Can You Believe That?

There’s a strange thing happening in our world today. People have no trouble believing in the unbelievable…but when it comes to believing in God, suddenly we need proof, evidence, and footnotes.

Surveys show large numbers of people believe in ghosts, UFOs, and reincarnation. Some even believe in the Loch Ness Monster. Yet ask those same people if they believe Jesus Christ is the Son of God who rose from the dead…and watch the hesitation.

We have become a society that is very open-minded…and so open-minded that the brain sometimes falls out.

The truth is not that faith has died, but that faith is misplaced.

People are searching. People want something real. People want hope.

Yet oddly, many struggle to believe in the One Hope that has never failed.

Then I realize…the very same thing was true in Jesus’ hometown.

A Visit Home…That Should Have Gone Differently

Mark 6 opens with Jesus returning to Nazareth—the place that shaped His childhood, the streets where He played, the neighbors who watched Him grow up. If anyone should have been excited to see Him…it was them.

He wasn’t coming home to eat a casserole and flip through old photo albums.

He came with healing in His hands and salvation in His voice.

He came to bless them.

Instead, they rejected Him.

That’s the tragedy we’re exploring today:

how unbelief can sit so close to Jesus and still miss Him entirely.

If you’d like to break this down, Mark gives us three insights.

1. Their Unbelief Was Shocking

A) Because They Saw Miracles

Just one chapter earlier, people around them witnessed Jesus do things no doctor, no therapist, no self-help author could do.

• A man possessed by a legion of demons set free

• A woman suffering 12 long years instantly healed

• A young girl raised from her deathbed

These weren’t rumors from a distant land. These were fresh stories—“It just happened yesterday” miracles. If the evening news existed, Jesus would have been the headline every night.

Yet Nazareth shrugged.

“Not impressed.”

Faith was standing at the door…and they didn’t bother to unlock it.

B) Because Jesus Himself Came to Town

Can you imagine the Son of God walking into your neighborhood?

If we knew Jesus would be physically present this coming Sunday—standing here in the flesh—how many here would arrive early? How many would drag a neighbor to church by the sleeve?

When Jesus shows up…that should be a BIG moment.

Yet in Nazareth:

They treated Him like He was nothing special.

Here’s the tough mirror moment:

We don’t need to go to Nazareth to find unbelief.

Sometimes it sits in our own pew.

Sometimes we say “Jesus is Lord”…yet we’d rather trust our worry.

Sometimes we pray like we’re afraid God might actually answer.

Our unbelief may not shout…but it still speaks.

2. Their Unbelief Was Strange

A) Because They Questioned What They Knew

Jesus teaches in the synagogue.

And the crowd is amazed.

“Where did He get this wisdom?”

“How can He do these miracles?”

“What gives Him the right to speak with such authority?”

They are impressed, but not inspired.

They are curious, but not convinced.

Knowledge is not faith.

Information is not transformation.

They question Jesus, not because He lacked evidence—but because they had too many assumptions.

B) Because They Let Familiarity Replace Faith

They say:

“Isn’t this Mary’s son?

Isn’t He the carpenter?

Aren’t His brothers and sisters right here among us?”

Translation:

“We know this guy.

He built my mother-in-law’s kitchen table.”

They couldn’t see the Savior…

because they only saw the neighbor kid.

Familiarity can make us numb to wonder.

We can have Jesus in our songs, sermons, routines…and forget we are dealing with the living God.

I sometimes think we sanitize Jesus.

We tame Him.

We box Him into predictable categories.

Yet Jesus is still full of surprises.

He still moves in power.

He still breaks addictions.

He still heals bodies and minds.

He still resurrects dead marriages.

He still calms storms we can’t handle.

Unless—we’ve decided He can’t.

3. Their Unbelief Was Sad

Scripture says they were “offended” by Him.

What a shocking thing to be offended by grace.

Hurt by hope.

Annoyed by answers.

Their unbelief created:

• Confusion—“We can’t figure Him out”

• Contempt—“We don’t trust Him”

And because of that…

“He could do no mighty work there…”

Mark 6:5

Not because His power was missing.

It was because their trust was.

God will not force a miracle where there is no welcome.

Take a breath here…

Are there places in my life where Jesus stands ready to help, but unbelief keeps Him waiting outside?

• A fear I’ve surrendered to instead of God

• A family situation I’ve stopped praying for

• A personal weakness I’ve decided will never change