February 10, 2026

GOD’S WORD FOR TODAY:

“From that time on Jesus began to preach, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.’ ” (Matthew 4.17)

“Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit. He went teaching in synagogues along the way. Everyone praised Him. News about Him spread through the whole countryside. He even went so far as Nazareth, where He had been brought up.” (Luke 4.14-16a)

“After John was put in prison, Jesus went into Galilee, proclaiming the good news of God.” (Mark 1.14)

TODAY’S REFLECTION ON GOD’S WORD:

Matthew tells us that Jesus withdrew to Galilee following John’s imprisonment. While fully tested and fully filled, the news of His cousin’s arrest caused Him to go home to Nazareth. It must have been obvious to Jesus, as it was to many others, that John was never going to leave his confines except to enter into the bosom of Abraham. It tells us that grief is a powerful emotional reality even for those who are strong spiritually. Let’s think about it, Jesus and John knew each other before their birth. Mary left Nazareth upon hearing the news of her pregnancy and went to see her aunt Elizabeth. Elizabeth was also with a miracle baby having been found with child in her senior years. When Mary called out to Elizabeth before entering her house, John leapt in the womb. He was not even to the age of quickening (about 20 months) but was very much alive, well and aware when the fetus Jesus drew near. They had a spiritual connection that was undeniable. That spiritual connection was greater between Jesus and God. Jesus could not stay in Nazareth grieving forever. A time came, before John died at the hands of Herod, when Jesus was compelled by the Holy Spirit to go and preach. We do not know if He felt it in His spirit to do so. We do not know if His mother Mary, now a widow herself, urged Him knowing His true purpose and mission as the Son of God and Messiah. It had to be difficult for Mary to send her son, Jesus, out into the world. In Nazareth, He was safe, or so it would seem, to continue His stepfather’s work as a carpenter and stonemason.

He was apprenticed at His stepfather’s hand. Joseph also taught Him about the Word of God. What an interesting experience that must have been for Joseph to teach Jesus about God’s word and how it was lived out in the world. We know what happened at the age of twelve when Jesus had been taken to Jerusalem at Passover for His bar mitzvah. He stayed behind in Jerusalem unbeknownst to Mary and Joseph. When they discovered Jesus was not missing, they returned to Jerusalem to look for Him. They found Him on the steps of the Temple talking with and teaching the elders and the teachers of the Law. When they asked Him what He was doing, He replied, “Did you not know that you would find Me here working in My Father’s House?” I do not know how Joseph must have felt in that moment. Was he wounded with the ultimate recognition that he was not the father of Jesus but only the stepfather? Did he know the time would come when Jesus would walk a different road than the one he had led Him on for twelve years? Did Mary’s heart skip a beat knowing the day would come when Jesus would no longer be her little boy? As we read through these vignettes of Jesus’ life, they serve as a reminder of the very human element included in the gospels. They are not merely teachings of Jesus or about Jesus. They are the insight and visions of living out the call to fulfill “all righteousness.” It is not easy being a disciple of Christ. Jesus never promised it would be. What Jesus did promise is the presence of the Holy Spirit for protection, education and amplification. What Jesus did promised is that He would fulfill the promise of returning to bring all those who would believe in Him together into eternal life in the midst of a New Heaven, New Earth and a New Jerusalem. That could not happen, however, until Jesus stepped fully in His Father’s kingdom on earth by stepping away from His earthly home.

TODAY’S PRAYER OF THANKSGIVING:

Father, in these days we are finding the need to believe even more than ever before. We all have known trouble, some in greater ways than others, but You are offering us the assurance that we will not be consumed by it forever. Regardless of the “time” we are in and the “time” we have been given, we ask for Your Holy Spirit which Jesus asked You to share with us, to lead and guide and direct us in the paths we should go. Teach us what we still need to learn. Empower us to put that learning into action. Bless our actions not as a works righteousness but as righteous works of faith, hope and love in Jesus’ name. AMEN.