Learning to be an honorless prophet as my Lord was.

“If a man walking after wind and falsehood
Had told lies and said,
‘I will speak out to you concerning wine and liquor,’
He would be spokesman to these people” (Micah 2:11 NASB).

If there was something that broke my Lord’s heart more than anything else, it was probably the indifferent and honorless response to His message from the people closest to Him. The Messiah had spent around 30 years living in Nazareth by the time He commenced His public ministry. The Nazarenes knew Him well; they knew His character and seriousness towards the things of God; His own family, brothers and sisters, must have perceived the holy behavior of His life. His relatives and extended family must have seen His grace, goodness and kindness. His neighbors surely benefited from His secular work (He was a tektōn- a person who works with wood, stone and metal). I sometimes wonder how many buildings and pieces of furniture Jesus constructed for the people of Nazareth, and how many things He fixed. I’m sure He was the best at His secular work, and the things He did, excellent in nature. Yet, with everything He did, including His spiritual ministry, He was always rejected and given no honor by His own people.

The Gospels indicate that Christ only visited His hometown, Nazareth, two times after starting His public ministry. The accounts are given in Matthew 13:53-58, Mark 6:1-6 and Luke 4:16-30. In one of those visits, He quotes the famous proverb that “[a] prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household” (Matthew 13:57 NASB). In the Luke account, the Nazarenes tried to kill Him when He revealed to be the long awaited Messiah the Scriptures had predicted. It is no wonder that He only went there to preach His message twice. In both instances, the people who knew Him best gave Him no honor, even though He proved to be more than a prophet.

Jesus Christ was not the only prophet that received no honor from His people. Before Him, a long line of prophets of the Old Testament era were granted no esteem from the Jewish nation. On the other hand and sadly to think about, they highly regarded and openly received corrupt, violent and deceitful false prophets. Micah, in the above verse, complained of this issue; he received no honor as a prophet of the LORD, his message of salvation was rejected and mocked at, and the listeners heeded the deceptions that liers and drunkards, posing as spokesmen from God, propagated throughout the land. Thousands of years have passed since the time of the prophets, yet everything is still the same. Wicked, false prophets are paid millions to disseminate their satanic lies, and what a following they possess!!! In contrast, true and honest men of God, who preach the very good news of Christ Jesus, are shunned, mocked at and persecuted.

I believe that there are two main reasons why I immensely struggle with being an honorless prophet: 1-because of the honesty of my heart, and 2-because the message I proclaim was given by God Incarnate Himself. My pain is always to let my people know that there is honesty in my life. I don’t proclaim the wisdom of God for financial gain. I don’t want money, not even one penny from anyone. I don’t want praise from men either. I only want to be accepted as a spokesman from God and for God. More importantly, I want the message of the Kingdom to be received by all because it is the only message that saves from eternal condemnation. This Gospel was first preached by the Son of God, and then He commanded us to do likewise. This message is not about me, my desires or dreams. This proclamation is about the true Holy Father in heaven forgiving trespasses and sins through the death, burial and resurrection of Messiah. It is a free message, and anyone can appropriate it by faith. Again, I say that it is very painful and soul-disturbing to be a prophet without honor among his family, friends and acquaintances. Yet my only consolation is to know that my Lord, His prophets and apostles also experienced this, that thousands of good, holy men have also experienced this, and that even when the great majority of people reject the Gospel of God, the elect will gladly receive it, so as to be saved. And that is enough.