The Unbelief of His Acquaintances (Mark 6:1–6)

1 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him. 4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

I. Jesus returned to Nazareth.

A. A year before He had been rejected by the people and evicted from the synagogue.

It was certainly an act of grace on His part to give the people another opportunity to hear His Word, believe, and be saved; and yet their hearts were still hard. This time, they did not evict Him: they simply did not take Him seriously.

Our Lord’s reputation had once again preceded Him, so He was permitted to teach in the synagogue. Keep in mind that He was ministering to people who knew Him well, because Nazareth was His “hometown.” However, these acquaintances had no spiritual perception at all.

B. Two things astonished these people: His mighty works and His wonderful wisdom.

Jesus did not do any mighty works while He was there, so the people must have been referring to the reports they had heard about His miracles. In fact, their unbelief hindered Jesus from having a greater ministry among them.

What was their problem? Why were they unable to trust Him and experience the wonders of His power and grace as had others? They thought that they really knew Him. After all, He had been their neighbor for nearly thirty years, they had seen Him at work in the carpenter’s shop, and He appeared to be just another Nazarene. He was a “commoner” and the people saw no reason to commit themselves to Him!

II. Despite His impressive words and deeds, He was too ordinary for them.

A. Isn’t this the carpenter? implied, “He is a common laborer

All His immediate family—mother, brothers, and sisters—were known to the townspeople, and they were ordinary people. The phrase Mary’s Son was also derogatory since a man was not described as his mother’s son in Jewish usage even if she was a widow, except by insult

Their words, calculated insults, also suggested they knew there was something unusual about Jesus’ birth.

B. Since the townspeople could not explain Jesus, they took offense

Jesus responded to their rejection with the proverb that a prophet is not appreciated at home. He was like an Old Testament prophet whose words were often rejected and who was dishonored most by those who knew Him best.

Because Jesus was the oldest son, responsibility for the family fell to him upon his father’s death. Perhaps their mockery of him was due in part to the impression, however misguided, that he was abandoning his duties to his family as the eldest son.

III. A carpenter was a respected artisan in that day

A. Nobody expected a carpenter to do miracles or teach profound truths.

Where did He get all this power and wisdom? From God or from Satan? (see Mark 3:22) And why did His brothers and sisters not possess this same power and wisdom? Even more, why did His brothers and sisters not believe in Him?

The people of Nazareth were “offended at Him,” which literally means “they stumbled over Him.” The Greek word gives us our English word scandalize. “They could not explain Him, so they rejected Him.” Jesus was certainly a “stone of stumbling” to them because of their unbelief.

B. Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith.

While it is not “faith” that heals, the presence of faith does have positive effects. And the opposite is also true. The absence of faith hinders receptivity to God and his activity. Healing takes place in many different forms in the Bible regardless of the faith of the person involved, but healing is never granted as a reward for having enough faith.

As Christians, we can rest assured that our sovereign God knows what is best for us. For some people, the “best” is to be healed, and we can praise and thank God for its occurrence. For others, the “best” is to remain as they are without healing. We can praise God for his continual presence in our lives and his graciousness, whether or not this results in physical healing.