Really, The Son of Mary?

Pastoral Prayer

400 Prayers for Preachers Asking God’s Acceptance of Our Worship

O Eternal, almighty, and most gracious God, heaven is your throne, and earth is your footstool, holy and revered is your name; you are praised by the heavenly hosts and in the congregation of your saints on earth, and will be sanctified in all that come near unto you. We are sinful and unworthy dust, but being invited by you, are bold, through our blessed Mediator to present ourselves and our supplications before you. Receive us graciously, help us by your Spirit; let your fear be upon us: let your Word come unto us in power, and be received in love, with attentive, reverent, and obedient minds. Make it to us the savour of life unto life. Cause us to be fervent in prayer, and joyful in your praises, and to serve you this day without distraction, that we may find that a day in your courts is better than a thousand, and that it is good for us to draw near to God; through Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen.

Read Mark 6:1-6

Mark 6:1–6 LSB

1 And Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to this man, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? 3 “Is this man not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they were taking offense at Him. 4 And Jesus was saying to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” 5 And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He was marveling at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching.

Key Question: Am I Scandalized or Delighted at God’s Presence in my life?

I. God visits mercy and grace on Nazareth. (v. 1-2)

roughly one year has past since Jesus taught in his hometown and the people nearly revolted against Him.

Here we see a deep divide between the Jesus who commands the waves, the sea, the storms, the illnesses of many, the demons roaming the earth, and the very last enemy—death; and those who think they “know” Jesus just because they were raised in the same town.

A craftsman, who was able to create anything from stone, wood, or metals is teaching the people with such wisdom and doing such miracles that it is impossible for people to wrap their heads around him and his ministry.

II. Spiritual blindness leaves us narrow-sighted. (v. 3-4)

Romans 9:33 LSB

33 just as it is written, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense, And the one who believes upon Him will not be put to shame.”

Like many today, the people in Nazareth see Jesus as nothing more than a “man,” not too dissimilar to you or me.

The offense is that this man, who was raised among them, who did not attend the great theology schools of Jerusalem, and whose parentage was questioned by some is now teaching with authority unlike any other, and is doing some amazing signs in and outside of Judea.

2 Chronicles 36:16 “16 but they continually mocked the messengers of God, despised His words and scoffed at His prophets, until the wrath of Yahweh arose against His people, until there was no remedy.”

Jeremiah 11:21 “21 Therefore thus says Yahweh concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of Yahweh, so that you will not die at our hand”;”

Jesus pronounces a maxim that people would have known well, and he changes it to connect himself to the Prophets of Old. Here Jesus is not so much surprised, as much as he is displaying disappointment.

2 Corinthians 5:16 LSB

16 Therefore from now on we recognize no one according to the flesh; even though we have known Christ according to the flesh, yet now we know Him in this way no longer.

The people of Nazareth, and so many in the world today miss the beauty of Jesus for their displeasure at him, his words, and his work.

III. Bondage to the world comes from the absence of the Holy Spirit. (v. 5-6)

Mark uses the theme of faith and effective salvation being correlated as he denotes that Nazareth did not see the miracles Capernaum or Gerasah saw on account of their disbelief and offense at Jesus.

We must not misunderstand the Savior. He is not hindered by man’s faith, or lack thereof. God is not a showman, who needs to validate himself to be believed. After all, he is the one who created and sustains the universe.

While marvelling at the hardness of their heart and their spiritual blindness, Jesus remains undeterred, as he continues to go about his mission to teach the Gospel which was given through the Old Testament scriptures.

IV. Am I scandalized or delighted in Jesus Christ?

Jesus is scandalous to us because our sinfulness, our common failings, and our lack of faith in anything or anyone else other than ourselves.

Jesus Christ is our delight when the glimmer and appeal of anything and anyone else fades into a distant memory and His full person is the only thing that will do for our today, our tomorrow, and our eternity.

Sinner: Confess your sin, repent, Confess Jesus Christ as LORD of Lords, King of Kings, and Savior of your life.

Wayward: Repent of your wandering and discontent, return to the Father confessing your failures, and entrust yourself anew to Him alone.

Orphan: Obey the command and encouragement of God by joining yourself to a family of faith, that being less than perfect, will one day be glorified together to spend eternity with the Bridegroom—Jesus Christ, Our LORD.

Closing Prayer

400 Prayers for Preachers Teach Us to Be Resigned to Your Will

Lord, teach us to be resigned to your will; teach us to delight in your law; teach us to have no will but your will; teach us to be sure that everything you do is good—is the very best that can be done. Help us to leave our concerns in your divine hands, being persuaded that you have sway even over evil; that out of it you bring good, and better still, and better still in infinite progression, till your high purposes shall develop in your own perfect glory, and in the perfect bliss of all those who put their trust in you.