“they were astonished” [Matthew 13:54]
January 17
<p><b>“they were astonished”. </b> The words of Jesus made the greatest impression though we can easily think His miracles made the greatest impact. Moses, Elijah and the prophets performed miracles but no-one spoke like Jesus.
‘Astonishment’ is the word Matthew uses to describe the reaction of the crowd. They heard the spoken word from God Himself. They expected just another teacher and found it was the Master: the Creator was telling them about His creation.
His words were with authority and contrasted sharply with the Scribes and teachers of the law. Their astonishment turned to incredulity. The same wonder exists today when Jesus speaks but we need our amazement to turn to faith.</p>