The Prophet's Paradoxical Welcome Text: John 4:43-45
Introduction: The Hunger for Honor
We live in an age that is starving for honor and affirmation. Men build entire platforms online dedicated to curating an image, a personal brand, that will garner them likes, shares, and the fleeting approval of strangers. Churches are not immune to this. We have a whole industry of consultants who will teach pastors how to be more winsome, more culturally relevant, and less offensive, all in the name of getting more people in the door. The goal is to be honored, to be received, to be welcomed by the world. But the problem is that the world's honor is a cheap and fickle thing. It is a currency that loses its value the moment you need it most.
The Lord Jesus Christ operated on a completely different economy. His was an economy of divine honor, which is often purchased with the currency of human dishonor. The path to glory, for Him, was the path of rejection. He did not come to build a brand; He came to build a Kingdom. And He knew that the foundation of that Kingdom had to be laid in the hard, rocky soil of His own people's rejection.
This brings us to a central paradox of Christ's ministry. He is the king, yet He is rejected by the king's men. He is the prophet, yet He is dishonored in His own house. Our passage today puts this principle on full display. Jesus states a hard truth about the nature of prophetic ministry, and then, in the very next breath, He is seemingly welcomed with open arms. We must look closer, because John is teaching us to distinguish between two kinds of welcome: the welcome we give to a celebrity, and the welcome we give to a king. One is shallow, based on spectacle and self-interest. The other is deep, rooted in repentance and true faith. Our generation, like the Galileans, is very good at the first kind of welcome. But it is the second kind that saves.
The Text
And after the two days He went from there into Galilee. For Jesus Himself bore witness that a prophet has no honor in his own country. So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast.
(John 4:43-45 LSB)
The Prophet's Principle (v. 43-44)
We begin with Jesus' movement and the principle He articulates.
"And after the two days He went from there into Galilee. For Jesus Himself bore witness that a prophet has no honor in his own country." (John 4:43-44)
Notice the timing and the logic. Jesus has just had a fruitful, two-day ministry among the Samaritans, the half-breed outsiders. They believed in Him, not because of a sign, but because of His Word. Now, He leaves that receptive soil and heads into Galilee. John connects this move with a divine principle: "For Jesus Himself bore witness that a prophet has no honor in his own country."
At first glance, this seems backwards. Shouldn't He go to Galilee because a prophet has no honor there? John's "for" tells us that Jesus' statement is the reason for His action. What is going on? We must first understand what "his own country" means. The word is patris, from which we get words like patriot. It refers to one's fatherland, one's native place. In the immediate context, this certainly points toward Nazareth, where they will later try to throw Him off a cliff (Luke 4). But in the broader context of John's gospel, His patris is Judea, the heart of the Jewish nation, with Jerusalem as its capital. It was in Jerusalem where the opposition was already hardening. It was the religious establishment in Judea that would ultimately orchestrate His murder. They were His own people, and they received Him not (John 1:11).
So Jesus is acting on a principle. A true prophet's job is not to be popular. A true prophet's job is to speak the word of God, and that word always confronts and exposes the idols closest to home. False prophets flatter the home crowd. True prophets afflict them. Jeremiah loved Jerusalem, but he prophesied its destruction, and they threw him in a cistern for it. A prophet's calling is not a path to local celebrity status; it is a path to the cross. Jesus is not complaining here; He is stating His job description. He is bearing witness to a foundational truth of His mission. He knows He will not be honored by the establishment, and so He goes to the periphery, to Galilee, a region looked down upon by the Judean elites, the land of the Gentiles.
This principle is a permanent rebuke to all forms of ministry that prioritize being liked. If you are preaching the truth, you will eventually find yourself without honor among those who are most comfortable in their sins, including and especially those within the visible church. The true prophet does not trim his message to fit the sensibilities of his audience; he preaches the whole counsel of God, and lets the chips of honor fall where they may.
A Superficial Welcome (v. 45)
Now we come to the apparent contradiction, which is really a clarification.
"So when He came to Galilee, the Galileans received Him, having seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast; for they themselves also went to the feast." (John 4:45 LSB)
If a prophet has no honor, why did they "receive Him"? The answer lies in the reason for their reception. John is careful to tell us why they welcomed Him. It was not because they had searched the Scriptures and concluded He was the Messiah. It was not because they had heard His teaching and repented of their sins, as the Samaritans had. No, they received Him because they had "seen all the things that He did in Jerusalem at the feast."
Their welcome was based on spectacle. They were festival-goers. John tells us twice that they had been to the feast. This is significant. It means they were observant Jews, part of the covenant community. They had traveled to Jerusalem for Passover and had witnessed Jesus cleansing the Temple and performing signs. They were impressed. He was a celebrity, a wonder-worker. He had put on a good show in the capital, and now the show was coming to their hometown. So they rolled out the red carpet. But this is the welcome of fans, not the welcome of disciples.
This is a faith based on sight, a fair-weather faith. It is the kind of faith that loves the miracles but chafes at the commands. It is excited about the feeding of the five thousand but grumbles at the call to eat His flesh and drink His blood. Jesus knows this kind of faith is a foundation of sand. In fact, in the very next story, He will rebuke a nobleman for this very thing, saying, "Unless you people see signs and wonders, you simply will not believe" (John 4:48). The Galileans received Him, but they did not honor Him in the way that truly mattered. They honored the power, but not the person. They welcomed the spectacle, but not the sovereign.
This is a crucial distinction for us. It is possible to "receive" Jesus into our churches, our homes, and our conversations, but on our own terms. We welcome the Jesus who fixes our problems, who makes us feel good, who provides exciting worship experiences. But do we welcome the Jesus who lays claim to every area of our lives? Do we welcome the Jesus who calls us to deny ourselves, take up our cross, and follow Him? The Galileans' welcome was a mile wide and an inch deep. And the Lord is after something far more substantial.
Conclusion: From Fans to Followers
This short passage sets the stage for much of what is to come in Jesus' ministry. It establishes a central conflict: the conflict between a faith based on seeing and a faith based on hearing the Word of God. The Samaritans heard and believed. The Galileans saw and were intrigued. The Judeans saw and were enraged.
The application for us is sharp and direct. What is the basis of our relationship with Jesus Christ? Are we fans or are we followers? Fans are drawn to the spectacle. They love the big events, the powerful music, the dynamic speaker. They are excited when they see God "do something" in their lives. But when the show is over, when the trials come, when the call to costly obedience is made, the fan moves on to the next exciting thing. The follower, on the other hand, is drawn to the Word. The follower's faith is not built on the shifting sands of signs and wonders, but on the solid rock of Christ's promises. The follower remains, even when there is no spectacle, because he has heard the words of eternal life.
The Galileans welcomed Jesus because of what they saw Him do. The Samaritans welcomed Him because of what they heard Him say. The gospel call is a call to be like the Samaritans. It is a call to faith that comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of Christ (Romans 10:17).
Jesus is indeed the great prophet, the one who was ultimately and finally dishonored in His own country, crucified outside the walls of Jerusalem. He endured that ultimate dishonor from men in order to secure for us the ultimate honor from God. He was rejected so that we might be received. He was cast out so that we might be brought in. The question is not whether we will give Him a celebrity's welcome. The question is whether we will give Him a sinner's faith, trusting not in what we have seen, but in who He is and what He has said.