Familiarity that Breeds Unbelief

In our society today everything is quick. Internet… Online shopping…

But, in the speed of everything today our attention span has shorted. We get board quickly scrolling through TikTok clips and Facebook Reels. Yesterday is old news and at the same time the people that we are familiar in our own home grow up.

Time marches on… empty nesters.

Our distractions prevent us from having deep relationships with those around us and it’s even more difficult when it comes to our relationship with Jesus.

We become more familiar with the religious traditions of Christianity that we have little to no faith. Familiarity that breed unbelief.

We live in constant doubt and fear… even though we are familiar with Jesus we don’t fully believe that Jesus is able to do whatever we need HIM to do.

It seems like to longer we’ve been in church, the more familiar we become. We could have been raised in a Christian home, with Christian parents who love Jesus and love one another but familiarity can breed unbelief.

In our text this morning, Jesus was amazed by that very thing as HE returned to Nazareth, HIS home town.

Mark 6:1–6 NLT

1 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. Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people.

PRAY

Jesus’ teaching astonishes the townspeople, yet leads to their rejection of Him due to their preconceived notions about His identity and background.

Their inability to see beyond their familiarity with Jesus results in lost opportunities for faith and healing.

So often our preconceived ideas can prevent us from experiencing the fullness of God's works.

Jesus shows us that when we allow familiarity to turn into contempt it can obstruct our ability to recognize Christ’s authority and power. Faith is often a choice, even in the face of doubts and familiar surroundings.

We must regularly examine our perceptions of Jesus and to confront any preconceived notions or judgments that might hinder our faith.

Let God redefine our understanding of His power and HIS capacity to work in our lives so that we can foster a deeper and a more profound faith experience.

We see here that Jesus frequently encounters rejection, especially from those closest to Him.

Jesus is often seen in light of human limitations rather than divine possibilities. All this foreshadows HIS ultimate rejection as HE went to the cross for us.

If we are going to truly experience Jesus’ transformative power, we must challenge our familiarity and preconceived notions. We must allow faith and not our human limitations to reshape our understanding of Jesus.

1. Surprising Source of Wisdom

Mark 6:1–2 NLT

1 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?”

Jesus came to Nazareth and was invited to speak in the local synagogue.

Synagogue services were conducted by lay people under the leadership of one or more synagogue “rulers” or leaders. It was common for a visiting rabbi to be asked to speak in the local synagogue. Jesus, a well-known and popular speaker, had no trouble gaining an opportunity to teach in the synagogue on the Sabbath.

The synagogue was the center of the town, controlling civic and social as well as religious life. The synagogue was not like a church today. Everyone seemed to come to the synagogue because it was the focal point of ancient Jewish life so this was really a key place for Jesus to meet the people.

Jesus grabbed the attention of the people. As HE spoke they were surprised by HIS wisdom and they were amazed at the powerful miracles HE did.

Initially the people were amazed at Jesus' teachings.

The Greek verb for “amazed” literally means “to strike out of one’s senses.” The people were so amazed it was as if they had been struck with a blow, stunned. They were flabbergasted.

What was the source of their amazement?

Their focus was on this man that they were familiar with, who many grew up with and where HE had gotten all this wisdom. Where HE had gotten the power to do the miracles that HE had performed. They knew HIS miracles were supernatural, but they wondered about how Jesus could do them and what was the source of HIS power.

When we see God do things in unexpected ways or through familiar people how do we react? Do we write them off because they are familiar to us… too young… to old… we know their family… their background.

Are we willing to accept the fact that God uses unexpected people in unexpected ways to do remarkable things?

As followers of Jesus are called to be open-minded and open-hearted to the surprising works of God, recognizing that God seeks to amaze us daily in ways we cannot anticipate.

We see that their familiarity with Jesus as 'one of them' clouded their understanding.

2. Skepticism Stems from Familiarity

Mark 6:3 NLT

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.

Jesus was teaching effectively and wisely, but the people of his hometown saw him as only the carpenter whose family they also knew well.

Jesus was almost thirty years old before he began his public teaching ministry. For the years prior to that, he had been at home, learning the trade of carpentry from his father and probably helping to support himself and the family after Joseph’s death.

They called him the son of Mary which was probably ment to be a derogatory remark. Even though Joseph was already dead, in any normal situation Jesus would still have been called “son of Joseph.”

They knew that Jesus was conceived prior to Joseph and Mary’s wedding they may have seen Jesus as not even being Joseph’s son. This Christmas stigma that Mary continued to carry, even when Jesus was almost thirty years old. Apparently people saw Mary as less than honorable.

The listing of the brothers indicates that the people knew Jesus’ family well. Apparently they were all ordinary people and Jesus had experienced an ordinary childhood.

So for Jesus to claim to be someone special (especially with what they considered his less than honorable beginnings) caused them to take offense and not accept HIS words. They were offended that others could be impressed by Jesus and follow him. Their rejection was complete and absolute; he was one of their peers, and their preconceived notions about who he was made it impossible for them to accept his message.

The townspeople knew Jesus' earthly family and background so when Jesus spoke as a prophet and teacher with authority they were offended.

There is great danger when we allow our preconceived notions of Jesus to limit our experience of His power and truth.

What judgments do we hold that prevent us from seeing God’s full work?

As adults we can quickly become cynical and skeptical. But Jesus highlights childlike faith.

Mark 10:15 NLT

15 I tell you the truth, anyone who doesn’t receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.”

Just receive Jesus for who HE truly is and God will perform a real breakthrough in our life. As we foster an openness to God’s movements and redefine our relationship with faith God will do the miraculous.

Real life change happens as we come to Jesus and expect the unimaginable.

3. Challenge of Hometown Perceptions

Mark 6:4–6 NLT

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. Then Jesus went from village to village, teaching the people.

Jesus used a common proverb found in rabbinic literature. It is significant that Jesus applied the word prophet to himself because Jesus claimed to be a prophet.

The word prophet refers to one who speaks God’s message.

However, Jesus was not the first prophet to be rejected in his own country. Jesus also experienced rejection by relatives and members in his own house. His family thought he had gone crazy, and most of them didn’t believe until after his resurrection

Jesus said that a prophet is never honored in his hometown. But that doesn’t make the prophet’s work any less important.

A person doesn’t need to be respected or honored to be useful to God. If friends, neighbors, or family members don’t respect your works of faith, don’t let their rejection keep you from serving God. If you are honoring the Lord don’t be discouraged by rejection. God stands with you; God will keep you strong.

We see here that Jesus identifies with those prophets who were without honor in their hometowns. The truth is that the greatest works of faith may not align with human expectations.

Trust in God’s divine purpose over individual expectations. Consider our roles within God's larger plan and act on faith instead of cowering under the rejection of others.

Seeing that Jesus was amazed at there lack of faith is something that we can see as an invitation for us to have faith that goes beyond the obvious. Jesus wants us to invite the extraordinary of God’s love into our everyday life.

TAKE AWAY

How are you amazing Jesus?