He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

Matthew 13:47-14:12 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a dragnet cast into the sea, and gathering fish of every kind; ⁴⁸ and when it was filled, they drew it up on the beach; and they sat down and gathered the good fish into containers, but the bad they threw away. ⁴⁹ So it will be at the end of the age; the angels will come forth and take out the wicked from among the righteous, ⁵⁰ and will throw them into the furnace of fire; in that place there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

⁵¹ “Have you understood all these things?” They said to Him, “Yes.” ⁵² And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure things new and old.”

⁵³ When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. ⁵⁴ He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? ⁵⁵ Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” ⁵⁸ And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.

14 At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the news about Jesus, ² and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead, and that is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

³ For when Herod had John arrested, he bound him and put him in prison because of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip. ⁴ For John had been saying to him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” ⁵ Although Herod wanted to put him to death, he feared the crowd, because they regarded John as a prophet.

⁶ But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod, ⁷ so much that he promised with an oath to give her whatever she asked. ⁸ Having been prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.” ⁹ Although he was grieved, the king commanded it to be given because of his oaths, and because of his dinner guests. ¹⁰ He sent and had John beheaded in the prison. ¹¹ And his head was brought on a platter and given to the girl, and she brought it to her mother. ¹² His disciples came and took away the body and buried it; and they went and reported to Jesus.

In today’s text it says:  When Jesus had finished these parables, He departed from there. He came to His hometown and began teaching them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished, and said, “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers? Is not this the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary, and His brothers, James and Joseph and Simon and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” And He did not do many miracles there because of their unbelief.   Perhaps much of the church, like those from Jesus home town, has become too familiar with Him. Perhaps we don’t see many miracles today because we know Jesus as a man rather than as the almighty King of Kings. We can’t walk with Him as the disciples did, because He has ascended and sits at the right hand of the Father. Hebrews 4:16 says:  Let us come boldly to the throne of our gracious God. There we will receive his mercy, and we will find grace to help us when we need it most.  To see Jesus, we must see Him in the heavenly realm. Perhaps we have so believed that we can come boldly to the throne of grace that we have lost our reverence and awe of God. If we think God is like us, how can we have faith that He can do what we can’t? How can we have faith for the miracles we need? We need to see and know God as he is in heaven, holy and omnipotent, then we can understand why Jesus taught us to pray saying: Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. If we want the realities of heaven here on earth, we need to know the God of heaven, the one in whose presence people fall to their knees.   

In Matthew 17:20 Jesus says:  Truly I say to you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.  It is not the size of our faith which limits us. Nothing will be impossible if we have just a small amount of faith in the great big omnipotent God in heaven. In John 14:12-14 Jesus says: Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do, he will do also; and greater works than these he will do; because I go to the Father. Whatever you ask in My name, that will I do, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask Me anything in My name, I will do it.  We cannot perform miracles; it’s not our great faith that brings the realities of heaven to earth. It is Jesus Himself, sitting at the right hand of God who does the great works for us and through us. Because of God’s grace, we can come boldly into His presence to receive help for whatever we need. We should not though come brashly. Every description of God in heaven recorded in scripture tells us we should be prepared to be in awe of His glory and splendor. Our confidence is not in ourselves, but rather in His grace.  

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit, may I truly know You as You are. May I know Your awesome glory. When I come to You, may I come boldly yet reverently. May my faith be increased as I see Your splendor. May my faith not be limited to what is known on earth, but rather may I believe and receive form Your infinite resources in heaven. May Your kingdom come and Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Amen.