“But Jesus said unto them, “A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house,”” Mark 6:4.

Some in the crowd had wondered about Jesus, because they had known that he had grown up as the carpenter’s son in their hometown.

He was teaching in the synagogue and they had said:

“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us?” Mark 6:3.

And they were offended at him. (Mark 6) When we grow especially in a smaller community where most everyone knows us, they form opinions and thoughts about us which are based upon their experiences.

Some had seen the young Jesus as He had helped his father Joseph in the carpentry shop. They had known what to expect from him based upon seeing him in this environment.

They had become used to this idea and it had formed in their minds. Now they see the young carpenter preaching and somehow their idea of him doesn’t seem to jive with what they had known or thought of him before.

Later in the chapter of Mark we see that Jesus could not perform very many miracles or works based upon the unbelief which was so prevalent in the community.

Jesus tells us that a prophet is not without honor except in his country, among his own kin, and in his own house. A person’s kin would be his or her extended family.

Here again someone’s kin has grown up knowing what John or Arthur was like as a young boy. They knew the family that he grew up in. They knew about the things he or she was interested in.

Then something happens to Arthur and he has an experience that is life-changing. His whole world seems to change and he’s not interested in the things he was before this experience.

When questioned about what has happened to him, John replies that,

“He had an encounter with God and he now speaks with him. He now sees things in The Spirit, Speaks in Tongues, and seems to know and discern certain things that other people can’t see or understand.

He’s been known to spend long hours in prayer and at times, God speaks through him to others and these Words hit the mark and they don’t fall to the ground.”

Somehow Arthur’s cousins, uncles and aunts don’t quite understand. They remember him playing outdoors and saw him go down to the creek and fish during the Summer and play with the other young boys and girls in his neighborhood. Is this the same child that they once knew?

The same can be said about John or Arthur as he grows up and has his own family. Perhaps he met someone who had similar interests as he did.

They go to church together, they pray together, they share their lives together. But then as time goes on, Mary notices that John spends more and more time in prayer seemingly just sitting there but listening to as it were, another voice.

She wonders if this is the same person that she’s grown to know and love. He helps others by praying for them and oftentimes, gets “words and visions” for them.

While in Church he is silently sitting there seemingly in another world. He used to go forward and share words from The LORD at a time when it was allowed after the worship music had just come to an end.

Now his words have taken on another hue. They have gone beyond just “edification, exhortation, and comfort.”

He talks about the divisions and catastrophes that are coming to the country. Some in leadership have asked that he not share these types of messages because the words are too strong and they don’t really go with “the flow of the rest of the service.”

He says that Jesus is sick and tired of the circus game that is going on in the churches. He claims that most of what goes on is entertainment and not really what church should be about.

Should it be any surprise that this prophet or prophetess isn’t readily accepted in certain groups? Should it be any surprise that his children, his brother and sisters, uncles and aunts, don’t know what to make of him?

His life which used to be filled with a certainty of how things were supposed to be, has now begun to be turned upside down. And yet he has a burning inside that fills the insides of him with The Holy Spirit.

An anointing comes upon him or her that is so strong at times, that it is unquenchable. But God continues to strip him of the things that he used to be so good at. He used to be able to depend upon his intellect and common sense to help him when making an important decision.

He could always dispel an argument when a family member’s voice began to rise in emotion. Now he is tested beyond his limits. Now he even begins to think that somehow God is being cruel in how everything is starting to fall apart in his life.

But finally the time comes after months and years of wondering when the trials, the ordeals, the misunderstandings will come to an end.

He allows The LORD to work these things through him. Now there’s a peace, a maturity, and a hidden wisdom that he experiences.

The severe trials and stripping process doesn’t end, but he’s grown more accustomed to it, and he knows that God’s hand is in it.

Even though some have rejected him he continues to do whatever the Lord has him to do. He’s like the creatures that are written about in Ezekiel 1:12,

“And they went every one straight forward: whither the spirit was to go, they went; and they turned not when they went.”

His face is set like flint and no matter what the faces are like that he sees, he continues, even as Ezekiel was told to do:

“And he said unto me, Son of man, I send thee to the children of Israel, to a rebellious nation that hath rebelled against me: they and their fathers have transgressed against me, even unto this very day.
For they are impudent children and stiff-hearted. I do send thee unto them; and thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God.
And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) yet shall know that there hath been a prophet among them.
And thou, son of man, be not afraid of them, neither be afraid of their words, though briers and thorns be with thee, and thou dost dwell among scorpions: be not afraid of their words, nor be dismayed at their looks, though they be a rebellious house.
And thou shalt speak my words unto them, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear: for they are most rebellious,” Ezekiel 2:3-7.

In the final analysis it really doesn’t matter if we are honored by all. I f we do what God has entrusted to us to do, whatever it is, then we can be assured that He will take care of the rest.

If some because they have grown up around us, can’t see the calling on our lives, that is all right. Even Jesus wasn’t accepted in his own town, among his own kin, and by many that had followed after Him.

First published August 13, 2013.

Selah,
~ Stephen Hanson

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Stephen Hanson of In His Truth Ministries came to the LORD is a special way in 1975 and has prophesied regularly since. In these end-time birthing pangs we are reminded that judgment must first begin with the household of God. Will we be prepared and ready?

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