Matthew 13:58: “And he did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.”
Jesus had been healing people, doing miracles, teaching in parables, instructing his disciples, and then returned to Nazareth, where he had grown up. But the people in His hometown rejected Him. They still didn’t accept Him as the Messiah, as the Christ. We all shake our heads and don’t understand how this could be – despite all the miracles Jesus had done? The people of Nazareth walked by sight and not by faith and rejected believing in Jesus again, so that was Jesus’ final visit to Nazareth. They took Jesus for granted and only saw Him as the carpenter’s son. He astonished them and yet their hearts remained the same – unmoved. Jesus knows the feeling of rejection.
Jesus did few miracles in His hometown “because of their unbelief.” The NIV says it was “because of their lack of faith.” Lack of faith blinds us to the truth found in God’s Word and robs us of hope. Unfulfilled dreams and expectations can cause despair and disillusionment, and that is just the temptation that Satan tries to distract us by within our Christian walk of faith.
Jesus later healed an epileptic boy with a demon, in Matthew 17:14ff. The disciples had tried to heal him but were unsuccessful. But Jesus did it. These disciples asked Jesus why they couldn’t cast it out? Jesus answered in verse 20: “Because of your little faith. For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.”
A mustard seed is tiny. It is like a little dot – like the size of a grain. Think of having a small amount of faith, even the size of a period on paper at the end of a sentence, and give it to God to enlarge, grow, and get planted into something so much larger than you can even imagine, despite any circumstance.
Are you in need of more faith today? Are you trying to understand God’s sovereignty in the midst of your pain? Are you struggling with being blinded by lack of faith because you can’t see God working in your situation? Ask God to increase your faith and then keep your eyes on the Lord and listen for His voice to speak to you as you keep reading the Word day by day with endurance and perseverance. Trust in God no matter what. Follow Psalm 46:10: “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Listen to Mercy Me Even If (Official Lyric Video) YouTube and MercyMe – “Even If” Live with Bart Millard Testimony – Lead Singer.