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Text: Mark 6:1-6
Theme: The power of unbelief
In our text this evening, we see a contrast being drawn.
In Mark, chapter five, we see several great examples of belief.
But when we arrive at chapter six we are confronted with incredible unbelief.
Faith is like a key, which turned one way, can unlock the power of God, but turned the other, can lock it up.
Turned one way, it is belief.
Turned the other, it is unbelief.
Both are powerful.
This is the story of Jesus going back to his home town.
And unfortunately, it reveals the power of unbelief and wrong attitudes to limit the movement of God in our midst.
The question for you to answer is, "Do I possess those same attitudes?
And if so, what can I do about them in order to assure that I do not limit the power of God to do His mighty works in my life?"
As the story unfolds, we find Jesus coming back to His home town.
As He and His disciples were there, He began to teach in the synagogue on the Sabbath day.
As usual, His teaching was powerful, clear, profound, and unparalleled.
He taught as one who had authority, and with a knowledge far surpassing any local rabbi or even the highly learned Scribes.
He gave them insight into God's word and they were astonished.
They whisper among themselves, "Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him and such miracles as these performed by His hands?" (v.
2b)
They were amazed, and they were even asking some of the right questions.
The problem came in their answers.
Rather than allowing Jesus to answer for Himself, they answered their own questions.
In verse 3 it says, "Is not this 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 took offense at Him." What they were exercising was not belief, but unbelief.
We know that is so from verse 6 where it says, "And He wondered at their unbelief."
The message here is simple: unbelief limits the power of God.
The Bible is ful of stories and examples of people who had faith, and it changed their lives, and their circumstances.
On the other hand, we need to understand the power of unbelief.
Out text says, "He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them."
(v.
5).
As believing saves the soul and enables the power of God to be operative in the believer’s life, so unbelief imperils the soul and halts the release of the power of God in the unbeliever’s life.
In Nazareth the ground is stony, and the seed of the gospel could not take root.
Let's take a closer look at their unbelief.
I. THE CAUSE OF THEIR UNBELIEF
1. unbelief is a powerful force with devastating ramifications — first in this life, and then the next
a.
just as there are examples of belief throughout the Bible so, too, are their examples of unbelief
1) Eve was tempted to doubt God’s goodness and clear instructions, she chose unbelief
2) the people of Noah’s day refused the believe his warnings, they chose unbelief and perished
3) after the Exodus Aaron doubted and created the golden calf; God’s wrath was kindled and 3,000 people died
4) Achan’s unbelief brought about the execution of his entire family
5) the Jewish religious leaders refused to believe that Jesus could be God’s Anointed One, and an entire nation of people remain in unbelief
2. unbelief in the Son of God activates divine wrath and catapults souls into eternal hell
“Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.” (John 3:18, NIV84)
3. generally, the crowds were mesmerized by Jesus’ teaching, and astounded by his miracles — until, that is, he came to his home town
4. why did so many citizens of Nazareth not believe?
a. the key is found in vs. 3 — Mark writes, “And they took offense at him.”
1) the word offense is a translation of the Greek word skandalizo — it means that whatever Jesus said to them that evening scandalized them
b. to be scandalized is not merely just to disagree
ILLUS.
This was not a case of “Well, you have this view, but I have this view; you have a right to your view, and me to mine.”
1) this was outrage — this was a visceral reaction to Jesus that caused them to turn away
A. THEY WERE SCANDALIZED BY HIS CLAIMS
“Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.””
(Mark 6:4, NIV84)
1. Nazareth’s rejection of Jesus is a culmination of this visit, and his first
a. that visit is recorded in Luke 4:14-30 and took place about a year previous to this visit
b.
Jesus had returned to Nazareth the first time, “in the power of the Spirit”
1) it was just after his time of testing and temptation in the Judean wilderness following his baptism by John
2. it was customary for traveling Rabbis to be invited to the local synagogue to read the Scriptures and comment on them
ILLUS.
Every little town had its synagogue, and on the Sabbath day, everything stopped and everyone went to worship.
They sat in a very prescribed manner in a very prescribed place; it was very routine, with familiar faces, activities, and events.
You can imagine that it had only been a brief time since He had been there as a citizen of Nazareth.
Now, He's beginning His public ministry, so He goes to Nazareth and does as He always did.
As the sun was setting on Friday night, Jesus would have heard a very familiar sound — two trumpet blasts form a ram’s horn.
They would have come from the minister of the synagogue, who climbed up onto the roof of his house just as the sun was beginning to set on Shabbat, Friday evening.
The trumpet blasts reminded the people of the beginning of the Sabbath.
A little time would intervene, and he would blow a second time, this time one blast.
At that blast, all work halted.
Then there would be a little space of time, and he would blow another single blast indicating that the Sabbath had begun.
In the dawn of the Sabbath morning, He would have found His way into the synagogue, which had been so much a part of His life in the years in Nazareth.
He would have taken His seat and seen many familiar faces — neighbors, childhood fiends, his brothers and sisters with their families, and extended family; uncles, aunts and cousins.
They were the same, but He wasn't, because in the intervening time since He had been gone, He had become famous.
He was a hometown boy no more, but a famous man now.
There is a curiosity about Him.
Because of his fame as a teacher he is invited to speak, as was the custom.
3. this is where we pick up the story in Luke ...
“He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom.
And he stood up to read.
17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him.
Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: 18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”
20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down.
The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him, 21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.””
(Luke 4:16–21, NIV84)
a. he reads from Isaiah 61:1-2, which is clearly a Messianic prophecy
b. after reading Jesus tells his former neighbors, friends, and family that he is the fulfillment of that passage
1) the implication is clear — he was claiming to be the Messiah, and they clearly understood that was what he was saying
4. at first they reacted some-what positively, but Jesus recognized their response for what it was — a superficial desire to see him perform miracles
a. when Jesus rebuked them is when they turned hostile and actually sought to kill him
b. they are incensed by his message
5. now it’s almost a year later and Jesus has returned to his home town again
a. they seem willing to give him a second chance — he is, after all, extremely famous
b. but whatever he says to them only scandalized them all over again ... They Were Scandalized by His Claims
B. THEY WERE SCANDALIZED BY HIS ORDINARINESS
“Isn’t this the carpenter?
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