Following Jesus (6)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Scripture: Mark 6:1-6
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 2/5/2017
If you were with us the last few weeks, you know we are on a sixteen-week journey that will take us through the deserts of Palestine, along the shores of Lake Galilee and the Jordan River, and into the cities of Nazareth, Bethlehem and Jerusalem as we follow in the footsteps of Jesus.
The Gospel of Mark is our guide on this journey and recently Jesus has just completed a whirlwind tour across much of northern Israel. In Mark 4, He astounded his disciples by calming the wind and waves on Lake Galilee. Last Sunday, in Mark 5, He shocked the Ten Towns of the Gersenes by casting a legion of demons into a herd of swine. In the second half of Mark 5, He surprised a disease ridden woman who was healed the instant she touched his cloak. His last stop was the home of Jarius, whose daughter had died just moments before Jesus arrived. But death wouldn’t stop Jesus. He took the little girl’s hand and whispered in her ear, “Little girl, get up.” Immediately the girl rose and walked and the Bible says, “They were overwhelmed and totally amazed” (Mark 5:42 NLT).
So far, Jesus seems to amaze and impress just about everyone he encounters. But as we begin chapter 6, we meet some people who aren’t so impressed with Jesus. So if you have a Bible or an app on your phone, open it up to Mark 6 and let’s read this short segment in the life of Christ.
Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. 2 The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” 3 Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. 4 Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” 5 And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief. (Mark 6:1-6 NLT)
I’m not sure what prompted Jesus’s return home. Perhaps He was tired from all his travels and just wanted to sit in that comfortable rocking chair his father carved. Maybe his mom had been nagging Him to come home and visit for a while. Or maybe He returned home for one of the many Hebrew holidays or family festivals. Whatever his reasons were, there’s always something special about going home—the comfort, the familiarity of it all. And, as I read it, Jesus’s brief trip home unfolds in three parts, starting with Jesus’s reception.
• HIS RECEPTION
Much had changed since Jesus left Nazareth. He left alone and a carpenter. He returned a famous rabbi with a whole entourage of disciples. He spends a few days visiting with family and friends and when Saturday rolls around, he’s invited to speak in the Synagogue. The synagogue was the center of town and the center of religious as well as social life. Important civic meetings were often held there. Everyone came to the Synagogue to connect with God and with his or her neighbors. It was common for a visiting rabbi to be invited to speak in the local synagogue. Jesus had become a well-known and popular speaker, so they rolled out the red carpet for him.
I imagine he received plenty pats on the back and amply attaboys as he entered the Synagogue. The people of Nazareth warmly welcomed him. They were happy to have him in their church and in their lives.
So Jesus now has the opportunity to preach in the very church in which he grew up. And the Bible says, “many who heard him were amazed. They asked, ‘Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?’” (Mark 6:2 NLT).
Here Jesus was, back in his hometown, preaching to the same people who watched him play in the dirt as a child, who saw him struggle through puberty, who witnessed the grief in his eyes when his earthly father died, and they were amazed. The word translated amazed literally means “struck out of one’s sense.” In other words, Jesus blew their minds. They were amazed at his words, his wisdom and the wonders he could perform. It was obvious that there was something special about this home-town hero.
The truth is—two thousand years later, Jesus is no less amazing. He more than lives up to the hype. When we welcome Jesus into our church and our lives, the way these Nazarenes did, we won’t be disappointed. His wisdom and the wonders he can perform in your life will blow your mind! But only if you receive him with open arms and open hearts. Not everyone is willing to roll out the red carpet. As the story continues we witness Jesus’s rejection.
• HIS REJECTION
No matter how amazing something or someone is, there will always be critics and complainers. It’s like the story Charles Swindoll tells in his book “Three Steps Forward, Two Steps Back.” A farmer wanted to impress his hunting buddies, so he bought the smartest, most expensive hunting dog he could find. He trained his dog to do things no other dog on earth could do—impossible feats that would surely amaze anyone. Then he invited his buddies to go duck hunting with him. After a long patient wait in the boat a group of ducks flew over and the hunters were able to make a few hits. Several ducks fell in the water and the proud owner shouted, “Go get 'em!” The dog leaped out of the boat, walked on the water, picked up a bird and returned to the boat. Beaming with pride, the man turned to his fellow hunters and said, “So what don’t you think?” One of them looked at him cross-eyed and spouted, “Boy you sure got ripped off. You spent all that money on a dog that doesn’t even know how to swim!”
Some of his neighbors were just as unimpressed by Jesus. The Bible says, “Then they scoffed, ‘He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.’ They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. (Mark 6:3-4).
There were two not-so-veiled insults in their words. First, they said “he’s just a carpenter.” Jesus was thirty years old when he went down to the river to be baptized by John. Prior to that, he had been at home, learning the trade of carpentry from his father Joseph and probably helping to support himself and the family after Joseph died. “He’s nobody special,” the townspeople thought, “he’s just a common laborer.” They insulted him and thought lesser of him because of his career as a carpenter.
Furthermore, they called him “the son of Mary.” In any normal situation in Jewish culture, Jesus would have been called “the son of Joseph.” But Jesus, as we know, was miraculously conceived by the Holy Spirit prior to Mary and Joseph’s wedding. Calling him “the son of Mary” was likely their way of labeling Jesus a bastard child, conceived out of wedlock by a woman who cheated on her fiancée. And then listing all of his brothers and sisters just shows how familiar they were with him and his family. They thought they knew everything there was to know about this kid and their familiarity bred contempt.
I wonder sometimes if we aren’t a little too familiar with Jesus ourselves.
I know we didn’t grow up on the same street. We’ve never shared a meal with Mary and Joseph. You and I never hired Jesus to build a fence or repair our stable. But we’ve grown up with Jesus all the same. We live in the most Christianized nation in the world. There are a dozen churches in every town. There’s a Bible in every hotel room. There are Christian bookstores overflowing with tomes about Jesus—both fiction and non-fiction. There are movies and music and more all about Jesus. And these are good things, wonderful things. But I wonder if our culture hasn’t become so saturated with Jesus that we’ve grown desensitized to him. We’ve all heard the story of Jesus. We’ve heard it in Sunday School, in sermons, in songs. We think we know everything there is to know about Jesus. And none of it amazes us anymore.
Have you ever heard of The Jesus Film Project? It’s a movie produced by Campus Crusade for Christ based on the Gospel of Luke. It simply tells the story of Jesus. If it were shown in theatres in America it would probably be a flop. Critics would complain about the slow pace, the bland cinematography and the lack of originality. We’ve seen this story before. Yet, this film has been translated into 1160 languages and is used by missionaries all over the world in remote villages and in hostile nations. Since 1979, 200 million men, women and children worldwide have made decisions to follow Jesus after viewing the film. That’s one person every six second; 14,400 new believers per day.
So why is it that millions of people from the jungles of Africa and the streets of Papa New Guinea and the port of Athens are giving their hearts and lives to Jesus, while evangelistic efforts seem so futile and fruitless here at home? Like Jesus said, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown.” We are the hometown. And, unfortunately, rejecting Jesus comes with some serious side effects.
Finally, in the last few verses of this passage we see Jesus’s reaction.
• HIS REACTION
The next couple of verses in Mark tell us the rest of the story: “And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief” (Mark 6:5-6 NLT).
As a general principle, power follows faith! On some occasions Jesus did wondrous miracles in the face of disbelief (Paul’s conversion, or the two demon-possessed men for example). Most of the time, however, Jesus works in response to or in cooperation with faith. He wants faith to be part of the process. And he was simply amazed—his mind was blown—by their lack of faith.
What amazes the most amazing person to walk the earth?
I do. You do. We all do when we don’t believe.
In the Bible, unbelief is regarded as a mind-set, a stubborn refusal to believe rather than a logical conclusion of evaluating evidence. We are living in an age of unbelief. According to a new worldwide poll, called “The Global Index of Religiosity and Atheism,” the number of Americans who say they are atheists rose from 1% in 2005 (the last time the poll was conducted) to 5% in 2013. I’m amazed at how quickly unbelief has taken root in so many hearts. And if I’m amazed, imagine how amazed Jesus must be. But forget about the atheists and agnostics for a minute. What about you and me?
Have you ever wondered why you don’t see more miracles in your life? Think about that verse again: “because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them.” Because of their unbelief, Jesus held back. That’s not to say that Jesus didn’t do any miracles at all while he was in Nazareth. He did heal a few sick people, but only a few. Why? I think it’s because only a few believed that he would.
Do you think he holds back miracles in my life because of my unbelief? Do you think he holds back miracles in your life because of your unbelief? When you fall on your knees and plead with Jesus to perform a miracle in your life, do you believe that he’ll do it? Do you even bother to ask?
James tells us, “But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord” (James 1:6-7 NIV).
This doesn’t mean you’ll always get what you want if you believe hard enough. Sometimes, God simply says no. But unbelief blinds us to the truth and robs us of hope, while faith opens the door and invites Jesus to work in our lives. Because of their unbelief the people of Nazareth missed the Messiah. Let’s not make the same mistake.
Conclusion
Every day, we have the same opportunity as the people of Nazareth. We can choose to reject Jesus, thinking we already know all about him and he’s nothing special. Or we can receive Jesus in faith with open arms, inviting him to work in our hearts and lives. How we respond to him will determine how he reacts to us.
Next week, we’ll continue following Jesus through the Gospel of Mark.
Invitation
In the meantime, maybe you’ve been struggling with unbelief. Maybe you’ve grown up with Jesus and heard the stories about him so often that you stopped being amazed. But I want to encourage you to put your faith in Jesus, invite him into your life and he just might blow your mind. Let’s stand and sing together.
