A PROPHET WITHOUT HONOUR (Matt.13:57)

An Old Testament prophet was a proclaimer of a divine message to the people of God and such was the Lord Jesus, as He tacitly implied in Matt.13:57 and as Peter testified in Acts 3:22-23.

The Jews had a history of persecuting and killing the prophets, Matt.21:37, Acts 7:52, because they did not like the divine messages they brought.

The Lord Jesus came to them with a message of rebuke, Matt.23, and of enlightenment, John 8:12. The Jews had corrupted the Oracles of God, the O.T. Scriptures, and the Lord was in their midst to teach them the intrinsic spirituality of God’s Word, but in the event they preferred their tradition.

He spoke words that were spirit and life, John 6:63, with the view to revealing the spiritual nature of the law but they had not ears to hear. His words were the spiritual language of heaven but they knew not the language.

In common with all the prophets who preceded Him He was despised and rejected, not on account of His mighty deeds but on account of His mighty words, Luke 24:19. His continued emphasising of the spiritual nature of divine things both mystified and antagonised the naturalistic Scribes and Pharisees.

Nicodemus was baffled by the spiritual doctrine of the new birth and the Jews were confused when Jesus spoke of Himself as the bread of life. After the feeding of the 5000 He said to the representatives of the multitude, “Labour not for the food which perishes but for that food which endures to everlasting life”. He revealed that the manna in the wilderness was a spiritual type or shadow of Himself, was at pains to distinguish natural and secular from spiritual and eternal, Matt.22:21 and brought new (spiritual) light to many of their traditional interpretations of Scripture.

On account of His spiritual ministry He was charged with having a demon, John 8:52, for the Jews were unable to discern between good and evil in spiritual matters. They did all in their power to thwart divine purpose but inevitably failed, not that they saw it that way. They were sure they had succeeded in extinguishing the threat to their religious supremacy when they beheld Roman soldiers nailing Him to a cross.

But the extent of their failure was brought home to them when a rising star in their midst was summarily called by a risen Lord Jesus to “follow after His steps”. The newly named Paul continued the spiritual ministry of his new Master, stating that the law was indeed spiritual, Rom.7:14, and speaking and writing many words that were, in like manner, spirit and life. Even his fellow apostles had to concede that his ministry was at times difficult to comprehend, 2 Pet.3:15-16. But that is the nature of spiritual things, they are spiritually discerned.

Nothing has changed. A like spiritual ministry today would fall largely on deaf ears and servants who ministered it would similarly be despised, rejected and undermined. Notwithstanding, the spiritual ministry of the Lord Jesus and the apostles will finally prevail over fleshly opposition and   rebellion.  A spiritual remnant will be found adhering to apostolic truth in the last days.