“The Day Jesus Couldn’t Do a Miracle.”
Mark 6:1-6
Robert Warren
October 14th, 2001
A. Even though Jesus had miraculous and marvelous powers, there is recorded a time when Jesus was unable to do something.
B. In his own hometown, Jesus was unable to do any miracles.
C. Why? Because although the people were amazed at Jesus’ words (for such a common person) they lacked faith in his power.
D. We are no different: Jesus will be unable to do anything in our midst if we do not believe.
E. On the other hand, look at the verses where Jesus promises to be able to do anything if we would only believe and call on him.
F. Are we missing out on Jesus’ power: are you missing out in your own life?
There are a lot of theological concepts which we accept on faith but which are incredibly difficult for us to understand. The Trinity, in which God is three natures in one person. The eternal nature of God in which we believe that God has always existed, knows all things, and has complete power over this universe. The grace of God which allows Him to freely forgive us for our sins yet allows Him to still show perfect justice in His dealings with us through Jesus Christ. Free will, in which God lovingly allows us humans to reject Him and to make a mess of the world, yet which also allows us to return to Him with merely a hint of faith and repentance. These are all difficult things to understand and I would be lying to you if I tried to tell you that I had any of this figured out. Yet, there is one concept that I firmly believe in yet have a more difficult time wrapping my puny brain around. It’s called the dual nature of Christ. Simply put, this is the belief that Jesus was at the same time 100% human and 100% God. The math doesn’t add up, but that’s the best equation that we have to understand how Jesus did what he did on earth. He had to be completely human in order to take our place on the cross and get credit for living a perfect life, yet he had to be divine since he came from God and was able to live such a sinless life. We say that a person got their brains from their mom and their looks from their dad. In Jesus’ case we would say that he got his humanity from Mary, his divinity from the Holy Spirit.
I try to make sure in my understanding of Jesus as I read his life story in the Gospels to keep both of these characteristics of Jesus in mind. I can try to live like he did because he was human just like I am. He was tempted by the same things that I am tempted by. He had the capacity to sin just like I do. He had emotions, feelings, reactions, and weaknesses just like I do. When someone struck him, he could have gotten angry. When someone betrayed him he could have sought vengeance. When people misunderstood him he could have gotten frustrated. But he didn’t, and that is my hope that I too can be holy like he was in my life. I believe that because of his humanity he really felt grief when he saw people suffering or sad. He felt real compassion when he saw someone in need. He felt real anger when he saw people putting up stumbling blocks in the name of religion. He cried real tears and felt real anxiety when faced with the cross. On the other hand, he was the Son of God, divine in nature. He knew the will of God because he was with God in the beginning. He spoke the words of God because he was in complete communion with God. He was able to take my sins upon his back because he was perfectly holy.
I have a feeling that most of us have an easier time believing that Jesus was divine than believing that he was human. A friend of mine was preaching one time and he mentioned that Jesus was like us in his humanity. He grew tired when he was up for a long time. He got hungry when he hadn’t eaten in a while. If he hit his thumb with a hammer, it hurt like the dickens. After working in the shop all day, he sweated and had body odor. Well, after the sermon a woman came up to him spitting mad. “How dare you say that Jesus had body odor! After all, the bible says that cleanliness is divine!” Not only did she misquote the bible, but she misunderstood Jesus’ humanity. This woman could not understand that Jesus was human like you and I are, even to the point of having sweat glands.
But to be honest, it would be very easy to forget that Jesus was human when you read about him in the gospels. One only needs to look at the miracles and wonders that he did to see that he was not you average guy. He was able to heal sicknesses, even serious sicknesses which present since birth. He could awaken those who lay in the sleep of death. He could cast out demons with a mere word; in fact, the demons fled at the sight of him. He could walk on water, turn water into wine, make the waters of the storm cease, and cause water to give sight back to the blind. He could take a few loaves of bread and a few fishes and make a meal for thousands. He was truly a man of miracles; it seems like there is nothing that Jesus couldn’t do. Would you agree that Jesus could do anything that he wanted?
It might surprise you, then, to hear that there was a time when Jesus was unable to do miracles. There was a time and a place when Jesus was powerless to do any major miracles. But, that’s exactly what the bible says. And I’m not talking about a time when Jesus willingly cast aside his power, I’m referring to a time when Jesus wanted to do a miracle and was unable to.
Allow me to show you the time of which I am referring. We read about these incredible circumstances in Mark 6:1-6:
Jesus left there and went to his home town, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joses, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they offense at him. Jesus said to them, “Only in his home town, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.”
There you have it: Mark says, “He could not do any miracles there.” Now, some of you might quibble with me. After all, Matthew 13:58 tells the same story, but says “And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.” But, on the other hand, Luke’s account of this incident in Luke 4 reveals that not only did Jesus not do any miracles here in his hometown, he was also almost thrown over the side of a cliff by an angry mob.
Frankly, I’m fascinated by this incident in Jesus’ life. It comes at a pretty upbeat time. In Luke Jesus comes to his hometown right after leaving the wilderness where he went eye to eye with Satan and won. Here in Mark it comes right after Jesus had cast out a legion of demons from a possessed man, healed a woman with bleeding, and raised a little girl from the dead. Suffice to say, Jesus is at a high point of his ministry and seeing incredible success and power as he begins to take the message of the Gospel to his people. He comes into his hometown, though, and hits a brick wall, unable to do many miracles and getting run out of town by the very people that he grew up with.
But don’t take this story as a limitation of Jesus’ power. All of the Gospel writers that tell of this event make it very clear that it was not Jesus’ fault that he could do no miracles. Ironically, it is the people who know Jesus the best who make any miracles impossible. These are the people of his hometown, the ones who would know him the best. You would think that they would be his biggest fans. After all, I love going back to Bethlehem Advent Christian Church in Augusta, GA. That is where I grew up and first became a Christian. The people there knew me when I was little and they saw me mature in the Lord. They helped me to go to school to learn the bible and they are as proud as punch that I and two other boys became preachers. I know that when I go back there I am in friendly company. I worried and worried when I went back two years ago to preach at homecoming, but I’m sure that I could have gotten up and preached from the phone book and they would have been proud and supportive. In fact, I would never want to be the pastor there for fear that they would see how I really am; the shine would come off of me in their eyes.
Yet, when Jesus comes home he gets a less than enthusiastic welcome. At first, though, they are impressed. He went to their church— the synagogue— and began to teach. The people were amazed. Here was this 30 year old hometown boy preaching and teaching like a wise old rabbi. They had never heard anyone speak the words of God like this. But their amazement was not pure, they were amazed simply because they didn’t think that he would have such wisdom in him. They knew him too well. “Wasn’t this Mary’s son?” (I imagine that by this time Joseph was dead, and therefore he was not known as Joseph’s son by as Mary’s son). “Don’t we know his brothers and sisters?” They knew the human side of Jesus, they just couldn’t believe in the divine side. They had seen him grow up before their eyes. Their children had played with him in the streets. They took their carpentry work to his shop. They passed him in the marketplace, they worshiped with him in the synagogue. Simply put, they had grown used to him.
As a result, they could not believe that he was the Son of God. They lacked the simple faith to believe that he could do miracles, and consequently he didn’t. Now, I know that Jesus could do miracles without the faith of those affected by them, but that was not his style. Go back and look at the healing miracles recorded in the Gospels. Just about every one of them was done because the sick person or their family showed an incredible amount of faith. Jesus saw the man being lowered down from the roof by his friends, and he rewarded their faith with a healing. He felt the touch of the woman with bleeding and rewarded her faith in the mere touch of Jesus with healing. Over and over Jesus was amazed by the faith of the people who came to him for healing and he responded with a miracle.
In this passage, Jesus is once again amazed. Verse 6 says that he was amazed at their lack of faith. It’s as though Jesus could not believe what was happening: these people simply refused to believe. The only miracles that he could do in this town was to heal a few sick people. You know why he could do those miracles? Because the sick people in their desperation were willing to believe in Jesus: they had nothing to lose. Their faith enabled Jesus to perform healing miracles on their behalf. But for those who had grown used to Jesus, who had been desensitized by the common sight of seeing Jesus on the street, he could do nothing. They were not willing to believe that Jesus, the one they knew so well, could truly be the Son of God, the Messiah. Here in his hometown, Jesus was unable to do any miracles because the people who knew him best did not believe in his power.
We are living in a time when we really need to see some miracles. The world is searching for some answers to the chaos in which we live. Our country is starting to think that maybe it was not such a good idea to ask God to step aside into the shadows while we went about the business of the nation. Our communities are realizing that the church just might have some answers to the questions and troubles that are rocking our society. But are we still seeing miracles in the church?
I believe that many churches have grown so used to Jesus that he is unable to do any miracles in their midst. Like a prophet in his hometown, Jesus has become sanitized for our protection, completely devoid of any miraculous powers. We in the church are the ones who are supposed to know Jesus the best. We have read his life story, we sing songs in his name, we pray to him, we represent Jesus on earth. But here in the midst of the people who are called in his name, I’m afraid that Jesus has lost any power to do miracles. For most Christians the idea of turning to a real, living Jesus for miraculous deeds is absurd. Even though we desperately need a miracle in our churches, we would fall over dead if we really saw Jesus moving through his Holy Spirit.
Why can I say something that shocking? Because like the people of Jesus’ hometown, I think that we have grown too used to Jesus. Our worship is planned out to the minute, with more virtue given to the preacher who gets us out on time than to the preacher who surrenders himself to God’s word. We have our order of service carefully laid out in our bulletins, with little room for the Holy Spirit to express himself in our midst. We would be shocked and horrified if Jesus moved someone to declare a praise to the Lord or to raise their hands in ecstatic joy. Our prayers are short and impersonal, with more repetition and meaninglessness than true conversation. We make our decisions based on committees, board meetings, and our budget than on the discerned will of God. Many of us have religion instead of a true relationship with a living God. In this kind of environment, where people are no longer amazed at the power of Jesus name and the promise of His kingdom, Jesus is unable to do any miracles.
I’m not suggesting for a second that Jesus is powerless to do miracles in our day and age. Just the opposite: consider some of the promises that Jesus made to his church:
John 16:23: In that day you will no longer ask me anything. I tell you the truth, my Father will give you whatever you ask in my name.
Matthew 17:20: I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.
Matthew 21:21-22: I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea.’ and it will be done. If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.
Mark 9:23: Everything is possible for him who believes.
Mark 11:24: Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.
John 14:13-14: And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. These are some pretty bold promises. Yet, how many of us really believe that in the church today? And if we don’t believe in these promises, is there any chance that Jesus will do them? Perhaps the weakness and failure that we are seeing in our lives and in our churches is because we have grown so accustomed to Jesus that we no longer believe that he is able to do great things through us. Jesus no doubt still stands amazed and powerless in the midst of many congregations that call on his name because those people gathered there no longer believe that Jesus has the power to make a difference. A lot of congregations are struggling and are at the point of ceasing to exist as a church of Jesus Christ. I believe this is because those congregations claim to know Jesus well but have stopped believing that he has the power to do miraculous things. They have been relying on their money, the wisdom of the board, the energy of their pastor, and the efficiency of their programs. But they have lost any faith or amazement in the power of Jesus Christ. I believe that there are many Christians who have not seen a miracle in their lives in a long time because they don’t turn to Jesus for the power and strength that they need to turn their lives around. Jesus is unable to do anything in these congregations or in the lives of these Christians because of the lack of faith he finds.
But imagine what a difference would be seen if we would truly believe in the power that Jesus has in the world today. This is the power of the Jabez prayer. There is nothing at all special about that prayer. You can memorize the prayer and carry the coin in your pocket and nothing at all will come of it. But if you pray that prayer and truly believe that God will hear you and make a difference in your life, your faith will unleash the miraculous power of Jesus. If it takes saying the Prayer of Jabez, more power to you. If it takes you re-reading the Gospels to be reminded of what Jesus can do in the life of the believer, then start reading. If it means that you come to worship with an expectant attitude that God will visit you hear, then come expecting a miracle. But Jesus will not be able to move among us if we are complacent and unbelieving.
Look at this congregation. For many years we have moved on autopilot. Everything was done the way that it had always been done and there was no desire for Jesus to do anything out of the ordinary. But there were a number of changes and crises that led many people to get on their knees and seek intervention from Jesus; this has made all the difference. There are people in this congregation now who firmly believe that Jesus has the power to revive this congregation, to make a difference in our community, to restore marriages, to heal broken bodies and to bring joy into a dead faith. This is why we are seeing a new spirit of revival in our midst.
There are a lot of impossible things that are before us as a congregation. We would like to see our community reached for Christ, which means that there will be more and more people here to worship. Seems impossible when you think of all the things that have been tried in the past to grow as a church. Some people are talking about revitalizing the men’s group and rebuilding the youth group. Some people are planning to expand the mission work of this church to areas and levels that have never been seen before. Some people have a vision for a style of worship here which is more dynamic and personal than we’ve ever seen. Some people, or at least me, think that this congregation can plant 10 churches in the next 15 years. Does all this sound impossible? Without faith, it is impossible. It will be impossible because we will be limiting the power of Jesus to do impossible things. But if we believe, and truly turn to Jesus for our strength, we will be able to move mountains.
I don’t know what Jesus will do in this congregation. I don’t know what he will do in your own life. I don’t know what impact Jesus will have on this community or on our nation through this church. But I know exactly what will happen if we do not turn to Jesus with love, adoration, and the expectation that he can do great things: absolutely nothing. Right now I firmly believe that Jesus is looking at a lot of Christians and a lot of churches with amazement: amazement at the lack of faith that many Christians have. Jesus is powerful, but he will not work in a place that is lacking faith.
What do we need to do? We need to restore the joy... the joy... of our first love. If you have become used to Jesus, you need to come back to him as though for the first time. If worship has become routine, then you need to do whatever it takes to see the glory of Jesus and react to that glory through worship. If you no longer believe that Jesus can do miracles, then you need to go back and read the promises that he made that he will do whatever we ask in his will if we ask with faith. If you are putting limits on what you think this congregation can accomplish because you don’t think that we have the ability or the resources to do them, then you are in the wrong congregation. There are a lot of churches out there who would be offended if Jesus moved in their midst, but I pray that this is not one of them.
We need to be a congregation of sick people. You see, it was only the sick people who Jesus was able to do a miracle for in his hometown. These were the folks who knew that they had a need and turned to Jesus in desperation for a miracle. They still had faith because they knew that no one else could help them. When I look at our world, I know that I need Jesus. When I look at congregations that are cold and dead in their worship and actions, I know that this congregation needs to be clinging to the feet of Jesus. When I look at what a mess I make of my life without the guidance of Jesus, I know that I’m a sick man in need of a savior.
One summer, a drought threatened the crop in a small town. On a hot and dry Sunday, the village parson told his congregation, "There isn’t anything that will save us except to believe in the power of Jesus and pray for rain. Go home, pray, believe, and come back next Sunday ready to thank God for sending rain." The people did as they were told and returned to church the following Sunday. But as soon as the parson saw them, he was furious. "We can’t worship today. You do not yet believe," he said. "But," they protested, "we prayed, and we do believe." "Believe?" he responded. "Then where are your umbrellas?"
The story applies to all of us. There are those people who leave their umbrellas at home. Throughout their lives, they are merely hoping their wishes and prayers will bear fruit, but they expect little. Others expect their dreams and desires to come to pass. It is as if they journey through life always prepared for something to happen. Today, how will you approach that which you are yearning for? Will you expect your prayers and work to bring about hoped-for results? Will you bring your umbrella? Will you believe in Jesus, or have you grown so used to him that your relationship with him is cold? If so, Jesus stands amazed at your lack of faith.
We need some miracles. We need Jesus to bring peace to our world. We need him to restore our marriages, to bring relief to our economy, to do astounding things in this congregation, to make us the people that we need to be. Can Jesus do a miracle in our world? Can he do a miracle in our congregation? Can he do a miracle in your life? I know that Jesus has the power to do all of this, but only one thing can limit him. That is, are you willing to believe in him?
