The Prophet Without Honor - Mark 6:1-13

Mark 6:1-13

© April 2nd, 2023 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: Mark

One of the things that is fun about growing up in a small town is the fact that you know everyone. In college, when we would talk about our high schools, many of my friends couldn’t believe that I actually knew everyone in my class. The truth is, not only did I know my classmates, but most of the time I knew their parents, their siblings, their grandparents, and probably the aunt or uncle who yells a little too loudly at ball games. In a close-knit community, we all feel like we know one another pretty well.

The down side of living in small town is that everyone also knows (and remembers) the dumb stuff you have done. They remember that time you got sick at school. They remember the time you failed a big test. They remember when you totaled your car or got charged with a crime. Sometimes it is difficult to escape your past in a small town. People grow up and change, but some people will never see you as anything other than who you were growing up. It’s the blessing and the curse of small-town living.

In the first part of the passage we’re looking at this morning, we see a similar dynamic at play in the life of Jesus. As Jesus returned to His hometown of Nazareth, you might expect a warm welcome from old friends. But instead of experiencing the blessings of His hometown, Jesus experienced the curse. We’ll unpack what happened and why as we look at Mark’s account of Jesus’ visit this morning.

Nazareth

Before we get into the text, we need to address a problem that arises when we try to put the message of all four gospels together. Matthew, Mark, and John all record basically the same thing about Jesus’ visit to Nazareth. They also record this event happening around the same time. Luke also records Jesus visiting Nazareth, but his account is much more detailed—including the fact that the people tried to kill Jesus by throwing Him off a cliff! But Luke places this account much earlier in his gospel. There are two ways of reconciling these accounts. First is that Jesus made two separate visits—Luke records the first visit and the other gospels record Jesus’ second visit a year and a half later. The other possibility is that Luke’s account describes the same visit, and he just didn’t put it in chronological order to make a point. So either Jesus was returning to Nazareth after they had tried to kill Him, or the people tried to kill Him at the end of this visit. Either way, we get the picture that this was a hostile environment. Here’s how Mark describes Jesus’ visit.

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’s 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 couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief. (Mark 6:1-6, NLT)

Jesus returned to His hometown with his disciples. By this time, word had gotten back to Nazareth about some of the amazing miracles Jesus had performed, and they had also heard that He was a traveling rabbi, with disciples following Him. It was customary to invite a visiting rabbi to come and speak at the synagogue on the Sabbath. So it’s no surprise that Jesus was asked to speak.

When Jesus began teaching, the people were floored. Jesus spoke with authority and wisdom they didn’t expect. They knew Jesus (so they thought); they had watched him grow up. He didn’t have any specialized education, so there should be no reason to think He had any special insights. Jesus was one of them—He couldn’t be anybody special! So instead of listening to Jesus, they scoffed at Him.

They said that Jesus was just a carpenter, the son of Mary, and that they knew Jesus’ brothers and sisters. They seemed to resent the idea that Jesus would declare himself to be any sort of authority, let alone the Messiah. He was just a regular guy like them.

The way they refer to Jesus gives us a glimpse into their mindset. It is strange that they would describe Jesus as Mary’s son, because people were almost always referred to as the son of their father, even if their father was dead (as many assume Joseph was at this time). There are a couple of possible explanations for this.

First, is that this was a way of distinguishing Jesus from his brothers and sisters. Those who subscribe to this view suppose that Joseph had been previously married and had children by his first wife. Thus, by describing Jesus as Mary’s son, they were trying to distinguish Him from His other siblings who had a different mother. This view explains how Jesus had brothers and sisters without violating the Roman Catholic doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity. I find this view a bit contrived, as it isn’t a natural reading of the text.

More likely is that by referring to Jesus as Mary’s son, they were insinuating that they didn’t know who Jesus’ father was because Mary had gotten pregnant out of wedlock. They were attacking Jesus by saying his mother was a woman of questionable morals. The gossip spread about Mary all those years ago was never forgotten by some in Nazareth.

They also referred to Jesus as “just” a carpenter. The word used referred to someone who was able to build most anything out of wood or stone. It describes a skilled craftsman who is quite handy. But the reason they refer to Jesus this way was to insinuate that He was no one special—He was just a tradesman, not a scholar.

In America, we like the stories of people from humble beginnings climbing their way out of their low status and ascending to something higher than they had before. But in first-century Israel, that basically didn’t happen. A person was born into a particular status, and that was pretty much where they would be for the rest of life. They might earn respect as a tradesman, but they would never be a priest, a scholar, or something more prestigious. So, it was absurd to think that Jesus, a carpenter, could return to Nazareth expecting to be seen as a scholar or teacher. He would always be just a carpenter.

Jesus responds to the coldness of the people by saying that a prophet is without honor in his hometown and among his own relatives and family. This is a sad truth that many of you have likely experienced. Maybe you gained a certain reputation before you became a believer, but once you found Jesus, your life changed and you became someone completely different. As you tried to share the message with others, they were unwilling to listen, because all they could see was your past. Often, the most difficult people for us to reach with the truth of the gospel are those who know us best. Those people are most able to find reasons to ignore dismiss our beliefs. If that’s the case for you, I hope you find some encouragement in knowing this struggle is not unique to you. Jesus faced the same struggle—and He’d never even done anything wrong!

Jesus was saddened by the unbelief of the people. Their issue wasn’t that they didn’t have enough evidence to believe—it was that they were unwilling to believe. That is true of every person who chooses to reject the message of the gospel. Many people claim that they can’t believe in Jesus because there isn’t enough evidence. When people say that I like to ask what would be enough evidence? The truth is that nothing will convince these people. They will always find a reason to explain away any evidence they see. The issue is not a lack of evidence (because there is plenty), but a heart that is unwilling to believe. That’s what Jesus was up against in Nazareth—and it’s what we face in every person who rejects the message of the gospel.

Mark says that Jesus was unable to do any miracles there because of their unbelief. What does Mark mean when he says Jesus was unable to do miracles? Some say Jesus is dependent upon us having enough faith to have power to heal or do other miracles. I liken this to the movie Elf where it is revealed that Santa’s ability to have his sleigh fly is dependent upon people believing in him. If people don’t believe, then he has no power! But that’s not what was happening with Jesus. Jesus certainly still had the power to heal people—because Mark says Jesus did heal a few—but more likely is that Jesus didn’t have the opportunity to heal people, because the people didn’t believe and so didn’t even come to Him to ask for it.

An unbelieving heart will keep you from the blessings of God. These people had heard how Jesus had performed all sorts of miracles in other places, but they refused to believe that the same guy they had known for 30 years could possibly be someone special. So they missed out on the greatest blessing they could have received. We must learn from the people of Nazareth the danger of allowing our hearts to become hard to the things of God. When we do, we miss out on the blessings He has for us.

On the Job Training

After the debacle in Nazareth, Mark says Jesus continued teaching in the surrounding villages, but then He sent the disciples out to do ministry as well. Listen to the instructions Jesus gave them.

Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people. 7 And he called his twelve disciples together and began sending them out two by two, giving them authority to cast out evil spirits. 8 He told them to take nothing for their journey except a walking stick—no food, no traveler’s bag, no money. 9 He allowed them to wear sandals but not to take a change of clothes.

10 “Wherever you go,” he said, “stay in the same house until you leave town. 11 But if any place refuses to welcome you or listen to you, shake its dust from your feet as you leave to show that you have abandoned those people to their fate.” 12 So the disciples went out, telling everyone they met to repent of their sins and turn to God. 13 And they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil. (Mark 6:6-13, NLT)

Jesus called His twelve disciples together, paired them off, then sent them out to basically carry out the same ministry He had been doing. In The Chosen I love the way they imagine this scene, because Jesus tells them they are to go out and preach, which scared them a little, but then He tells them that they would also heal the sick and drive out demons, which scared them a lot! I think this is probably close to the truth! While they had seen Jesus heal people and drive out demons, they had never done it, and they had no idea how to do it. Surely they felt unequipped for the task. But Jesus told them He was giving them His authority to do this task.

But that was not the only aspect of this mission that would be scary. Jesus also told them they should not take any provisions for the journey. You would think you would want to make sure you had a few changes of clothes, some extra money for emergencies, some snacks, and maybe some simple conveniences of home. But Jesus told them not to take any of those things. Instead, He told them they would be entirely dependent on the hospitality of others.

The culture of the middle east was (and is) different from the culture of our western society. In the middle east, hospitality is expected. When a visitor came to town, you were expected to invite them to stay at your house and provide for them. Jesus told the disciples that they were going to be dependent upon others to extend hospitality. In each town that they went to, they would have no idea where they might be staying or how long they might be there.

Why did Jesus command them to do this? I think there are a couple of reasons. First, it would teach them to rely on God’s provision. Rather than being dependent upon their own craftiness or planning abilities, they would need to trust and rely on God to provide what they needed. This would be an important lesson for them to learn—and one that can only be learned by experience.

Second, it would set them apart from other traveling teachers. Rather than presenting themselves as being greater than the townspeople, they would come to each town humbly, showing they were no different from the people who lived there. They wouldn’t ask for payment like the traveling philosophers would but would teach people without expecting anything in return. This method of preaching would hopefully help the disciples win a hearing among people who may be hesitant to accept their message.

Jesus also told them they should stay in the same house the whole time they were there. In other words, if they got the opportunity to move to better accommodations, they shouldn’t take it—instead they should be gracious to the host who had been so gracious to them.

But Jesus had different instructions for them to follow if a town did not welcome them. If the people were hostile to the gospel message and refused to accept it, the disciples were to leave the town and shake the dust off their feet as they left. This seems like a strange practice to us, but it was common in Jewish culture.

When Jews had to go through a Gentile city, they would shake the dust off their feet as they left as a way of demonstrating that they wanted no part of their pagan city. It was a way of demonstrating their separateness from the Gentiles. Jesus told the disciples to do the same in Jewish cities who refused to believe their message. In essence, this was a way of saying to these Jewish people you are no better than the Gentiles! It was a last-ditch effort to get the people to think seriously about their rejection of the message.

Jesus told the disciples to faithfully proclaim the truth but reminded them that they were not responsible for how people responded to it. While our actions can either hinder or help our efforts, we ultimately cannot make people believe (not even Jesus in Nazareth!), so we shouldn’t take it personally if people reject the gospel message when we proclaim it. Jesus told the disciples to shake the dust off their feet to remind both them and their hearers that each person is responsible for their response to the gospel. The hope was that maybe this act would help them see their need for Jesus. Some people will not be receptive, but we can point them to the truth, and help them see the consequences of rejecting it, and hope that one day they will believe.

Mark concludes this section by telling us that the disciples ended up doing exactly what Jesus said they would. They did drive out demons and heal people. God equipped them for the task to which He called them. And by their obedience to Him, they learned an important lesson: God will provide what you need. God provided for their physical needs throughout this mission through the hospitality of others, and He also provided them the power they needed to heal and cast out demons. God provided them with everything they needed to do what He had called them to do.

Conclusion

Though our passage this morning was relatively short, a lot happened in these few verses. Let’s draw some concluding applications we can take from this account.

First, we must learn to look beyond the external in people. Jesus had no dark past in Nazareth, so the people had no reason to look down on Him other than the fact that they saw Him as one of them. They assumed this carpenter could have nothing to teach them. We need to be careful that we don’t do the same thing with the people around us. God can speak truth to us from some of the most surprising places, if we’re willing to listen. Sometimes God can speak to us through people who:

· Have no formal education

· Have a checkered past

· We have known all our lives, and have come to underestimate

· Are younger (or older) than we are

· Don’t seem very polished, or are rough around the edges

This passage reminds us not to judge a book by its cover. When we write people off as having nothing of value to say, we miss out on the blessings of God—just like the people of Nazareth.

Second, we must be patient with people who don’t see beyond the cover of our book. If you are marginalized by those who only see your past, remind yourself that before you knew Jesus, you may have done the same thing to a person like you. The best way to get people to look beyond our past is to be consistent in the present. Be patient with people and consistent in your Christian witness, and one day people will see the truth of who you are.

Third, we won’t get to see God move unless we’re willing to take steps of faith. The people of Nazareth knew Jesus, but weren’t willing to trust Him. So, while other villages saw many get healed, the people of Nazareth did not. By contrast, when Jesus told the disciples to go and do things that seemed impossible to them, trusting that God would provide, they got to see God work mightily through them. This should remind us that if we want to see God move, we need to trust Him enough to take steps of faith. It can be as simple as sharing the gospel message with someone you feel He’s leading you to, being kind to someone who is unkind to you, or daring to forgive rather than hold on to a hurt, or it could be as massive as leaving your home to serve Him somewhere else. The point is this: if we want to see God working, we must trust Him enough to do what He calls us to do. He will provide for us—but we won’t see that until we do what He says.

Jesus was a masterful teacher, but not everyone was willing to listen to Him. The people of Nazareth and Jesus’ disciples provide two contrasting examples for us to look at. My prayer is that you’ll take Jesus at His word, trust Him, and choose to follow Him. If you do, you’ll have a front row seat to see God move in your life and in the lives of others.

© April 2nd, 2023 by Rev. Rick Goettsche SERIES: Mark