Mark 6:1-6

A Prophet Without Honor

1Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2When 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! 3Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.

4Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." 5He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6And he was amazed at their lack of faith.







BACKGROUND READING:


Matthew 13:53-57




Deuteronomy 18:14-22




1 Corinthians 15:3-7




James 1:1-18



Dig Deeper

I have had many opportunities to preach and teach from the Bible, but without a doubt the most difficult and stressful lesson I ever gave was the very first time I spoke in my hometown with many of my friends and family present. There is just something different about a crowd that contains people who knew you growing up. It’s probably a little weird for them as well. Most people in the audience see the minister on stage preaching and can listen to the words of God that he is sharing. When its your family, they tend to see the little boy that got into trouble or the teenage boy who got into even more. Sermons are usually a public event that results from deeply personal thoughts and feelings. To display that in front of those who know you so intimately is difficult for both you and them.


Jesus had been going around teaching with a great deal of authority. He wasn’t just another teacher of the law or synagogue teacher, he was here announcing that the long-awaited kingdom of God was coming. The other teachers would explain from the prophets how the kingdom of God would come, but they didn’t really know when. Now Jesus was telling people that it was coming and was, in fact, at hand. He was apparently doing this on his own authority. This authority amazed and mesmerized some, and angered and infuriated others. But they couldn’t question that he had some sort of power that they couldn’t explain. There was no doubt about that.


But when he came to Nazareth there was doubt. They had heard of the incredible things he had supposedly done. How could this be? They’d known him his whole life. They knew his mother, his father, and his siblings. Good kid, yes; but mighty prophet and Messiah, speaking on behalf of YHWH, no way. So they teased and taunted him, challenging him to do the same sorts of signs and wonders for them. Added to that was the fact that the type of kingdom Jesus was announcing was not the sort of kingdom that the Jews really wanted. As soon as they found a reason to reject it, they took. For the people of Nazareth, the reason to reject him was that they had known Jesus growing up, he couldn’t be a prophet. (This is another clue that Jesus was of no special consequence growing up: no miracles or special power.)


Mark also demonstrates for us, the curious connection between faith and healing. Their lack of faith, severely limited the miracles that Jesus could perform. If even Jesus’ power could be slowed by the faucet of faith being turned off, then we shouldn’t be surprised that sometimes we are limited by our own lack of faith or the lack of faith of others.


As Mark does so frequently, there are echoes in this story too, of the larger story and the way it will end. It is a foreshadowing to the time when the Messiah will enter Jerusalem, the city that the Messiah might think of as his home. Yet, Jerusalem was the place that was known for killing God’s prophets. It was the city of God, yet it rejected his messengers. He will come to the Temple, the place of God’s home, the place the Messiah would go. Yet, he will be rejected by his own people.


Among the brothers of Jesus mentioned, and no doubt present at some point during this visit, was James, the one to whom Jesus appeared after his resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:57). James would later become the leader of the church in Jerusalem, a co-worker in leading the church with men like Peter and Paul. At this point though, none of that is apparent. James is still a major skeptic at best, and an angry little brother at worst. He may well have felt that Jesus was shaming the family honor, and no doubt believed that he had betrayed the family unity to some degree. It would have been particularly grievous in that society for the older brother to walk away from the family for any reason, thus shaming them. Perhaps this can serve as a reminder that no one should be overlooked. The people that we see today that appear to have no interest in the things of God may be the church leaders of tomorrow.



Devotional Thought

James had no idea at this point, what lay in the future for both Jesus and for him. The question is, what does God have in store for your future? Maybe you feel like you’ve never done anything major for God, or perhaps you feel as if your best days are behind you. Yet, we know that it is God’s will to use all of his people. We are, after all, saved to do good works. If you don’t already know, spend some time praying and seeking advice to see in what ways God might use you in the coming months and years.