2112) I used to think the people in the Bible who knew Jesus had an advantage in their faith, but now, I don’t think this way. Why?  

In Luke 4, we read of a group of people who grew up with Jesus in Nazareth listening to his statement he is fulfilling the prophecy of Messiah in Isaiah 58:6.  

These people knew Jesus from his childhood. They saw him living the normal life of any other boy in his day and then to hear him say he is Messiah would be a hard pill to swallow.  

But not all familiarity breeds contempt. In Matthew 3:1, Jesus’ cousin, John the Baptist, who also grew up with Jesus, accepted, by faith, that Jesus is the Messiah.  

Many of us who grew up in church are very familiar with Jesus. It is up to us to decide if we’ll let it breed faith or contempt.