications, 1988), p. 49.
- Raymond E. Brown et al (eds), The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 1990), page 608.
- http://www.uscatholic.org/articles/201312/did-jesus-have-brothers-and-sisters-28224#sthash.8s3QvSem.dpuf
- http://www.catholic.com/blog/matt-fradd/jesus-had-brothers
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