Rejected at Nazareth

Induction: 6:1–6 Jesus’ hometown fails to receive Him, citing the knowledge of His family and origins as the reason. Jesus rebukes them and does not perform miracles, since they are unable to receive Him in faith.

6:1 his hometown Refers to Nazareth, a town in Galilee (1:9). See Matt 2:19–23.

Matthew 2:19–23 GNB

19 After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt 20 and said, “Get up, take the child and his mother, and go back to the land of Israel, because those who tried to kill the child are dead.” 21 So Joseph got up, took the child and his mother, and went back to Israel. 22 But when Joseph heard that Archelaus had succeeded his father Herod as king of Judea, he was afraid to go there. He was given more instructions in a dream, so he went to the province of Galilee 23 and made his home in a town named Nazareth. And so what the prophets had said came true: “He will be called a Nazarene.”

6:2 Where did this man get these things Here and in Mark 1:27, onlookers relate Jesus’ teaching to His acts of power.

Mark 1:27 GNB

27 The people were all so amazed that they started saying to one another, “What is this? Is it some kind of new teaching? This man has authority to give orders to the evil spirits, and they obey him!”

granted to this man Illustrates the Nazarenes’ belief that Jesus’ wisdom is not His own, but has come from some external, unknown source (vv. 14–16).

6:3 carpenter The Greek text here could refer to any specialized craftsperson, such as a woodworker or stonemason.

James The nt letter of James is often attributed to this brother of Jesus.

Joses Referred to in the Greek text here as Joses, which is another form of the name Joseph; the spelling “Joseph” is used for the same brother in the parallel verse of Matt 13:55

Matthew 13:55 GNB

55 Isn’t he the carpenter’s son? Isn’t Mary his mother, and aren’t James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas his brothers?

Judas The individual to whom the NT Letter of Jude is often attributed.

Simon Outside of the mention in a parallel passage in Matt 13:55, this brother of Jesus is also otherwise unknown (compare John 7:5; Acts 1:14).

sisters Mark 3:35 may also allude to Jesus’ sisters.

Mark 3:35 GNB

35 Whoever does what God wants him to do is my brother, my sister, my mother.”

they were offended by him

This abrupt shift from amazement to offense is unexplained. Verse 4 seems to imply that no one respected Jesus in Nazareth after this point, suggesting that those who were amazed (v. 2) became convinced by certain naysayers. It may also be that some people believed but the majority of people agreed with the opinion of those who cited Jesus’ background as evidence of why not to believe Him.

6:4 not without honor Jesus declares that it is normal for a prophet’s own people to reject the prophet. This statement reintroduces the issue of what true family is (see Mk 3:31–35).

Mark 3:31–35 GNB

31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside the house and sent in a message, asking for him. 32 A crowd was sitting round Jesus, and they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, and they want you.” 33 Jesus answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 34 He looked at the people sitting round him and said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers! 35 Whoever does what God wants him to do is my brother, my sister, my mother.”

among his relatives, and in his own household Mk. 3:20-34

Mark 3:20–34 GNB

20 Then Jesus went home. Again such a large crowd gathered that Jesus and his disciples had no time to eat. 21 When his family heard about it, they set out to take charge of him, because people were saying, “He’s gone mad!” 22 Some teachers of the Law who had come from Jerusalem were saying, “He has Beelzebul in him! It is the chief of the demons who gives him the power to drive them out.” 23 So Jesus called them to him and spoke to them in parables: “How can Satan drive out Satan? 24 If a country divides itself into groups which fight each other, that country will fall apart. 25 If a family divides itself into groups which fight each other, that family will fall apart. 26 So if Satan’s kingdom divides into groups, it cannot last, but will fall apart and come to an end. 27 “No one can break into a strong man’s house and take away his belongings unless he first ties up the strong man; then he can plunder his house. 28 “I assure you that people can be forgiven all their sins and all the evil things they may say. 29 But whoever says evil things against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, because he has committed an eternal sin.” 30 (Jesus said this because some people were saying, “He has an evil spirit in him.”) 31 Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. They stood outside the house and sent in a message, asking for him. 32 A crowd was sitting round Jesus, and they said to him, “Look, your mother and your brothers and sisters are outside, and they want you.” 33 Jesus answered, “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 34 He looked at the people sitting round him and said, “Look! Here are my mother and my brothers!