Have you ever made a serious misjudgment about something or someone? Listen to some of these misjudgments.
I think there is a world market for maybe five computers. Thomas Watson, IBM Chairman, 1943
There is no reason that anyone would want a computer in their home. Ken Olson, President, Digital Equip. Corp, 1977.
I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable falling on his face and not Gary Cooper. Gary Cooper on his decision not to accept the leading role in Gone with the Wind.
Drill for oil? You mean drill into the ground and try to find oil? You're crazy. Drillers who Edwin Drake tried to enlist for his project to drill for oil in 1859.
640K ought to be enough for anybody. Bill Gates, 1981.
Those are some pretty bad misjudgments. But they are insignificant compared to the misjudgment that Mark reports in Mark 6:1-6. In this passage, we see some people who made the ultimate misjudgment. They misjudged Jesus. In the process of misjudging him, they dishonored him. By dishonoring Him, they cut themselves off from God's blessing. As we look at this passage today, think with me about how we dishonor Jesus and what results that will bring to our lives.
I. We dishonor Jesus when we fail to accept His Lordship.
A. Familiarity displaces a sense of awe and worship.
1. The hometown crowd in Nazareth.
a. Isn't this Jesus the carpenter?
b. We know him and his family.
c. Where did he get all this stuff?
d. They refused his Lordship.
2. People today.
a. It is easy for us to get so used to talking, singing, and hearing about Jesus that we lose a sense of majesty and holiness.
b. This is reflected in many ways.
1) Worship - when the songs we sing get to the point where it makes little difference if you are singing about Jesus or your love for a spouse or girlfriend, we are too familiar.
2) Prayer - when you can pray with no sense of humility and inner awe for the holiness of Christ you are too familiar.
3) Speech - when you can use the Name of Jesus or things about him in a dishonoring way, it is too familiar.
B. Human assumptions outweigh divine authority.
1. The hometown crowd in Nazareth.
a. They had drawn their own conclusions about Jesus and would not be convinced.
1) He can't be so special. He's just a carpenter's son.
2) Where did he get the ability to do these things?
2. People today.
a. In our postmodern world, most people are willing to accept Jesus into the discussion about truth.
b. But it is the uniqueness of Jesus that is under attack. For example:
Jesus Seminar - accepts the factuality of Jesus as an important religious figure. Yet, they deny Him the unique claims made about Him in the gospels. Robert Funk, Seminar leader, said, "My glimpse is informed by, but bypasses the Jesus of the gospels- the Christ superimposed by the Evangelists on their own glimpse of the real Jesus. I am convinced that the New Testament conceals the real Jesus as frequently as it reveals him."
New Age - Jesus was a brilliant teacher. He tried to help people get in touch with their spiritual powers. He travelled in the far east and learned eastern philosophy which enabled him to become like God. He is one of many "christs" who reached a high level of spiritual power.
APP: When we fail to accept the Lordship of Jesus Christ as it is defined in the Scriptures, we dishonor Jesus. Whether we do it through familiarity or through faulty perceptions, we dishonor Him.
What about you, my friend? The words to the song Would I Know You, by Wayne Watson are piercing.
Would I know You now, if you walked into this place.
Would I bring you shame, would my dreams be Your disgrace.
Or would I worship You, fall upon my face.
I wonder if I'd know You now.
Or have the images I've painted so distorted who You are, that even if the world was looking, they could not see You, the real You. Have I changed the true reflection to fulfill my own design, Making you what I want, not showing Your forth divine, divine.
We must be careful that we do not dishonor Jesus. What if we do? Notice the results.
II. When we dishonor Jesus, we forfeit His blessing.
A. Dishonor leads to unbelief.
1. The hometown crowd was offended at Him.
2. Jesus marveled at their unbelief.
APP: Friends, mark down this connection. When we allow a biblical view of Jesus to erode, we will soon lose interest in Him altogether. Look at the denominations that have torn down the foundation of a high view of Christ. They have been reduced from vibrant communities of faith to social action organizations and friendship clubs. Once you start down the path of dishonoring the person of Christ, you will lose your grip on faith altogether.
B. Unbelief stops the flow of God's blessing.
1. Think of the past few paragraphs in Mark. What wonders we have Jesus perform.
2. But in his own hometown, the unbelief of the people shut them off from God's blessing.
ILL: On the wall of a Cathedral somewhere in Europe are these words:
You call me Master and Obey me not.
You call me Light and See me not.
You call the Way and Walk me not.
You call me Life and Desire me not.
You call me Wise and Follow me not.
You call me Fair and Love me not.
You call me Rich and Ask me not.
You call me Eternal and Seek me not.
You call me Gracious and Trust me not.
If I do not Bless you, Blame me not.
APP: Only as we accept the Lordship of Christ and trust Him can we experience God's blessing. That is true for you individually and for our church. What blessings might you be forfeiting through a lack of trust?
CONCLUSION: A lady in a faded gingham dress and a man in a homespun, threadbare suit walked into the office and asked to see the president of Harvard University. The receptionist thought that such backwoods hicks did not need to be in such a place. She told them, "he is busy all day." They said, "we'll wait." After several hours, she finally called the president and asked if he would give them a few minutes just to get rid of them. He agreed.
The couple sheepishly walked into the office as the president got up in a huff and strutted toward them. The lady said, "we had a son who attended Harvard for a year and loved it. But about a year ago, he was killed in an accident. My husband and I would like to erect a memorial to him somewhere on campus."
The president was shocked. He said gruffly, "we cannot erect statues for everyone who attended Harvard and died. The place would look like a cemetery." "Oh no," the lady quickly explained. "We don't want to give a statue, we want to give a building."
The president rolled his eyes. He looked at them in their unsophisticated clothing and said, "A building! Do you have any idea how much that costs. We have over seven million dollars in the physical plant here at Harvard." The lady was silent. The president was pleased.
The lady turned to her husband and said, "Is that all it costs to start a university? Whey don't we just start our own?" Her husband nodded. The president looked bewildered.
At that point, Mr. & Mrs. Leland Stanford walked away from Harvard and went to Palo Alto CA where they established Stanford University as a memorial to a son that Harvard no longer cared about.
Someone here today may not think Jesus is all that the Bible says He is. You may look with skepticism on the uniqueness of Christ, his virgin birth, his miracles, his sacrificial death. You may think that the story of Jesus is an old, worn out tradition that has no relevance to your life. But think twice before you write him off. If you do, you will forfeit a gift so valuable that money cannot buy - eternal life and a personal relationship with the God of the universe.
