“For Jesus himself testified, that a prophet hath no honour in his own country.”
(Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honour in his own country.) — this parenthetical comment prepares the reader for the reception in Galilee. The proverb about a prophet's lack of honor appears in the Synoptics but with different application; John applies it to Jesus' return to Galilee (his native region), suggesting that honor and faith are paradoxically rare even where Jesus is from.
Church Fathers on John 4:44
Now after two days He departed thence, and went into Galilee.
Or consider this the reason that He went, not to Capernaum, but to Galilee and Cana, as appears below, His country being, I think, Capernaum. As He did not obtain honor there, hear what He says; And you, Capernaum, which are exalted to heaven, shall be brought down to hell. He calls it His own country, because He had most resided here.
Our Lord on leaving Samaria for Galilee, explains why He was not always in Galilee: viz. because of the little honor He received there. A prophet has no honor in his own country.
Read all 9 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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