Bible Passage: Mark 6:1-6
Pastor: Michael Willitz
Sermon Date: July 11, 2021

Bulletin July 11, 2021

¹Jesus left there and went to his hometown. His disciples followed him. ²When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did this man learn these things? What is this wisdom that has been given to this man? How is it that miracles such as these are performed by his hands? ³Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.

⁴Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own house.” ⁵He could not do any miracles there except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶He was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went around the villages teaching.

Amazing Unbelief Against an Amazing Prophet

1. In amazing unbelief, the Nazarenes scorned Jesus.
2. As an amazing Prophet, Jesus preaches wisdom and works miracles.

Dear fellow redeemed, in Jesus, the Christ,

Two times in the recorded ministry of Jesus we are told that our Savior is amazed. Usually in the Gospels when the word “amazed” is used, it does not refer to Jesus but to the people around him. People are amazed at the preaching of Jesus, or people are amazed at the miracles he performs. Yet, there are two occasions recorded in which the Son of God is amazed. On one occasion, he is amazed by the faith of a man whom no one would expect to believe. It is the Roman centurion, who desired for his servant to be healed, the centurion of whom Jesus declared, “I have not found such great faith, not even in Israel,” [Luke 7:9]. That’s one occasion in which Jesus is amazed. The other occasion, of course, is the one recorded in today’s text.

In this text, we see Jesus enter the synagogue of Nazareth. It is the Homecoming of Jesus. He is returning to the village where he grew up. And returns now as Rabbi Jesus, a Jewish teacher, with twelve disciples following behind him. If we place ourselves there with those twelve disciples of Jesus, and if we sit and observe what goes on in that synagogue of Nazareth, we will see what it is that makes Jesus amazed. We will see amazing unbelief against an amazing Prophet.

In a way this situation is the opposite of the other one in which Jesus is amazed. With the Roman centurion, our Lord is amazed at the faith of a man no one would expect to believe. But here, in Nazareth, Jesus is amazed by the unbelief of people whom everyone would expect to believe. This is Jesus’ hometown, and these are his neighbors. There’s Jonathan, the farmer, who bought plows built by Jesus. There’s Simeon, who grew olive trees, and sold olive oil to Jesus. There are Jesus’ childhood friends, the ones who ran and played with him when they were only boys. In virtually every seat of the synagogue, you find a person well-acquainted with Jesus of Nazareth.

So you would expect every person in the synagogue to believe him. But they don’t believe him. They scorn him, and their unbelief is amazing. Haven’t they recognized the wisdom and the authority in his preaching? Haven’t they heard of his power and the miracles he has done? Haven’t they heard the Old Testament Scriptures that proclaim the coming Savior? Jesus had sat in that very synagogue every Sabbath of his youth. He had heard the Scriptures that were preached in that synagogue. Now he must be wondering, “Didn’t they hear the same Scriptures that I heard? Shouldn’t they know that those Scriptures all testify of me? Don’t they remember the instruction that was spoken by Moses, ‘The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among you, from your brother Israelites. Listen to him,’[Deuteronomy 18:15]?”

The people of Nazareth did not listen. Instead, as our text says, “They took offense at him,” [3]. The whole situation might remind you of the popular saying, “Familiarity breeds contempt.” These were people very familiar with Jesus, the Son of Mary. But there’s definitely something more than familiarity going on here. Familiarity alone doesn’t blind you to the truth that is plainly in front of your eyes. That’s the handiwork pride, and if there’s an ounce of familiarity in the village of Nazareth, it’s mixed with a gallon of pride. Just think of the pride that might swell up in a Wisconsinite if a person came from Alabama claiming to know the best kind of cheese. Then you can imagine the pride that must have risen in the residents of Nazareth when people from other towns were claiming that their local boy, Jesus, was the Prophet. “Wouldn’t we have known if our neighbor was something special?” they must have asked. “Wouldn’t we have recognized if our neighbor was anointed by God? Could one of our own, from the small village of Nazareth really be the Messiah who was promised to come?” Yes he could be, and yes he was. Tragically, those who spent years in close proximity to the Savior turned up their noses at him when he came to offer them salvation. In amazing unbelief, they scorned Jesus and his Word.

There are lessons to be learned from this synagogue in Nazareth. One important lesson for the Twelve and for us, is that sometimes when the Word is shared people are just going to reject it. That doesn’t mean that the Word is invalid or that the Word doesn’t have power to give faith. In sinful pride some people will simply turn up their noses at Jesus. The Twelve needed to know this. Just after this occasion, Jesus is going to send them out preaching. At times, their preaching will be rejected just like his preaching was at times. At times the same thing will happen when we share the Word of Jesus too.

Another lesson we can take from the synagogue in Nazareth is that pride presents a danger to us all. It is not bad to be familiar with Jesus. If you grew up in the church and you’ve known Jesus all your life, then rejoice in the mercies God has granted to you. Rejoice if you’re like Timothy, and you’ve known the sacred Scriptures from infancy, because they “are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus,” [2 Timothy 3:15]. But don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you know Jesus and his Word all too well. Don’t assume that there’s no point in opening the Scriptures. Don’t assume that there’s nothing to be gained by coming to church. For the youth who are here, don’t fall for the devil’s lie that Jesus is just an old tradition of your parents. He is everything that he claims to be, and he gives every blessings that he claims to give.

Jesus is the amazing Prophet who declares the authoritative Word of God. He is the only-begotten Son of God the Father, come to earth in human flesh so that the grace and salvation of God would be accessible to us. He came to earth to be the Savior for every one of those people in Nazareth, even though so many would not know him and refused the salvation that he offered. Jesus came to be the Savior for everyone in this gathering too. In his Word, he convicts us of our pride, and then he comforts us with the message that his death has atoned for this sin and every sin. Whatever you have done, whatever your history is, Jesus is God in human flesh for you. He has lived the life as a substitute for every sinner. And on the cross he has died the death that all of us deserve. Through faith in this man, the Son of Mary who grew up in Nazareth, we receive the favor of God, forgiveness of every sin, and an eternal home in paradise when he returns one day.

This is not too good to be true. He is the genuine Savior for sinners, and he does not cast any away who come seeking the grace he gives. Jesus promises this himself when he says in John chapter 6, “Everyone the Father gives me will come to me, and the one who comes to me I will never cast out,” [37].

In our text today, we are told of a few who did receive the blessings that Jesus offered. Mark tells us, “He could not do any miracles there except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them,” [5]. It appears tenable that not many sick people were even brought to Jesus to be healed, but a few were. Imagine being one of those few people who came to Jesus for healing. Your neighbors have nothing good to say about the man. They’ll probably look down on you, too, for daring to go to him. But here he is, in your town. He is able to cure you and make you whole. What a blessed situation God has placed you in! What should keep you from going straight to Jesus and seeking the healing that he offers so freely?

Jesus is still doing miracles, and he is still granting blessings. He comes into our midst in this holy house week after week. At the font, he washes away sin, and he raises those who are spiritually dead to new life. In his Word, he delivers forgiveness and peace to consciences that are weighed down by guilt and by shame. From his altar, he delivers heavenly food to sustain our faith as we sojourn in this world. He feeds us with his very body and blood, joining us with him and with each other. Is there any better place we could be, and is there anything better we could be doing? Not when Jesus is here! Not when his blessings are being offered!

Hear his gracious call. He is here for you and for your salvation. Though others may spurn him, we are gathered in his name. He will give us his salvation gladly, freely, entirely. To him be the glory, both now and forevermore.

Amen.

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