In
Matthew 13, we see Jesus, the Storyteller. His stories are ordinary
stories - with an extraordinary message. The stories are human. The
message is divine. They are stories about people. They are stories about
God. Following on from Jesus' parables, we have His return to "His
hometown" (Matthew 13:54). The people were "amazed" at His teaching
(Matthew 13:54), They did not, however, look for a divine explanation.
They looked at Jesus in a human way. They said that He shouldn't be able
to speak like this. They denied Him the right to speak with divine
authority. They did not hear and receive what He said to them. What did
Jesus say about them? "The only place a prophet isn't honoured is in his
hometown and in his own house" (Matthew 13:57). What was the result of
their refusal to recognize Jesus' authority? His power was not released
among them: "He didn't work many miracles there because of their lack of
faith" (Matthew 13:58).
We read about Elijah in his high-points of strength - the triumph over the prophets of Baal (1 Kings 18:36-39) - and his low-points of weakness - he is ready to give up: “I’ve had enough now, Lord” (1 Kings 19:4). How did Elijah get into such a mess? He forgot this: “The Lord’s power was on Elijah” (1 Kings 18:46). In all life’s ups and downs, we must hold on to this: The Lord has sent His Spirit of power to live in us (2 Timothy 1:7). How are we to live in the power of the Spirit? We need to feed on the Word of God and drink in the Word of God (1 Kings 17:4). We need to pray that the Lord will send His showers of blessing (1 Kings 17:14). We are to live our life “according to the Word of the Lord” (1 Kings 17:16). For our life of faith to be strong in the Lord, we need to listen attentively to the preaching of God’s Word (1 Kings 17:24).
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