Matthew 13: - Nail your flag to the mast

As Christians when we enter a new situation or meet new people it is important that we make a stand for what we believe right away. If we don't then it will be much more challenging for us to present the gospel and show the truth of Christ. Those people who know you best, such as family members, who have seen you grow up are often the hardest people to speak to about the Gospel. In comparison, contrary to what people say, preaching to a stranger is easier. 

What is the reason for this? If we try to speak to somebody that we know well about the gospel, they are in a position to scrutinize us or remind us of past mistakes we have made and therefore it makes it harder to preach with any credibility. Whatever we say, people can bring up some personal mistake or character trait that we possess and use it to throw whatever we say back in our face.  

Of course, unlike us, the Lord Jesus was perfect and nobody would be able to scrutinize Him based on his past or what He had done (although they tried and failed many times), however we can still see the same principle in Matthew 13:53-58. He was unable to speak with those in His home town.  

Matthew 13:53-58 

Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these parables, that He departed from there. 54 When He had come to His own country, He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, “Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? 55 Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? 56 And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?” 57 So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.” 58 Now He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief.

Jesus was not born to a rich family or to a family of academic stature. He was born in a stable without any beauty. He was brought up in circumstances that nobody would consider to be desirable. 

Isaiah 55  states, "For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, And as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; And when we see Him, There is no beauty that we should desire Him."

The people listening in Matthew 13 knew where Jesus was from. They knew that He was a carpenter's son.  For this reason, when Jesus began to teach them from the Scriptures they refused to listen. Even though the Words that Jesus was saying would have been with great authority and like nothing the people had ever heard before, the people rejected Him. Instead of listening to the great wisdom Christ was expounding, instead they said "Is this not the carpenters son? Is not his mother called Mary?" In other words, "who is this guy to preach to us? We know him. He has grown up around here. He's beneath us, how can he possibly preach to us religious leaders?"

For this reason Jesus replies "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house."

Jesus moves on away from his home town to places were nobody knows were He is from. Nobody knows of His upbringing. Therefore when he speaks, people listen, and are amazed at what He is saying.

If you want to be salt and light to those around you, it is important that you let those around you know what you stand for right away. Nail you flag to the mast. By doing this, those whom you speak with will not be able to use potential personal failings against you and your words will carry weight as they are backed up with your actions. You will still make mistakes, however the fact that you have stood up and made known your allegiance to Christ Jesus from the start will put you in the position to stand up and preach Christ crucified.

By making known that you are a Christian at the earliest opportunity, then when you speak up for Christ people will listen and respect you. You will be accountable as a witness to God and your actions will be scrutinized more closely by those around you, but even when you make mistakes, you can use this as an opportunity to preach the Gospel and show the fact that nobody is perfect and we are all without excuse and in need of a saviour.

However, if you do not make it known that you are a Christian, you will find it very hard to subsequently stand up for Christ. When you stand up, rather than people listening to you, they will say "how can this person say all of this when we have known them to act just like us?" or "how can this person say all of this, who are they to judge, we have never known them to stand up before."


To those of us who are already Christians and are considering speaking up for the Lord, you will know how hard it can be to speak up when you have previously being living a life of sin with the very people who you want to speak to.

To those of us who have recently become Christians, it is a great opportunity to stand up and show those people around you the mercy of God and how the power of the gospel can transform your life.

To those people who are already Christians and find themselves in the predicament whereby they have not made known their faith and therefore struggle to speak up for Jesus, take courage in the Lord and have faith in God, knowing that he will bless you and strengthen you, giving you the words to speak up and give a defence for the Gospel of Christ, which we all need to hear. Don't delay it any longer and nail your flag to the mast at the earliest opportunity.

Matthew 8 27 “Whatever I tell you in the dark, speak in the light; and what you hear in the ear, preach on the housetops. 28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. 29 Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will. 30 But the very hairs of your head are all numbered. 31 Do not fear therefore; you are of more value than many sparrows."

-BACChristian