Faith In Jesus!

¹ 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 is 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 could not do any mighty miracles among them except to place His hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ And He was amazed at their unbelief. Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people. Mark 6:1-6 (NLT)

Mark 6 begins a shift in Jesus’ public ministry. Here begins Jesus’ final extended ministry. Beginning at Mark 6:1 through Mark 9:50, Jesus and His followers will minister in a wide area well north of Jerusalem.

To begin this new section, Jesus and His disciples (followers) return to Jesus’ hometown, the city of Nazareth (Mark 6:1; see also Matthew 13:54; Luke 4:16). Although Jesus was born in Bethlehem, He was brought up in Nazareth located in Galilee (see Matthew 2:23; Matthew 21:11; Matthew 26:71; Mark 1:9; Luke 1:26; Luke 2:39, 51; Luke 4:16-24; John 1:45-46). The city of Nazareth was a small and insignificant village in lower Galilee. Amazingly, Nazareth is so common and ordinary that Nazareth is never mentioned in the Jewish rabbinic literature of the Mishnah and the Talmud. Even Josephus, a first-century Jewish historian, does not mention Nazareth. Nazareth was a rather obscure town, nowhere mentioned in the Old Testament. The only fame of Nazareth was Jesus the Messiah (Christ)!

When the Sabbath (Saturday) had come, Jesus began teaching in the synagogue, the heart of the Jewish community (Mark 6:2; see also Matthew 13:54; Luke 4:16). Many people heard Jesus’ teaching and were amazed, saying, “Where did this Man get these teachings? What is this wisdom that has been given to Him? And where did He get the power to do miracles?” (Mark 6:2, NCV). The people were amazed and astonished at Jesus’ anointed teaching, wisdom (insight), and miracles (see also Mark 1:21-28; Matthew 7:28-29; Matthew 13:54; Luke 4:18-19, 22). The people of Nazareth had previously heard all Jesus’ miracles and wisdom (John 1:19-4:42). Nevertheless, the people became upset and began to mock and reject Him (Mark 6:3). Jesus’ hometown people of Nazareth knew Him as just a carpenter (Mark 6:3; see also Matthew 13:55). After all, Jesus had been their neighbor for nearly thirty years, they had seen Jesus at work in the carpenter’s shop, and He appeared to be just another Nazarene. The people of Nazareth saw no reason to trust Jesus as their Messiah! The rejection and misunderstanding of Jesus are most evident at Mark 6:3. The people said, “He is just the carpenter, the Son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And His sisters are here with us” (Mark 6:3, NCV). The failure to mention Joseph probably indicates that he had already died. Also, the story mentions Jesus’ four half-brothers and His half-sister. The four half-brothers and two or more half-sisters were children of Joseph and Mary born after Jesus (see Matthew 1:25; Luke 2:7).

The Gospel of John states that “not even His brothers believed in Him” (John 7:5). Also, Jesus’ family resented Jesus and thought that He had lost His mind (Mark 3:21). However, the good news is that Jesus’ half-brothers eventually were born again and accepted Jesus. Jesus’ brothers were in the upper room in Jerusalem following Jesus’ ascension (return to heaven) (Acts 1:12-14). At some point, James became the lead elder in the church in Jerusalem (see Acts 15:13; Acts 21:17-18; Galatians 1:19). Eventually, James wrote the New Testament book of James and Judas, Jesus’ other half-brother, wrote the New Testament book of Jude (Mark 6:3; see also Matthew 13:55).

Like His earthly father Joseph before Him, Jesus worked as a carpenter (Mark 6:3). Possibly Jesus continued to practice His trade while traveling about teaching and healing others. Jesus certainly derived no income from His ministry. Only officials of the temple and religious courts drew salaries. The rest of the religious teachers and leaders were either independently wealthy or supported themselves through a trade or profession.

The people of Nazareth became deeply offended at Jesus (Mark 6:3). They refused to believe He was the long-awaited Christ (Messiah) and Son of the living God (Mark 1:1; see also Matthew 13:57; Matthew 16:16). One translation states that “they took offense at Him” (Mark 6:3, NIV). The word for “offense” comes from the Greek word “skandalon,” meaning a “stumbling block.” The people of Nazareth saw only a carpenter, only a Son of Mary and only another one of the village children that returned for a visit (Mark 6:3). However, Jesus' teaching and miracles clearly marked Him as different from all other people of the world. Jesus was God in flesh (see e.g., Matthew 1:21, 23; John 1:1-5, 14, 18; Romans 9:5; 2 Corinthians 4:4; Colossians 1:15, 19; Colossians 2:9-10; Hebrews 1:3-4). Despite the unbelief Nazareth, the Holy Scriptures declare that Jesus of Nazareth is God's Son, and the Messiah sent to fulfill His promises (Mark 8:29). Jesus was certainly a “stone of stumbling” to Nazareth and many others because of their unbelief in Him (see also Isaiah 8:14; Romans 9:32-33; 1 Peter 2:8).

Jesus’ rejection by His hometown was His second rejection at Nazareth, the first one occurring at the beginning of His Galilean ministry (Luke 4:16-30). In Luke 4’s parallel version, the hometown people of Nazareth wanted to throw Jesus down the hill and kill Him (Luke 4:28-30). When Jesus claimed to be the long-awaited Messiah and the One the prophet Isaiah prophesied would come, those who were listening became intensely angry and literally attempted to take Jesus’ life by throwing Him over a cliff on the outskirts of Nazareth (see Luke 4:16-30).

Moreover, first-century society was very segregated, and one’s place in that society was largely established at birth. Jesus was described as a carpenter in these verses (Mark 6:3; see also Matthew 13:55). The people of Nazareth resented Jesus and were offended that He had gotten out of His place (Mark 6:3). Also at this point in Jesus’ public ministry, Jesus was a controversial itinerant (traveling) Preacher that surrounded Himself with “low lives” – fishermen, tax collectors, and women. Jesus said to the people, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family” (Matthew 13:57, NLT). Jesus said that a prophet (in other words, a worker for God) is never honored in his hometown (Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24; John 4:44). Unable to explain Jesus, the people who knew Jesus best rejected Him.

Sadly in His hometown of Nazareth, Jesus was not able to work any miracles, except to lay His hands on a few sick people and healed them (Mark 6:5; see also Matthew 13:58). Jesus’ familiarity and commonness caused the people of Nazareth to miss the Kingdom of God. Jesus was teaching effectively and wisely, but His hometown rejected His authority because they only saw Jesus as a carpenter. Thus, this small town of Nazareth missed the greatest day of their lives! Nazareth’s lack of faith in Jesus, not Jesus’ lack of supernatural power, kept Jesus from doing many miracles and gracious acts in Nazareth (Mark 6:5-6; see also Matthew 13:58). The point is not that Jesus was suddenly lacking in ability to do miracles — He does perform a few. Rather Jesus finds contempt and hardness of heart which hinders God’s supernatural power (Hebrews 3:12-14). Jesus was amazed or marveled at how many people had no faith in Him and refused to believe in Him (Mark 6:6). Only here does Mark speak of Jesus as having marveled (Mark 6:6). Instead of remaining at Nazareth, Jesus left the city of Nazareth and went to other villages in that area teaching (Mark 6:6).

¹⁴ For if we are faithful to the end, trusting God just as firmly as when we first believed, we will share in all that belongs to Christ. Hebrews 3:14 (NLT)

The Holy Scriptures are clear that Jesus responds to our faith in God and faith in Him (e.g. see Mark 9:23; Luke 7:9; John 6:29; John 14:1). Where there is no faith, Jesus performed few miracles (Mark 6:5). Jesus performed His miracles most often in the presence of and in response to faith in Him (e.g., see Mark 5:34, 36). Lack of faith blinds people to the truth and robs them of hope. God's supernatural power is unlimited, but the true and living God has chosen to work through people of faith. God cannot work where there is no faith (Matthew 17:20; Luke 17:6; see also James 1:6). That does not mean that God’s omnipotence is limited, but that God has chosen to act only in response to our faith (trust or confidence) in Him (Matthew 7:7-11; Mark 11:22-25). Even more, our faith in Jesus lets God work through us (e.g. see Matthew 8:10, 13; Matthew 9:2, 22, 28-29). The failure of God to act come from our unwillingness and hardness of heart to accept the God who comes to us as a carpenter, the Son of Mary (see Matthew 1:21, 23; John 1:1-5, 14).

²¹ Then Jesus told them, “I tell you the truth, if you have faith and do not doubt, you can do things like this and much more. You can even say to this mountain, ‘May you be lifted up and thrown into the sea,’ and it will happen. ²² You can pray for anything, and if you have faith, you will receive it.” Matthew 21:21-22 (NLT)

References

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