Mark 6_1_6 (2)

Text: Mark 6:1-6

Title:

Intro:Here we find the Lord Jesus visiting His hometown of Nazareth. A place that He should find people welcoming Him with open arms. That is not the case. For many people Jesus was there hope, they found life in Him but for those of His hometown He was found offensive and their unbelief was great, so great that Jesus marveled at it and did no mighty works there. This was the last recorded visit Jesus made to Nazareth.

CPS:Unbelief caused Nazareth to miss the Lord’s blessings.

The Reason for His visit Vs. 1-2A (stop at synagogue)

This was an official visit – The kingdom is at hand

The patience of God

This was not Jesus’ first time teaching in the synagogue in Nazareth

(Luke 4) A year earlier Jesus stood in the synagogue and read from the Prophet Isaiah 61

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, 19 To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.

20 And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. 21 And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.Lk 4:18–21.

Messianic prophesy – in His home town said I AM MESSIAH

They drove Him out of the town and tried to throw Him off of a cliff! But Jesus slipped by them.

They tried to kill the Messiah, yet He is back again

God is patient

Jesus came back to teach – the kingdom of God is at hand

Why?

1 Cor. 13:4 – love is patient

God demonstrates His love for His children EVEN THOSE UNRULEY CHILDREN by being patient with them.

He gives them another chance to suffer Him.

The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.2 Peter 3:9.

This includes those in His hometown who tried to kill Him.

Transition:God wants us and is therefore patient towards us.

The persistence of God

God is the God of second chances –

Jesus came again to teach the same message that was denied earlier

Persistence - firm or obstinate continuance in a course of action in spite of difficulty or opposition.

The opposition last time was attempted murder

Do you know that He does not desire for any to perish?

who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.1 Tim 2:4.

What is this truth?

For there is one God, and one mediator also between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 6 who gave Himself as a ransom for all, the testimony given at the proper time.1 Tim 2:5–6.

Illustration/Aplacation: God is patient and persistent….. because He wants us!

If we only wanted Him as much as He wants us!

If we want God as much as the little boy dreams of becoming an NBA start (mimicking Lebron’s every move), with such sincerity that he would spend all day and into the night on the ball courts until he walked like LeBron. Shot like Lebron, and talked like LeBron.

if we want Him as much as the junkie wants his next fix, experimenting with six hundred different substances —if we hunger like that for God, we will not complain about difficulty; we will quit arguing and postponing and begin this very hour to seek Him!

Problem - We don’t want God.

The Reaction to His visit Vs. 2A-4

What the listeners said

They were astonished – negative sense – there He goes again

They began questioning His authority “from whence has this man these things”

These things “wisdom” and “Power”

They can’t deny that there is something different about Jesus

No one teaches like this

No one has power like this

Then they question His credentials

Verb “given” What wisdom is “Given” -Granted – Idea of receiving

He didn’t situnder a Rabbi

This is a higher spiritual wisdom!

Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.1 Cor. 1:24.

They securitize Him by His lowly origin

This is the carpenter – we know Him and His family

They were “offended” at Him – Idea of taking offense to the point of stumbling

Transition: listeners said, this is just that blue collar worker Jesus, who we have known all these years – He has no authority

What the Lord said

Spoke a proverb comparing Himself to a prophet –

“Prophet” – inspired teacheris without honor in his hometown

He is not an inspired teacher He is the INSPIRATION for the teaching!

The WORD of God clothed in humanity – Full of Grace and truth –

MARKS Intro – “Jesus Christ the Son of God“ - witnessed to those closest to Him.

No place harder to serve the Lord than at home

Illustration: Aunt Shelia – witnessed to her – didn’t understand “this was from my heart” not obligation to a school.

*** At Nazareth Jesus experienced the scandal of familiarity

Application:This is where we are!

A nation created on Christian Values – where it is free to teach and preach in the name of Jesus with little to no opposition

People have become so familiar with the name of Jesus…..but they haven’t experienced His majesty and power

They treat Him as some known object without knowing we are His subjects

Illustration: (hot dog guy – all that stuff) NO! Can’t get over grace

People are fimilar with Jesus but they don’t know Him!

Perhaps its bad teaching – perhaps it’s no teaching

I blame the Church for much of this

Lack of ministering – Jesus said the harvest is plentiful but the labors are few

What does our labor look like? Most attempts of evangelism goes like this – you should come to my church and let my preacher preach to you!

Idea of ministry is only done inside the church building – there are people who will never darken the doors of a church ho are lost and need Jesus.

How will we engage in ministry with them?

Spend one on one time with them and teach them – instruct them about the truth of Jesus SO THEY CAN MOVE BEYOND FIMILIARITY INTO UNDERSTANDING.

Because they think they know what they need to know about Jesus.

The WORD of God was standing in their midst and they missed it.

Because they had familiarity instead of understanding

Lets focus on understanding!

The Result of His visit Vs. 5-6

The response of the majority

A refusal of belief – Idea of willful action

They chose not to believe –

Jesus Showed them patience and persistence

Showed them compassion – Love in action – he came back and taught again

But their unbelief had consequences – it limited the power of Jesus

Does this mean Jesus lacks power – that Jesus power is only based on the power of man’s faith?

No!

Jesus spoke the word into existence before there ever was a man

God is sovereign and He can choose to limit His power however He sees fit.

He limited His power and they did not receive a blessing.

The response of the minority

Faith - substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen

They took Jesus at His word and He laid His hand on them.

The sick were healed – the lost saved

He marveled at their unbelief – Idea of being greatly surprised –

2nd time Jesus marveled because of faith.

He found faith in an unlikely place – a Roman centurion (Matthew 8:10) Not found such great faith in all of Israel.

Those closest to Him did not believe Him! His brothers and sister, friends, those who He grew up with Him.

Application:Which will we be?

Will we be the majority or the minority?

Will we be the faithful who welcomes Jesus?

Or the majority that limits Jesus’ power due to unbelief

Will we suffer from familiarity of Jesus or prosper because of our understanding of Jesus?

Will we be patient and persistent towards those “outsiders” around us.

Will we love them and show them mercy?

Let’s be the minority

Jesus believing

Jesus loving

Walking In the power of Jesus

Jesus at the center of all things type of people

Type of church

A people that welcomes Jesus and His saving and sanctifying activity

Never pass up an invitation to believe on the name of Jesus!

Jesus marveled at their unbelief, they had every opportunity to call on Him but they did not. Jesus didn’t go back to teach in Nazareth again.

When we refuse to believe, we shackle the hands of the almighty, short circuit the power of the Omnipotent and keep Him out of ourlives.

Let’s keep Jesus at the very center of our lives.