4 Coming into his own country, Jesus taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom, and these mighty works? 55 Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother called Mary, and his brothers, James, Joses, Simon, and Judas?‡ 56 Aren’t all of his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all of these things?” 57 They were offended by him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his own country, and in his own house.” 58 He didn’t do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Matthew 13:54-58 - World English Bible

I grew up in a large family (five sisters and two brothers) as a middle child, in the midst of a pecking order with unspoken expectations. I knew my siblings' “hot buttons” and they knew mine. I had my place in just another middle class family with “issues.” Of course, adult life, professionally and personally, raised me beyond that environment.

Jesus faced the same problems. Unlike modern America with its upward mobility, he lived in a static culture where place in the clan defined the person's identity. He grew up in a carpenter's family, so people expected him to live out his existence as a carpenter, get married, raise a family...

Jesus went down a different path. He created a mobile ministry. He traveled, taught in synagogues throughout the region and gained a reputation as a healer. His adult life “cut against the grain” of expectations. People he knew didn't know what to do with him, where to place in their lives, how to relate to him. So, they were scandalized, simply because they judged him.

They could not become disciples because they asked the wrong question. Instead of “Why did you change, Jesus?” it should have been, “How can you change us, Lord?”

Have you asked Jesus to change you this week?