Text: “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them” (Mark 6:5).
If Jesus could not do any more miracles here in Nazareth He must be classified as a failure. Do you agree with that statement?
If you or I try to write a book or a song and we are unsuccessful, are we failures? In our younger days, most of us tried to help our children with their homework, but somehow we couldn’t do it because the methodology changed or the way they were being taught was different from the way we were taught. Did that make us failures?
If we were not able to acquire a high school education or a college degree, are we failures? Just because our first job did not work out for us are we considered a failure? When people make remarks about us that are negative, do we feel as though we have failed?
The word “failure” might be considered opposite of the word “success.” In other words, if you don’t fail you are a success or if you are unsuccessful, you fail. Failure for one is success for another in a competitive sport activity. Failure can be a driving force causing one to continue to reach forth until success is achieved.
Inventors may try 999 times to make something and be unsuccessful, but due to persistence, the 1000th time success surfaces. Each failure can be a step toward success. There is reason why things do not always fall in line for us.
Was Jesus a failure? Let’s go back to our Scripture reading and find out. We are told that Jesus and his disciples went to Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth. This appears to be Jesus’ second trip to Nazareth.
The first time is recorded in the 4th chapter of Luke. This event occurred at the beginning of His ministry right after his baptism by John the Baptist and right after He was tempted by the devil in the desert.
At this time, He went into the synagogue as was His custom and read from the book of Isaiah. He did not just read words. He read with authority. He read the Scripture as it had never been read before. The people in His home town of Nazareth knew who He was because He had grown up there. They could not believe these beautiful powerful words that came from His mouth. They asked, “Is this not Joseph’s son?” (Luke 4:22).
This same sort of thing happens today. When someone from a close-knit town attains success some people in the town find it very difficult to accept and praise this person for their success. It could be jealously on the part of some of the people.
It could be lack of faith in the person who has attained success. It could be lack of knowing what the successful person had to give up in order to reach this certain level of success.
People like Tiger Woods spent his childhood days learning to play golf. He was not out roaming the neighborhood like many children today. Liberace, the great pianist, spent his childhood days practicing his piano lessons. Michael Jackson and the Jackson Five spent their childhood days reaching for perfection in the entertainment field.
This is what many people do not understand. These people had to sacrifice certain parts of their growing up years to attain perfection in a chosen field. Many times the child is under strict direction by the parent or parents. It might not be what the child wants at the time, but it is what the parent or parents want for the child.
We as Christians need to share the joy and success of those who work hard and sacrifice time and effort to reach their chosen goal in life. We are not to criticize these people. By the same token, we are not to worship them because they are not gods. We merely need to be happy for them.
The people in Nazareth did not accept Jesus for his wisdom and knowledge. They could only see the son of a carpenter and no one else. To them, Jesus was just an ordinary person like everyone else. The people knew Jesus had a following, but they could not understand why.
The people of Nazareth said, “….he even does miracles” (Mark 6:2). They had probably heard about Jesus healing the man who had leprosy (Mark 1:40, 41). When Jesus was preaching in Capernaum and was confronted with the paralyzed man who was lowered through a hole in the roof by his four friends, He said to the man, “Son, your sins are forgiven….take your mat and go home” (Mark 2:5, 11). This news spread like wildfire even to the people of Nazareth. This was a miracle.
Jesus taught by parables or stories that involved familiar places, items, or scenes. He did this in an effort to explain spiritual truth He wanted the people to understand. People who were open-minded and willing to listen could understand the meaning of His teachings.
Examples of parables included: the four soils; the growing seed, and the mustard seed. This was wisdom the people of Nazareth talked about, but they were too closed-minded to listen and understand.
They undoubtedly heard about Jesus calming the sea, driving the demons into the pigs, healing the bleeding woman and restoring a girl to life. Knowing about all these things Jesus did, one would think they would welcome Him with open arms. You would think that these people of Nazareth would want what Jesus had to offer, but that does not appear to be the case. They chose to think of Him as the son of a carpenter.
Jesus knew what was in the heart of the people of his hometown. He said, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor” (Mark 6:4). This is what I was talking about a little earlier. Just because a successful person is not honored in his hometown does not make his success unimportant.
There are many people living ungodly lives today and through the grace of God some of them come to know the Lord. When this happens, God comes to live within their heart in the Person of the Holy Spirit and their outward life changes.
Other people, including their family, begin to notice they are different and rejection enters the picture. Jesus knew rejection, but He did not let it ruin His mission. No Christian child of God should let rejection keep them from serving Almighty God.
Since Jesus was not honored or respected in His hometown of Nazareth, Scripture says, “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them” (Mark 6:5).
At this point, one might surmise that Jesus failed in His mission. Did He really fail? Before we answer this question, let’s continue with the Scripture.
We are told that Jesus “went around teaching from village to village” (Mark 6:6). He did not become disheartened and give up. He did not feel sorry for Himself. He did not criticize the people. Instead, He had His disciples gather around Him so that He could give them a mission.
Scripture says, “Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits” (Mark 6:7). The disciples were sent out in pairs so that they could help, encourage and strengthen one another.
Jesus knew they would face rejection just as He had faced rejection. He also knew that rejection is like a slap-in-the-face and it hurts one’s pride and ego. Jesus knew the Father would provide strength to the disciples, but He also knew that there is more strength when there is a team in action.
There is more strength in a baseball team when 7 other players support the pitcher and the catcher. A football quarterback has more strength in the presence of 10 other players. Teamwork is a vital part in carrying on the work of Almighty God.
It is interesting to note that when Jesus sent the disciples out on the mission field, they did not need a U-Hall trailer, backpack, briefcase, suitcase, Cashier checks or a lunch box. Jesus said to the disciples, “Take nothing for the journey except a staff” (Mark 6:8).
I don’t know about you, but when we go on a trip, we always take far more supplies than we need. We bring back clothes that were never taken out of the suitcase, extra shoes that were never worn, reading material we never read, Cashier checks we never cashed, and so on. In other words, we burden ourselves with unnecessary things.
Jesus warned the disciples that they would definitely face rejection. However, He told them how to handle rejection. Jesus said to them, “And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them” (Mark 6:11).
In Jesus’ day, Jews who passed through Gentile areas or towns would shake the dust from their feet indicating the Gentile practices did not become a part of their way of thinking and living. When Jesus told the disciples to carry forth with this practice of shaking the dust from their feet, it was a way of showing the people who rejected them and their message that they were separate from those people.
The disciples were not responsible for the people’s rejection and neither are we. When you and I share the Gospel of Salvation with someone and they reject us and what we have to say, they are responsible for their actions.
The disciples were sent out by Jesus to preach or tell the people that they needed to repent. In the process, “They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them” (Mark 6:12, 13).
This verse of Scripture seems to indicate the disciples were successful in their mission. It does not say that a few were healed or that they had difficulty healing anyone. It does not say none were healed.
Conclusion:
What can we conclude concerning this Scripture?
Was Jesus a failure and the disciples successful?
As I indicated at the beginning of the message, when things don’t work the way we think they should, there must be a good and logical reason. So, why could Jesus not perform any more miracles in His hometown of Nazareth? The reason Jesus could not perform more miracles was because of the faith of the people. Verse 6 tells us that “their lack of faith” was the problem.
Jesus was not a failure. He was Almighty God and He could have done many wonders for them, but they did not believe in Him. Their pride, unbelief, lack of faith, narrow vision, closed ears, rejection of who He was, and rejection of His message and son on, prevented them from receiving what Jesus had to offer.
The same thing is happening this very day. Many people are living sinful lives. They are doing things and committing acts that are disgraceful in the eyes of God. They are living worldly instead of heavenly.
They are forgetting that God is the same today as He was yesterday and as He will be tomorrow. They are destroying His temple by using drugs and alcohol. They are committing acts that bring disease and sickness to His temple.
Jesus did not fail. God does not fail. Man is the one who fails, but this does not need to be. Jesus came to earth out of love. He came to save us from paying the penalty for our sins. He came because the Father wanted to redeem us. He came because we could not and cannot save ourselves. He came that we might spend eternity with Him in His kingdom.
His arms are reaching down to each man, woman, boy and girl. Each one has a choice. They can reject Him like the people of Nazareth or they can repent of their sins, accept Him as their personal Lord and Savior and invite Him to come and live within their heart.
“For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:16, 17).
Did Jesus fail?
NO!
Jesus never fails!
Man fails when he rejects his Maker!
Amen.
