Where Is Jesus From?

The people of Jesus’s day questioned his Messiahship because they had been taught that they would not know where the Messiah came from. But, of course, they knew where Jesus came from: he was from Nazareth. He was the carpenter’s son.
 
The problem is, they weren’t really listening to what Jesus was teaching them. They were thinking too literally. Jesus was trying to tell them that, in fact, he came from his Father in heaven, but the people simply wouldn’t wrap their minds around it.
 
This episode from the Gospel reminds us that we must always approach the teachings of Jesus with humility. While we know that Jesus Christ is the true revelation of God for the world, we must also hold in tension the fact that we, as fallible human beings, have a tendency to mishear, misread, and misinterpret.
 
Knowing about Christ is not the same thing as knowing Christ. We should strive to increase our head knowledge of our faith, for sure, but never at the expense of expanding our heart knowledge.

QUESTIONS FROM THE FIELD