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
• A church dream I secretly think is too big
When unbelief moves into the guest bedroom…faith sleeps on the porch.
Story: When God Surprises the Preacher
A young pastor visited a member in the hospital—an older saint who loved Jesus deeply. She asked him to pray for God to heal her. The pastor was polite…but inside, he didn’t expect much.
He prayed. She shouted.
She stood up pulling tubes and wires.
She danced in that hospital room praising God.
The preacher?
He sprinted to his car, sat shaking behind the wheel, and said,
“Lord…please don’t ever do that to me again.”
That preacher believed in healing—in theory.
God made it real.
And it scared the unbelief right out of him.
Sometimes we think faith is risky.
The truth is…unbelief is riskier.
Because unbelief:
• closes doors Jesus is opening
• silences prayers Jesus is answering
• stops healing Jesus is offering
• kills joy Jesus is restoring
CP Connection: What Do We Pray For?
Let’s bring this home to where we live in faith and prayer.
Much of the time, our prayers sound like:
“Lord, fix this situation so I don’t have to trust You any deeper.”
We pray for convenience instead of transformation.
We pray for preference instead of purpose.
What if the greatest miracle Jesus wants to do…
is inside us?
Sometimes God changes circumstances.
Often God changes people within those circumstances.
Including me.
Including you.
Our fear says:
“I need God to take this cup away.”
Faith says:
“I want to drink this cup with Jesus beside me.”
The woman at the hospital wasn’t asking for comfort.
She was asking for calling.
She said:
“I don’t think my life’s work is done yet.”
“That’s why I want to be healed.”
That is faith in motion.
That is faith that expects God to act where His purpose requires it.
“Faith without works is dead.”
James 2:17
Which means:
If I believe God can…why wouldn’t I live like He will?
A Pause for Reflection
Take a moment and ask:
Where have I lowered my expectations of God?
• My health
• My marriage
• My children
• My future
• My church
• My spiritual growth
Where have I quietly decided:
“That’s just how it is now”?
Have I allowed my familiarity with Jesus
to replace expectancy in Jesus?
Have I been in church so long I’ve forgotten
Jesus still surprises those who trust Him?
Re-Recognizing Jesus
The crowd in Nazareth looked directly at God…and didn’t recognize Him.
What if Jesus is closer than we think?
What if answers are already in the room?
What if the miracle begins the moment we stop assuming we know what God will not do?
Faith doesn’t deny reality.
Faith refuses to give reality the final word.
And that leads us to a critical truth:
Unbelief says Jesus can’t.
Faith says Jesus can.
Trust says Jesus will where His purpose is working.
What Would Our Unbelief Cost Us?
If unbelief could stop Jesus from doing mighty works in Nazareth…
what might unbelief be stopping in us?
Unbelief always has a price tag.
Always.
It can quietly drain a life or a church of:
• peace
• joy
• spiritual strength
• missional boldness
• expectancy
• answered prayer we never prayed
Satan doesn’t need to shut a church down.
He only needs to steal its expectation.
If we stop believing God will do anything new…
we’ll soon stop seeing God do anything at all.
Jesus Marvels
Mark tells us:
Jesus marveled at their unbelief
There are only two things in the Gospels that amazed Jesus:
Great faith
Great unbelief
Which one do we want Holy Spirit to see here?
Sometimes the greatest enemy of faith is familiarity.
We think we already know what Jesus will or won’t do.
We forget that He is Lord of surprises.
Faith is not believing God might.
Faith is believing God can and will where His purpose is working.
The opposite of faith isn’t doubt.
The opposite of faith is control.
Control says:
“I’ll trust God once I see how He works this out.”
Faith says:
“I’ll trust God while He works this out.”
Faith That Moves From Asking to Following
Nazareth said:
“Prove Yourself, Jesus.”
Faith says:
“Lead me, Jesus.”
Unbelief puts God on trial.
Faith takes God by the hand.
Faith doesn’t say:
“I understand everything.”
Faith says:
“I trust Someone Who does.”
Faith doesn’t demand certainty.
Faith clings to the certainty of Christ.
One step. One prayer. One act of obedience at a time.
Illustration: GPS Jesus
We love turn-by-turn directions:
“Continue 1.2 miles, then merge…”
We want God to show us:
• how long the struggle will last
• exactly how the prayer will be answered
• a timeline for breakthrough
But that is not how faith works.
Jesus rarely gives us the whole map.
He gives us Himself.
He doesn’t say:
“Meet Me at the destination.”
He says:
“Follow Me every step.”
We want an itinerary.
He wants a relationship.
He is not calling us to see the way.
He is calling us to go the way.
Three Simple Ways to Live Faith Forward
1. Believe Before You See
Nazareth wanted a miracle first.
Jesus wanted faith first.
Signs don’t produce faith.
Faith produces the space where signs can appear.
If you decide God won’t…
you’ll never see when He does.
Faith whispers:
“I don’t know how…but I know Who.”
2. Pray Like You Expect God to Act
Some prayers are safe and small:
“Lord, bless us.”
“Lord, be with us.”
Nothing wrong with that.
But those prayers don’t move mountains.
Heart-forward prayer says:
“God, show me what You desire to do.
And make me ready to join You in it.”
Faith doesn’t pray from fear.
Faith prays from trust.
You’re not trying to convince God to care.
You pray because God already does.
3. Step Out So God Can Step In
Peter didn’t wait for the water to solidify.
He stepped out on liquid faith.
Miracles don’t happen in safety zones.
They happen where obedience risks something.
Faith means movement:
not perfection, not performance…
movement.
If you want God to show up…
show up where you need Him most.
Step into the place where if Jesus doesn’t help…you’re sunk.
That is where faith feels alive.
Invitation: From Nazareth…to Here
I want you to imagine Jesus walking into this room right now.
• What miracle is He longing to do for you?
• What healing have you stopped expecting?
• What prayer did you bury under disappointment?
• What family member have you given up on?
• What dream has unbelief shut down?
Jesus asks us today:
“What do you want Me to do for you?”
Not the polite answer.
The real one.
Nazareth missed the moment.
Let’s not repeat their story.
Let’s not be the church that surprises Jesus with unbelief.
Let us be the church that surprises heaven with faith.
Faith that sits up straighter.
Faith that prays bigger.
Faith that expects Jesus to be Jesus.
Faith that believes the best chapters have not yet been written.
It may only take a mustard seed.
Give God that seed…
and stand back.
You may find yourself marveling at Him…
even as He marvels at you.
A Final Word to the Heart
If your faith feels small today…
Jesus never said the size of your faith is what moves mountains.
He said the presence of faith is what does.
Faith the size of a mustard seed…
in a God sized like Jesus…
is enough.
Unbelief says:
“Jesus can’t.”
Faith says:
“Jesus can.”
Trust says:
“Jesus will…where His purpose is at work.”
Let’s believe the One standing among us is:
• the Healer
• the Provider
• the Savior
• the Miracle Worker
• the Lord of All
Let’s stop telling God what He can’t do.
Let’s start walking like He is already doing it.
Can you believe that?
Today…let’s say yes.
