Opening illustration: A child once asked, “What does God do all day?” If the answer to that question depended on how much we allow God to do in our individual lives, some of us would have to reply, “Not much!” In difficult situations, it’s easy to say we trust God and yet try to handle things ourselves without turning to Him and His Word. This is masked unbelief. Although God is constantly working, He allows us to set a limit on the degree of work He does on our behalf.
We see this truth demonstrated in Mark 6 when Jesus tried to do mighty things in His hometown. Because the people saw Him merely as a carpenter’s son and not as God’s Son, they limited what He could do for them (v.5). So Jesus moved on to other towns.
During my younger years, I tried hard to be a strong Christian, seldom revealing my weaknesses. Then, through a rock-bottom experience, I made this dynamic discovery: Strong Christians are those who unashamedly admit their weaknesses and draw on Christ’s power. The more I learned to depend on God, the more opportunity this gave Him to be active in my life. Now, whenever I face a daunting task, I say, “Joanie and Jesus can do it!” So can you and Jesus.
Let us turn to Mark 6 and catch with the narrative which will help us to see how we can limit the work of God in our lives and even in the lives of others around us.
Introduction: At the beginning of chapter 6 we see that Jesus leaves this town and goes to His hometown with His disciples. We would understand that Jesus’ hometown would be a reference to the town of Nazareth. There is always something nice about homecoming. I enjoy my once in a decade trip to Delhi to be back in “my old stomping grounds,” as we like to call it. I go to the places that I enjoy, eat foods that are only available there, and meet old friends when I return. It is a homecoming to enjoy the place that we know very well. Jesus is coming back to Nazareth after preaching around the Sea of Galilee. It is His homecoming as He returns to the place where He grew up and would see people that He knew and grew up with.
I have never pastored an Indian church. Always ministered and planted churches outside the country I was born. We never had a ministry in my hometown or country. But we encountered enough rejection, hatred and contempt from family and friends in order to understand what Jesus must have undergone.
How do we limit God?
1. Rejection (Refusal) (vs. 1-2)
How could Jesus’ family and friends reject him? They watched him grow up. They had to be aware of his loving nature and the fact that he worked hard, both as a student of the Torah and as Joseph’s apprentice. Before leaving home he was acknowledged as a rabbi, a teacher, and he had disciples whom he taught. Sad that He could not establish the headquarters of His ministry in Nazareth but at a short distance away in Capernaum from where He operated His ministry. News traveled by word of mouth from one town to another and everyone was eager to hear and share what they heard.
By the way, Jesus did not give up on his family and friends back home. His brother, James, went on to lead the church in Rome and we understand that Jesus’ other siblings became followers. Joseph, by the time of Jesus’ return to Nazareth, had died, but there can be no doubt about his faith or that of Jesus’ mother, Mary. As for the rest, we know that God’s love extends to everyone. Despite rejection, Jesus forgave and he died on the cross for all our sins. Let us never reject Jesus by rejecting others.
As the people of Nazareth heard the message Jesus was preaching, they out rightly rejected His message because they thought they knew everything there was to know about Him. He had grown up among them and was one of their own. They had seen Him play there as a child; they knew His family; they thought they knew Him. They knew everything there was to know about Jesus, or so they thought! To them, Jesus was just another boy from Nazareth. He did not deserve their respect. They saw Him as a common man! Sometimes, the word carpenter referred to men who could do anything from carving a plate to building a house. The people of Nazareth probably had things in their possession that Jesus had built for them. They saw Him as a common craftsman. They looked at Him and said, “You are no better than we are! Why should we listen to you?” They could only remember that they knew his family and his roots. They could only see the one who worked with calloused hands and not the one who brought a new, fresh and final work from GOD.
Rejection of Jesus stunted/limited the profound work of God in the lives of the Nasserites.
Illustration: Rejection comes in all forms. When God called us out to minister in adverse and normal circumstances, we faced much rejection, hatred and persecution from family and friends. They still cannot comprehend why we would follow and be obedient to God’s call no matter what it may cost us!
2. Contempt (Condescension/Disdain) (vs. 3-4)
You may recall that in the synagogue at Capernaum the people were “amazed” and “accepted” his new way of teaching. But in the synagogue we visited today in Nazareth they were “offended,” and they disdained him, crying out: “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us? ” Because people think they know who Jesus is, they end up asking disdainfully, "Who does he think he is?” That is, they could only see what Jesus was and not the Jesus as anointed teacher, called prophet, or indeed, Jesus Messiah. To be a prophet is difficult because the message of the Gospel is challenging and sometimes controversial, but it's a message that people need to hear whether they want to hear it or not. The prophet's message will always be countercultural. The spirit of the age is often at odds with the values of the Gospel. I heard a pastor once say, "If you marry the spirit of the age, you'll be a widow in the next generation."
Now it’s interesting to note, that in this context, the original Greek word for “offense” means stumbling block. And I suspect there was something emotional that blocked their acceptance of Jesus. What stumbling block might they have had? Well to begin with, they lived in a Roman-occupied territory. It was dangerous for everyone, especially the Jews. Their relationship with the Romans was awkward at best. So they probably tried to keep a low profile and not do anything that would draw attention to themselves.
Jesus very association with them as a “son” of Nazareth was threatening from a political point of view. We can imagine that they were afraid that they would become tainted by his actions, that the principalities and powers would conclude that Jesus came out of a revolutionary atmosphere in Nazareth and might seek to crush that spirit. So they sought ways to dismiss him, using time-honored methods: they made light of his occupation as a carpenter, and; they criticized his family as being one of little consequence. He had not gained this gift at the feet of any sage. Public debate could not confer it. The people were astonished. Such wisdom and such deeds are not in the carpenter's line, they said. It is noteworthy that this rejection was not limited to Jesus’ fellow townspeople. Even his family and his wider circle of relatives rejected him and his testimony.
Jesus responds to the offense the people of Nazareth took to him by saying, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his household.” Jesus remarks that a prophet may find honor among all sorts of people except within his home. This is a powerful statement made by Jesus from which we can learn some important lessons. These were the people for whom he probably carried the heaviest burden. And, yet, they wanted no part of him. Jesus tells us that rejection can be the greatest among our community, our extended family, and our close family. Why is this the case? Some reasons would include that these people have seen us grow up, they know our past, know our true self, and there is no façade that we can hide behind. They know who we are. They know our past mistakes and difficulties. This can be a cause of stumbling among others who are close to us. We must recognize that there will be difficulties when trying to teach our families, whether close relatives or distant relatives. These people will pose to us the greatest challenges of all. We cannot be discouraged in that we may be without honor among our own. Jesus was disdained by His own hometown; we must expect the same difficulties ourselves.
Contempt toward Jesus stunted/limited the profound work of God in the lives of the Nasserites.
3. Faithlessness (Unbelief) (vs. 5-6)
Finally, it seems clear that Jesus simply did not expect to be rejected by his hometown. These were the people he probably knew better than anyone else on the earth. These were the people for whom he probably carried the heaviest burden. And, yet, they wanted no part of him. Even his family will declare him crazy (and one wonders if this is because of their fear of ostracism by the community?).
The Greek word here translated amazed, is the same word often used of the crowds when Jesus displays miraculous power. But here it is Jesus who is astounded and amazed at his own powerlessness and their defiant unbelief. Elsewhere Jesus is received, even celebrated, so much so that he often must council those whom he has helped to remain silent about what they have seen and experienced but, not so in Nazareth.
And so, the people of Nazareth, rather that experiencing the joy of a new way to live -- the way of freedom and hope -- continue in their same old, tired thoughts of prejudice and hate. Likewise, the people of Nazareth, rather than possessing the powerful moments of healing and deliverance that Messiah Jesus could have brought to them, left that day with their minds justified at rejecting him, but their sick were still sick and their possessed were still without deliverance.
Unbelief/Faithlessness stunted/limited the profound work of God in the lives of the Nasserites.
Illustration: In 2009 Maureena and I visited Toronto, Canada. While there, we took the opportunity to visit the CN Tower. Roughly two million people visit the CN Tower each year. At 1,815 feet, it is one of the world’s tallest buildings—standing proudly more than four hundred feet taller than the Sears Tower in Chicago and the Twin Towers that once cast shadows over New York City. In fact we have visited the Empire State building and Sears tower number of years ago. At 1,122 feet the CN tower features an observation deck with a glass floor that begs the bravest of heart to walk across. After much hesitation (and some gentle taps with my foot to ensure stability) I mustered up the courage to step out over the city of Toronto with my feet suspended in mid-air. To get Maureena on the glass floor was a monumental move but finally she did make it!
Results for limiting God (v. 5): “Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.”
So Messiah Jesus was unable to perform any mighty deeds there in Nazareth, apart from curing a few sick people by laying his hands on them, because of the people's unwillingness to believe. Here, the result of the people's unbelief astounds the mind. Jesus was prevented from bringing good news through good deeds to his own home town because they did not believe. That is, Jesus' work is limited by their lack of faith.
We might well ask just why unbelief limited Jesus' work?
Clearly, the point here is that GOD respects human freedom. If the people of Nazareth, or my home town even, do not want to hear from GOD ("he that has ears to hear, let him hear"), and if they do not want healings and deliverance to come ("he was not able to perform any mighty deed there"), then GOD will not force (not be intrusive in their lives) these good works on them.
We need to see that we can limit the power of God in our lives. Our unbelief can prevent the power of God to do its work in us. Consider some ways that our unbelief can hinder us. We can show our unbelief in prayer. The Lord has told us that He can do all things that we ask, but when we have a lack of faith, then our prayers are not answered. We have limited the power of God in our lives. We can have a lack of faith and belief that God will take care of us. We put ourselves first and worry about our possessions because we do not trust God. We limit the power of God in our lives. We can have a lack of belief that God can aid us in our spiritual growth. We do not rely on Him to build us up and therefore we limit the power of God.
Application: Ministry can be very frustrating! I read of a survey of 301 clergy where apparently 80% confessed to experiencing regular feelings of futility! Indeed, I heard of one guy who gave up ministry and became an undertaker for exactly this reason. When asked why he changed jobs, he said: “I spent three years trying to straighten out John, and John’s still an alcoholic. I spent six months trying to straighten out Susan’s marriage, and she filed for divorce. I spent two and a half years trying to straighten out Bob’s drug problem, and he’s still an addict. At the funeral home when I straighten them out, they stay straight!”
The question remains … how much we will allow God to do in our individual lives … let us not limit His work in us by shutting Him off temporarily or completely from our lives. We are missing out on a lot!
