Jesus is Amazed

Introduction

Back in the Gospel of Mark

This past section Jesus has been doing some amazing things

He shows his authority over creation itself—when he calms the storm

He cast out not just a singular demon… but a man with many demons

He healed a woman with a long term ailment

He raised a little girl from the dead

And through all of these miracles—people are amazed

The disciples and the crowds are all asking—WHO IS THIS MAN?

Amazement—is the word use to describe Jesus’s ministry at this point

Raising someone from the dead?—What can’t he do?

And in this story today, we are still going to be seeing amazement

But this time its not the crowds that are amazed—Jesus is

He is filled with wonder—but it’s not what we might think

Scripture Reading

(SLIDES)

Mark 6:1–13 CSB

1 He left there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. “Where did this man get these things?” they said. “What is this wisdom that has been given to him, and how are these miracles performed by his hands? 3 Isn’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?” So they were offended by him. 4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his household.” 5 He was not able to do a miracle there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief. He was going around the villages teaching. 7 He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs and gave them authority over unclean spirits. 8 He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a staff—no bread, no traveling bag, no money in their belts, 9 but to wear sandals and not put on an extra shirt. 10 He said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place. 11 If any place does not welcome you or listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons, anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

(SLIDES)

Outline

The Danger of Familiarity

The Necessity of Faith

The Simplicity of Faith

The Danger of Familiarity

There is a saying… “Familiarity breeds contempt”—or less strongly “Familiarity breeds indifference”

Going on a long trip with friends

My commute in Spain

Getting a new phone

There is something about novelty that is addictive to humans

Especially in this consumerist culture

And we face the same danger with Jesus.

Jesus who once shocked us with his grace and love… becomes an afterthought

and we see this familiarity here with those from his hometown

(SLIDES)

Mark 6:1–3 CSB

1 He left there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished. “Where did this man get these things?” they said. “What is this wisdom that has been given to him, and how are these miracles performed by his hands? 3 Isn’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?” So they were offended by him.

Here Jesus comes back to his hometown—his family—and they are offended by these stories of him

Remember this is before cameras, cellphones, and Instagram

Much of what they had heard of Jesus was rumors and hearsay

They were experiencing cognitive dissonance

explain

They could not wrap their minds around the fact that Jesus—the Jesus they saw grow up with them—could be a prophet—let alone the messiah

He had only been gone for anywhere from 1-2 years

It’s like going away to college

How could all of this change in such a short time?

“In Western culture, the possibility of upward mobility is taken for granted”

“One’s family identity and social status were considered to be established at birth”

But we see here that at Jesus’s homecoming those who should be most responsive to Jesus are in fact the most resistant to it

And it might be easy to separate our experience from these people, but we face the same danger

In one sense, we want to be familiar with Jesus

We want to know him personally and deeply

We want to know his words, his ways, and his love for us

But in another sense, we don’t want to be overly familiar

We all do this with people

Maybe a sibling—We put them in a box—we predict how they would react to things

We don’t want to put Jesus in a box—Because he is constantly going to defy our expectations

Ways we grow familiar with God

(SLIDES)

(EXPOUND)

Scripture

Prayer

Community

Notice, that all of this requires faith

It requires a trust in Jesus beyond the physical mundane world

Faith that God wants to speak to you through his word

Faith that God hears our prayers and is present with us

Faith that the Church is the Body of Christ—reflecting his love to us

True faith will weed out the shallow familiarity with Jesus

Because true faith is trusting Jesus

Not what he can do, should do, ought to do

Jesus is the Son of God who died for my sins

I trust him with my life

But unfortunately, Jesus isn’t met with this sort of faith when he returned home

He is faced with a lack of faith

The Necessity of Faith

(SLIDES)

Mark 6:4–7 CSB

4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his household.” 5 He was not able to do a miracle there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he was amazed at their unbelief. He was going around the villages teaching.

Jesus is filled with wonder, at the lack of faith he has found in his hometown

Here we see a direct connection between people’s faith and the miraculous power of Jesus

We see, just like the parable of the mustard seed,

That with a little faith He can do a lot

But with no faith, there's nothing He can work with

(chair analogy)

Again, he had just came from traveling around Israel, preforming wonderful miracles

Even the story last week— “If I could just touch the hem of his garment, I would be healed”

This immense faith of people coming back to Yahweh

He comes back home—excited to bring healing and power to his people

And He’s met with skepticism and unbelief

The contrast is evident

The people that never knew Jesus were amazed with everything he said and did

The people that were ‘familiar’ with Jesus put him in a box, doubting his authority

And I wonder what this means for us…

Especially if you’ve grown up in the church

You are probably super ‘familiar’ with Jesus

Prayers at the dinner table—Kid’s Church

We have these gospel accounts of Jesus’s life

Stories that we are so familiar with

We have the testimony of so many people around us

But how many of us still don’t believe that it is the same Jesus for us?

You might not say it out loud, but this is your way of thinking about Jesus

Just like the people in his hometown

We find it hard to connect the stories of Jesus - ‘out there’

To the Jesus of our lives

And when we find ourselves in this place — what we desperately need is faith

And it’s not faith that God can do a particular thing for you

But faith in God—his character and love for you

He wants you to know him personally

Not just reading his biography and being a master of facts about him

But to know him deeply

I wonder for each of us, myself included, how much God wants to do in our lives

How much he wants to transform us, and use us for his glory

But just like the people of his hometown, we don’t really believe he can do it

Maybe you’ve struggled with the same sin for years—and you feel that Jesus might have the power to transform other people—but you’re beyond repair—Jesus couldn’t change it

Maybe there's someone that you just could never forgive—and you don’t believe that Jesus can actually help you with it

Or maybe your life is filled with such anxiety and fear, and you cant imagine that Jesus could help you out of this pit

Whatever it is, are we willing to trust Jesus?

Are we willing to give up our stubborn ways of predicting how things will always be?

Will we trust the God inspired words of Solomon in Proverbs 3

(SLIDES)

Proverbs 3:5–6 CSB

5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways know him, and he will make your paths straight.

Faith = Trust/Rely = Put my weight on

And when we trust Jesus—things can get scary and uncomfortable

But he is able to work and show up on our behalf

And the last thing we see here is the outworking of this faith

Faith is more than just miracles

It is a relationship with Jesus

Or in other words its ‘discipleship’

Sitting under Jesus and learning his ways

The Simplicity of Faith

(SLIDES)

Mark 6:7–13

“7 He summoned the Twelve and began to send them out in pairs and gave them authority over unclean spirits. 8 He instructed them to take nothing for the road except a staff—no bread, no traveling bag, no money in their belts, 9 but to wear sandals and not put on an extra shirt. 10 He said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that place. 11 If any place does not welcome you or listen to you, when you leave there, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and preached that people should repent. 13 They drove out many demons, anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.”

What I love about this story, is that the controversy of Jesus is around miracles (and whether or not he can perform them)

But Jesus’s true followers, aren’t following him for the miracles

They are serving as extensions of Jesus

Right, we might come to Jesus for a miracle, but in reality he wants to do miracles through us not only for us

And there is a simplicity to this—a single-mindedness

Fully trusting in God

Not your security, possessions, comfort

It’s not about a master plan—a new strategy

It’s about stepping out in faith

And this is scary

Imagine what it must have been like to be one of the disciples

But we see when the disciples do this… God is at work

People are healed, demons are cast out

Now I just want you to think

If you are following Jesus

Why?

Is it for a miracle?

Is it for a better life?

Because your parents expect you to?

Is it for what Jesus can do for you?

Because that will only take you so far

We follow Jesus

Because we love Jesus

And we want to be like him

Role model?

Gerry?

Discipleship/Faith all of this has a beautiful simplicity

It’s about being loved by Jesus, loving Jesus, and becoming more like him

Conclusion

As we wrap up there's one last thing I want to focus on

Jesus sent out his disciples in pairs

All of what we’ve talked about today, is done with others

Faith is lived out in community

Like the disciples, we are to be conduits of Jesus’s blessing to all of those around us

The path of the disciples was scary… leaving Jesus with nothing to support themselves

But they weren’t alone—they had each other

Faith is almost impossible outside of community

Community tests our faith — strengthening it

Community encourages our faith — Reminding us of Biblical Truth when we are distracted or downcast

We are both needy and needed

We aren’t sent out to this world alone

Christianity isn’t for the lone wolf

Reflection Questions

What are ways you have grown overly familiar with Jesus?

What does faith/trust in Jesus look like for you, in your present circumstances?

Why do you follow Jesus?