GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 6:4
Without Honor
Frank Sinatra was born in Hoboken, New Jersey, in a four-story cold-water tenement building, which was destroyed by fire in the 1960s. As an only child, he said that he grew up on the “wrong” side of the tracks in a town where Italians were the underdogs of society. He sang in his high school glee club, but got his big break in 1937 when he and three instrumentalists won an award, and was later signed to sing with a popular orchestra. His friends claimed that he was always from Hoboken wherever he went. He visited his hometown during World War II, where he was booed for dodging military service. He was classified as 4-F, meaning he was not eligible for military service due to a perforated eardrum. Known for being sensitive, he did not visit his hometown again for ten years. He felt he was not without honor except in his hometown.
Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi, in a two-bedroom house built by his father and lit by a single light bulb in each room. In his early career, some locals were baffled by and dismissive of his style and disapproved of his dance moves. He was a hometown boy without honor. That changed later, of course.
Jesus went to visit his hometown along with his disciples. On the Sabbath he went to the synagogue, and the ruler of the synagogue gave him the opportunity to teach. His lesson amazed the congregation, and many wondered how a local carpenter could display such wisdom. After all, they had known him for thirty years; they knew his mother and siblings, and many probably had work completed by his father, Jesus himself and likely, his brothers. “And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own hometown, and among his relatives, and in his own family.’” (Mark 6:4)
There were many instances of prophets being rejected by their own family and city: Joseph’s own family sold him into slavery (Gen. 37:18-36), Elijah (1 Kings 19:1-3), Micaiah (1 Kings 22:8) and Jeremiah (Jer. 20:2) were all rejected by their neighbors. Throughout Galilee and in the region of Capernaum, Jesus received honor—but not in Nazareth, his hometown. He even indicated that his own family did not understand him—a situation that is still to be avoided today.
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