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The Rejection at Nazareth

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Mt 13:54-58

Knowing Jesus: The presumption of people from Jesus’ native place (Nazareth) is that they know who Jesus is: the carpenter’s son. His mother is named Mary. Also, the Nazarenes know his brothers and sisters (relatives). By knowing all this about Jesus, they presume to know Jesus.

For Matthew, however, this cannot be true. A person can know about Jesus and still not know him. Here, Matthew is warning the members of his community. He is telling them that they, like the Nazarenes, may know about Jesus but still not know him.

The true family of Jesus consists of those who do the will of the heavenly Father.
 
For Matthew, the issue is authentic faith and not family ties. Those who may have known or known about any of Jesus’ relatives have no advantage over those who have not. Every person has the capacity to know Jesus. His family is not composed of blood relatives; it is made up of members of the Church who seek righteousness, authentic discipleship.