Home, Cynical Home, Part 1

Today Chuck Swindoll reminds us. Jesus was not immune from physical exhaustion. We think of our Savior.

And certainly we should and he was that without question, but we tend to discount that he was also true humanity feelings you have longings that you have the exhaustion you feel after a full day or part week. He too felt exhaustion after a long ministry trip which Jesus performed a variety of stunning miracles and after he delivered a sequence of fascinating parables to his disciples it was time for Jesus to return home for rest and relaxation. His return to Nazareth was received. However, not with fanfare but sarcasm today on Insight for living.

Chuck Swindoll helps us understand what to make of this shocking rejection. One of their own where Matthew chapter 13, Chuck titled today's message home cynical and we begin with prayer.

You have brought your Bible today please turn to the first book in the New Testament, Matthew chapter 13 were looking at the last six verses 53 through 58. Matthew 1353 through 58. As is always true. Our desire is to realize how relevant God's word is God does not need any of us to make it relevant. It is relevant.

He uses some of us to help people realize just how relevant it is. In this case we have an interesting vignette, very brief. Just six verses in the life of Jesus where we find him in an unusual place in his ministry. And that's the place where he was reared a place he would call his hometown Nazareth of the reading for you from the new living translation versus 53 through 58 Matthew 13 when Jesus had finished telling the stories and illustrations. He left that part of the country.

He returned to Nazareth, his hometown when he taught there in the synagogue.

Everyone was amazed and said where does he get this wisdom and the power to do miracles. Then they scoffed. He's just the carpenter's son and we told Mary his mother and his brothers James Joseph, Simon, and Judas all of his sisters live right here among us.

Where did he learn all these things and they were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.

Then Jesus told them, a prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family and so he did.

Only a few miracles there because of their unbelief to study the book of Matthew Chuck Swindoll. Be sure to download his searching the Scriptures by going to inside world.or/study another message from Chuck called home, cynical home something fulfilling about returning home I suppose there's a little salmon in all of us that on occasion. We just have to go back to our place of roots and their relive some memories and revisit some familiar haunts and reflect on those faces that represent our lives in years gone by. We never get too old for this evening along in the strong athletes who enter into the Olympics and are blessed to win the bronze or the silver. Ideally, the goal shortly after that is occurred. They can't wait to do what to come home but the people at home, rejoice with them as they have earned the honor of that metal professional teams that win the championship in an away game celebrate on the court or on the field but there's nothing like taking the trophy whole and enjoying the parade in the familiar streets of that place they call home either going through a lengthy illness in the hospital.

If you've endured years as an inmate in a prison. When the time ends in your back on your feet.

There are words that come almost to every individual in that place just take me home, whether you're an astronaut that's going to the moon or a soldier. That's live through the combat, or a survivor that had been lost at sea is now rescued. There's no place like home. Something about it brings back those nostalgic feelings that can't be reproduced anywhere else. A number of years ago, our younger daughter and I took a trip from Southern California to Houston. We took our time will a great father daughter relationship in the car along the way. Spent the nights in quietly went through the day. Conversation. I remember the last day after we had spent the night in the hill country around Bernie.

Perhaps Kerrville. It was where we have breakfast. We we struck out not that many miles to Houston. We actually we got El Paso. We thought we were almost there of boy will oversee electoral test anyway were on the way to Houston.

Our destination and hurt type AA father has one goal in mind get to Houston leave here go there.

She's looking at a map and she says daddy LO which means nothing to you this way. I was born and she remembered my talking about it in the road.

She's… We can only Journal we get on Dort Highway 50 and Isa 90 going to use Jesus daddy let's go down is not that far away look numbered up the thinking of the miles is okay okay she turned on the charm and we went to Ocampo and I remember when we got in the city limits have been there since I was a I was a kid city limits city" city limits about 10,000 hundred 51. She's very quiet as we drive through the streets. I try to find the norm at a theater. It's not there anymore. It was there when the Earth's crust pool but now has been that many years it's been taken away Ford's theater wasn't there red Helmer sex pharmacy wasn't there. I've never read Helmer sex pharmacy marble counters, my brother, my sister and I still on the counter in our silk pajamas singing right in the Fuehrer's face was one of the great songs of yesteryear. We sang for a double-dip ice cream cone. But Helmer sex pharmacy was gone, as it will maybe there's one place is still stand, so we took a turn and I did my best to navigate a store. I thought it might be.

Sure enough, there it was a little garage apartment sort of leaning as a result of the prevailing Gulf Coast wins and she is or was this and I said what Colleen's were your daddy was born, same bad Rob was conceived. I was born right there. My dad used to say that my mother never liked it that he would tell people that it was true. All three of us kids right there and she sat there in silence and looked and I saw the missed come over us. I was home we turned and went down a couple blocks and came to a rather big white two-story house where my grandmother and granddaddy had lived all of my childhood growing up in a big porch outfront was swing on the porch and I pulled up, and as this is where granddaddy Lundy mumbled Monday lived for you. Daddy your aunt and uncle played on the front porch. If you listen closely you can almost hear the kids running up and down porch and as she looked, and I look, it occurred to me that the words of the great theologian Waylon Jennings that seen splintered wood rusty chains. This will front porch swing remains a pendulum of memories swinging back and forth on a summer breeze so you know, church hymns and nursery rhymes from the days way back before my time with a little child upon my knee sing in every sweet word back to me like a forehead, to get back where I started from the child's wisdom passing time singing old church hymns nursery rhyme. Nothing quite like home. Maybe Jesus felt the urge at this tough time in his life and ministry. All he is a grown man in his early 30s, but life is now live at a nonstop doubletime level pressure isn't going away.

The crowds of his followers is there enlarging and he is doing a wonderful work among them. He he is healing the sick, even though a paralyzed hand. He gave life to it goes with demons, he delivers them and and and and those who are hungry, he feeds them in his ministry is is just packed with people and he sees in their faces. There there there need for rest. He says to them. On one occasion come to me all who are weary and heavy laden, you who are burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, you shall find rest for your soul. My yoke is easy, my burden is light. How they must've come. Sometimes by the thousands. If you've ever ministered to people in large numbers and you've done it day after day week after week.

You know the meaning of the word exhaustion is training you love the people and yet those needs never end and are always those expectations are always greater than the ability to supply, except in this case he could meet whatever the need, but it drain him of his energy now on top of all of that, there were those who despised him, never doubted.

Even when he is done no wrong. They found wrong when he and his disciples a grain on the Sabbath. They found fault in that though it wasn't breaking the law. He confronted them and he refused to be intimidated by that also is energy draining and then they had enough. According to Matthew 12 and verse 14. They called a meeting and they plotted how to kill him know if you have ever been stalked but I know what it's like some of you may know that anyone ever wanted to but they did him as pressure.

Every move he made, they worked against him every motive. The question every action they criticize more and more energy drain more and more, he cast out the demons and and along came the Pharisees and these doing out of the power of Satan. How blasphemous, but they never let up.

Finally he may have side around sunset when evening and thought nothing will go home for a while fact that that seems to be the way we get into the story.

At the end of Matthew 13 when Jesus had finished telling the stories and illustrations.

He left that part of the country and the return to Nazareth hometown stopped there. Sounds pretty idyllic to most of us who live in a busy city for this traffic and traffic lights. Further, or deadlines and demands that seem never to end going back home. Sounds like a great idea.

What you may not know is that it's about 38, 40 miles away from their end and the terrain it is uphill and it is a rugged Road. You wonder what he and the disciples talked about along the way and out under the night they spent under the stars wonder what he told them as they were going to sleep in the back of your Bible you will find a map that smart ministry of Jesus. The ministry of Jesus, you're at the right map when your map shows two bodies of water. Aside from the great see on the left the Mediterranean when you're into Israel you will see to the north, the Sea of Galilee oval-shaped and from there the trickling River Jordan down into the graders larger. See the Dead Sea that goes nowhere. Which is why it has its name back to Galilee. Look in the northern shore of Galilee and put your finger on Capernaum, no doubt. That's where he is the end of Matthew 13 when he decides to leave and go outside the region. Now trace your way with your finger to the northwest. For you who were geographically challenged down a little and to the left and you will see in the lower Galilean region. Nazareth. As obscure as Ocampo in Texas, but there it was home when I come to a moment like this. I think it's helpful to pause and let my mind run free. We think of our Savior. And certainly we should is undiminished deity and he was that without question, but we tend to to discount that he was also true humanity feelings you have longings that you have heated the exhaustion you feel after a full day or packed week, or a series of weeks he too felt exhaustion. So he took the journey they walked. Of course, about a two day walk live finally came to that little sign that says Nazareth maybe didn't mean as much to the disciples as it did to him because it was there he had spent almost 30 years of his life working in Joseph's carpenter shop. It was there he went to school in the synagogue. It was there he met the neighbors and they knew him. It was there. Mary had her other children, four boys, and other a number of girls were not told how many or ever told her names was a big family lived in this little place and all the things you went through. He went through was there. He played with his buddies. It was there that his mom called him to suffer was there.

His dad bristled when it got dark. It was there that he earned a living. I'm sure Bill fine furniture and very comfortable yoke for oxen, perhaps even cabinets for his brothers and sisters lived on taking my time here because I want you to feel what the people of Nazareth felt easy to forget all Nazareth and it's easy to forget all of the memories that surrounded them. There several years ago I was buying a car. And while the paperwork was being done I said in the little office of the salesman. I've never known before and haven't seen them since. But while we were together you strike up conversation is all of you know when I knew it was from another country and he said actually I'm from the Middle East.

I am from a little town Nazareth never see a name carved into a tree name Jesus seen said name was never heard of. So we had a chance to get a little better was a great talk we had as he learned a great deal about the one who also was reared where he was.

It's there. Jesus formed his earliest impressions about life. It was their life made up its mind for him. We rarely think of Jesus's human term reared as a young boy in the village of Nazareth and later in his life. Jesus would come home to this place for rest were even his own would reject him. You're listening to Insight for living Chuck Swindoll titled today's message home, cynical home will hear an important closing comment from Chuck just a moment and to learn more about this ministry. Please visit us online@insightworld.org well even though the world appears to be making a comeback in terms of the pandemic that swept across the globe, the hardship and damages cause is far from over, and most of us have stories to tell that include our occupation, our families, and even our health. For this reason, we handpick one of Chuck Swindoll's devotional books that may be an encouragement to you, a family member or someone in your circle of friends. I'm referring to Chuck's encouraging book called finding God when the world's on fire in his book Chuck shows us how to replace our worries with courage as we allow the truth of God's word to fall onto fertile soil and you can purchase a copy right now by going to Insight.org/offer again.

It's called finding God when the world's on fire, which I just a little over a year ago, our staff it Insight for living, huddled together, trying to figure out how to navigate through the global pandemic.

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