Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.
4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. Mark 6:1-6 (NKJV)
There always seemed to be an opposition present whenever Jesus preached. Even His own family and hometown rejected Him, leading Him to say that a prophet is without honour in His own hometown. We have to be careful not to quench or to grieve the Holy Spirit. This can happen when we scorn the people through whom God uses to manifest His glory. This is actually jealousy and it was seen when Jesus taught. Indeed, the Pharisees said: “Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary?” This was a direct insult, as usually, a child was affiliated with his father. Here, the Pharisees are alluding to Christ’s birth and suggesting that He is illegitimate by affiliating Him with His mother. Jesus could not do great miracles among His own people because of their attitude towards Him.
The Bible exhorts us to honour those in authority, including our parents. Examples of this are seen in Ephesians 6:2 and Romans 13:1. When we honour God, we will honour each other. We lack a reverential fear of God in the world today and as a result, we dishonour others as well. When we dishonour others, we are dishonouring God, for we are all made in His image.
In 1 Peter 2:17, Peter tells us to love all people, including the family of believers, and to honour the king. We are supposed to honour everyone. In 1 Timothy 5:17, the Bible speaks of rendering double honour to those who preach the gospel. We see a lot of dishonouring of parents in the natural and the spiritual. Romans 10:12 beseeches us to honour others above ourselves. The Church has become like the world where we more easily honour those whom we believe to be important. Only the Holy Spirit can work in us and allow us to honour everyone. We cannot give honour naturally – it is a work of the Holy Spirit. Honour taught in the Bible is far different from that taught in the world. Proverbs 16:5 tells us that everyone proud in heart is an abomination to the Lord.
We honour because it is a command from God. We are supposed to speak well of each other; to be there for each other. One of the core values of New Dimensions Ministries is to respect/honour others, especially those in authority over us. We are all sons in God’s kingdom; there is no hierarchy. However, those who spend time in God’s presence, will get a response from Him and therefore, it can look like favouritism on His part.
