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51 Have you understood all these things?” They said to him, “We have.” 52 He said to them, “For this reason, every scribe trained in the Kingdom of Heaven is like a steward who brings out things old and new from his storeroom.”

53 When Jesus finished these parables, he left from there. 54 He came to his hometown and taught in its synagogue. The people were amazed and said, “Where did he get this wisdom and power? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not Mary his mother and James and Joseph and Simon and Jude his brothers? 56 Are not all his sisters here with us? Where did he get all this?” 57 And so they were not able to believe in him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown and among his own family.” 58 He did not perform many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

Comments

Mt is the most Hebraic of the four Gospels, and most emphasizes the continuity of Jesus’ message with the Hebrew Scriptures (e.g. 5.17-19). It is also the Gospel most concerned with the functioning of the Church (see chapter 18). Both of these themes are illustrated in 51-52, when Jesus makes clear that Christian teachers and preachers (“scribes trained in the Kingdom of Heaven”) are expected to “bring out things old” (i.e. the Law and the Prophets, the Old Testament) “and new” (the message of Jesus, the New Testament). Both sources are essential in the life of the Church.

In 53-58, Jesus receives a cold reception in his hometown of Nazareth. Because of their familiarity with him, the people are unable or unwilling to consider that Jesus might be something more than they expect. Because of their lack of faith, he performs few miracles, an idea that parallels what he had said in verses 10-15. In order for Jesus to have an effect in one’s life, it is necessary to have some initial trust in him (see 8.1-13 and 9.18-26).

For Jesus’ family, see the comments on 12.46-50. It is interesting to note the presence of Jesus’ sisters or female relatives in verse 56. In first century Palestine, the norms around synagogue attendance were still in flux. In some places women were not allowed to attend, in some places they attended and sat apart from the men, and in some places they attended in mixed general seating. This passage seems to imply that it was normal for women to attend synagogue in Nazareth.