PROPHETS WITHOUT HONOR
OR
GALILEANS RECEIVE HIM
SUNDAY NOV. 25, 2018
Scripture To Consider:
“Now after the two days [of Jesus teaching in Samaria] He departed from there and went to Galilee. For Jesus Himself testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.”
“So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they also had gone to the feast.” John 4.43-45
Something To Consider:
After two days of preaching and teaching the Word of God, Jesus departed from Samaria. After two days of expounding the truth of God’s Word, Jesus went to Galilee. His spiritual siege on the city of Samaria had gone well. Many believed in Him because of His own Word. This is a most powerful concept for every leader in training to get a handle on. Preaching the Word of God brings results. Many of the Samaritans, many of those in the wilderness of Judea, and many of those in Galilee where Jesus went after leaving Samaria believed and received Him because of His own Word He spoke and taught.
This truth remains constant throughout the gospels. This truth remained constant and incredibly powerful throughout the early church in the book of Acts. The universal truth of the Word of God and the words of Christ continue to bring about spiritual rebirth in hungry hearts and thirsty lives in every country and in every culture. And yet, in many circles of established religion today, so-called religious leaders attempt to replace the power of Scripture with the powerless programs of man and worldly attractions. God has established the principle of preaching Christ with powerful positive results.
What will we, as leaders in training, choose to be our method and means of our furthering the accomplishing of the great evangelical mandate? The written record of Scripture speaks for itself! Will we speak for the written record of Scripture? Paul, writing to the Roman church in chapter 1 of the book of Romans, in verse 16, declared, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ [why was Paul not ashamed], for it [the gospel of Christ] is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first, and also the Greek [or non-Jewish Gentiles].”
Paul followed up in verse 17 by stating, “For in it [in the gospel] the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’” And also, according to the apostle Paul, “Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.” But if the gospel is not preached and everything else but the gospel is communicated then the righteousness of God is not revealed. What is revealed is the feeding of the carnal flesh of man which spiritually profits no one, and yet, increases the number of deceived unbelievers and the financial giving of those who are deceived.
Something Else To Consider:
A prophet is one who proclaims the message of God. A true prophet of God contrary to popular belief does not maintain a mantle of mystery and intrigue that blankets him from morning till night. A prophet of God is a person God has prepared through much training in the classroom of the Holy Spirit, who speaks from the truth of God’s Word.
A prophet is a person steeped in Scripture. A prophet of God is a messenger carrying to others the message of God in every generation. And yet, according to Jesus, a prophet has no honor in his own familiar surroundings. How sad that we would neglect a true messenger of God simply because of their being well known to us.
In Matthew’s gospel chapter 13 beginning in verse 53, Matthew gives us an eye witness account of Jesus, the Word of God come in the flesh, God’s more than a messenger, being rejected in His own hometown of Nazareth. “Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?’”
Matthew concluded his eye witness account with these words, “So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.’ Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.” Even Jesus was rejected by those closest to Him.
John tells us in his opening statements in his gospel, that Jesus came to His own and His own did not receive Him! Have we been guilty of not receiving Jesus, or not receiving His instruction, or His divine leading and guiding us by way of His Holy Spirit? If so, there is nothing we can do about the past except to repent of it if needed and to learn whatever lesson we can from it.
Something More To Consider:
But true prophets are not altogether without honor. Jesus, who is more than a prophet, was honored and received by the Galilean people. Jesus in His sermon on the mount sheds light on a prophet like characteristic and practice in Matthew 6.6, by saying, “But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.”
Prophets therefore are not always without honor! Prophets are not always rejected, but must be spiritually prepared for rejection by the majority. We need only to look at Scripture to prove that point. For the most part, both Old and New Testament prophets were severely persecuted and rejected by the mainstream established religious groups. What makes us think a couple of thousand years would make any difference?
Therefore, are we willing to honor God by our honoring His Son Jesus, the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit of God? If so, God honors us with His gift of salvation, eternal life, and the precious presence of His Holy Spirit while alive here on planet earth. This presence of the Holy Spirit must not be taken for granted especially as we approach these last days of man’s rule on earth.
The day will come when the true prophet of God, and the true child of God, will be refused work, the ability to purchase food, transportation, access to his or her life savings, retirement benefits, and more, due to their refusing to take the mark of the beast.
That day is coming which will reveal the coming of the Antichrist and his one world government, one world monetary system, and one world false religious reign upon the earth. When that day comes and he is exposed to the world for who he is, the world will be taken by surprise and the so-called church right along with unbelievers. The day the Antichrist enters the yet to be built Jewish temple and causes the daily sacrifices to cease and claims himself to be God, the world will be overwhelmed with his chaos and forced control over their lives.
When faced with the decision to worship the beast or be killed comes, we better be prepared to meet our Lord and Savior by way of death. Otherwise, we will forfeit all that our heavenly Father has granted us by our rejection of Him, His Son, and His holy Word!
A Few Final Words:
True believers in Jesus should not seek the honor of man or the honor of the Antichrist or his evil representatives, thereby gaining the greater honor granted by God. “For Jesus testified that a prophet has no honor in his own country.” According to Deuteronomy 16.16, it was mandated by God that all Jewish males appear before the LORD at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feasts of Weeks, and the Feast of Tabernacles, and they were not to come empty handed. They were to bring an offering according to the blessing of the Lord!
There is a future feast, a marriage supper of the Lamb that all true enduring to the end believers in Jesus have been invited to attend. The question is will we honor Jesus by our making sure of our attendance at that feast of all feasts? Will we honor Christ’s legacy by our maintaining an up to date personal relationship with Jesus, God the Father, and the Holy Spirit? Will we secure a place at that table by our faithful observing of all things that Jesus has taught, or just those things that do not contradict our church traditions? There is much at stake and we have been adequately warned!
Prayer:
Our Father in heaven, may we desire the honor that comes from You. May we learn to humble ourselves in the privacy of Your presence. In Him Always, Amen!
According to Jesus 