Familiarity Breeds Contempt Mark 6:1-6

As we prepare to start this morning, would you turn with me in your copies of God’s Word to the Gospel According to Mark 6:1-6. We will read these verses shortly, so, have your Bible opened and ready.

Last Sunday, in Part 2 of the message entitled “When All Hope Seems Lost”, we spent most of our time looking at the 2nd of 2 individuals in Mark 5, as we looked at the encounter the ruler of the Synagogue, Jairus had with Jesus. This one-time enemy of Jesus now approached Him in complete humility, albeit Forced Humility, bowing low on his face before Jesus, Who he now understood to be his only hope for the physical restoration of his 12 year old daughter. In humility he brought his Desperate Plea for his daughters restoration. Only to experience an Unwelcomed Interruption from the other individual, whom we looked at last week, a woman who had been suffering with a 12 year condition. But as a result of that Unwelcomed Interruption, his faith in Jesus likely multiplied, as He watched a healing take place, where the woman didn’t even request what he was requesting, that Jesus physically touch his daughter. She was healed based on her faith that all she had to do was touch the hem of His garment. Additionally, in Jesus, he saw a compassion he had never witnessed in the religious leaders he knew, and this included himself. Before long, this Hope Giving, Compassionate Miracle Worker, then touched his now dead daughter and she immediately raised from the dead, proving that, beyond all the other areas Jesus had proven to have authority in, He also had authority over the Power of Death!

As we closed out parts 1 & 2, we noted that both Jairus and the woman Approached Jesus with A Humble heart . Both Approached Jesus in Faith . The woman, actually all present, learned that Jesus Isn’t satisfied with a Partial Transformation, He wants Complete Transformation. And lastly, Jairus and Jesus disciples learned that Both Jesus Timing As Well As His Plan Are Perfect.

These are all valuable lessons for us in our walk with God and as we move forward in our journey through the Gospel according to Mark.

This morning, we see somewhat of a transition in the ministry of Jesus, as He makes the journey to His hometown of Nazareth. Would you please stand in honor of the reading of God’s living Word? We will be reading Mark 6:1-13. Next Slide

Mark 6:1–6 ESV

1 He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.

May the Lord add His blessing to the reading of His Word. Please be seated.

Most of my time growing up, we moved enough that we didn’t really establish what most would consider a “hometown”. The closest thing I had to a hometown growing up would be Kittredge Colorado. We lived there from shortly after I entered the 7th grade until the last half of my Senior year in High School. Yes, I moved right in the middle of my senior year, but it wasn’t a long distance move and I had several Christian friends from the Bible camp I had gone to, that were in my new high school, so it was a good experience for me.

On our recent vacation, Pam and I took some time and visited my old stomping grounds. This included a visit to the church my dad pastored while we lived there. To be honest with you, while I did enjoy my time there, there were parts of the visit that were a downer to me. Before we moved here in 2018, I had the opportunity to drive through my old stomping grounds almost every summer. I noticed something on those trips. A lot had changed. For one, pretty much all of the streets had been paved, that was a good change. But you know what else I noticed? On all my trips through Kittredge, I never saw a single kid outside playing. When we lived there, we went home just in time to brush our teeth and head to bed, we didn’t even follow the old “street light rule”! You know, the rule many families had that stated that when the street lights came on you had to go home. We played football or baseball in the meadow, no organized teams, just fun pick up games. We played basketball in our driveway. We fished in the creek. Built dangerous ramps off of rocks and cinderblocks for bicycle jumps. Now, it seems that kids spend all their time watching TV or playing video games. How sad!

On the trip Pam and I took recently, the thing that brought me the most disappointment happened on Sunday. When we left in the beginning of 1978, we were averaging close to 150 people on Sunday mornings, the Sunday Pam, Steven and I were there, the attendance was around 20, and the low attendance had little to do with COVID-19. I must admit, it was a bit of a downer.

Our passage this morning begins with Jesus returning to His hometown, the town of Nazareth. I imagine it was a bit of a downer for Jesus as well. As far as we know, the last time Jesus was in Nazareth is recorded in Luke 4 and probably took place close to 2 years earlier. That visit took place towards the very beginning of His ministry and, as was His custom, He went to the synagogue on the Sabbath. On this occasion, He was asked to address the crowd that was there that day. To begin with, He was handed a scroll to read from, it was the Prophet Isaiah. Picture this in your mind. Jesus steps up to the lectern. That is when He is handed the scroll from the Prophet Isaiah. As best we can tell, the scroll was unopened. Jesus then opens it up to 2 different passages to read from, Isaiah 61:1-2 and 58:6. He then begins to read: Next Slide

Luke 4:18–19 ESV

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, 19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

As Jesus was reading, the listeners would have immediately been aware, that what He was reading was a messianic prophecy. This certainly brought a bit of excitement in their hearts. As a Nation, they had been anticipating the coming Messiah since the days’ of Abraham. The custom, after a Rabbi would read from a scroll, was that the Rabbi would hand the scroll to the attendant and then set in the special seat reserved for the Rabbi, and then teach about what had just been read. Like other Rabbi’s, Jesus handed the scroll to the attendant, but when He sat, He sat there silently for a moment or two, it was a very uncomfortable silence. As we have talked about in the past, the general custom of Rabbi’s was to begin to quote other famous Rabbi’s. Rabbi So and So says this about this text, this other Rabbi adds this..... they would then quote as many rabbis as they could, giving prideful evidence that they had rubbed shoulders with some pretty impressive rabbi’s. Jesus just sat there silently. Soon every eye was fixed upon Him, awaiting His time of teaching. Finally, He spoke; “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing!” This, no doubt pricked the interest of everyone present. Other rabbi’s had read these texts in the past, but when they spoke about what they had just read, they would mention a future fulfillment of these prophecies. Jesus spoke of a current fulfillment. We get the impression as we read on in the Gospel of Luke, that whispers began to take place among the listening audience. Then in verse 22 we read “And all spoke well of Him and marveled at the gracious words that were coming from His mouth. And they said, ‘Is not this Joseph’s son?’”. So far so good, but when Jesus refused to back up His statement with the same type of miracles He was reported to have performed in Capernaum, and then turned around and accused them of a lack of faith, they proceeded to take Him out to a nearby cliff, to throw Him off to His death. Miraculously, He walked right through them and left the area.

While that was His last time in His hometown, there was a time in recent history, where He had a confrontation with some individuals from Nazareth, these individuals happened to be His own family. We recently looked at that encounter together. It is recorded towards the end of Mark 3. Jesus family had come from Nazareth to Capernaum to seize Him, they accused Him of being crazy. At the close of this account, when Jesus is told His family had come to see Him, He responded by saying; “‘Who are My mother and My brothers?’ 34 And looking about at those who sat around Him, He said, ‘Here are My mother and My brothers! 35 For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.’ ” Keep this encounter in mind as we look at this morning’s passage, I think you will see that it plays a key role in the response of the people as He returns to His hometown.

The first thing we see in this morning’s passage is: Next Slide

Jesus Gives His Hometown One Last Opportunity to Follow Him in Faith. Mark 6:1-6; Matthew 13:53-58

Understanding that the time for Him to lay down His life, to purchase our salvation was quickly approaching, Jesus made one last trip to Nazareth, to the town He loved and to the people He loved. When I was thinking through this point, I was initially going to say Jesus Gave His Hometown A 2nd Opportunity to Follow Him in Faith. But as I thought through it, He had given them way more than just 2 chances. These people had watched Him grow up, they knew enough about Him that they should have jumped at the opportunity to be some of His closest followers. But there were things from His past that they just couldn’t put behind them. Not sins, like those that watched you and me grow up could use as a reason for skepticism, it was other things. We notice the first thing in verse 2: Next Slide

His Education Was Their Education. Mark 6:2; Matthew 13:54

In their eyes, they just couldn’t get past the fact that they had been raised with the same type of education He received. Yet He had this incredible knowledge and wisdom. Perhaps much of this was from hearts of jealousy. We read in verse 2 “..many who heard Him were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this Man get these things? What is the wisdom given to Him?’”

They didn’t understand, or perhaps better put, refused to understand, that while He may not have sat at the feet of the top Rabbi’s in the land, the unparalleled knowledge He had, came from above. This was something they should have realized, but their stubborn hardened hearts refused to acknowledge. By the way, did you pick up the underlying insults in their discussion? Rather than calling Him by the Name, Jesus, they referred to Him as “this Man” and “Him”. This was a purposeful shot at Him.

The next area of skepticism we see in their response is in: Next Slide

His Unimpressive Profession. Mark 6:2b & 3a; Matthew 13:54b & 55a

At the end of verse 2 we see them marvel at the “mighty works done by His Hands”. But rather than identify the source of His power as coming from the same source as His wisdom, which came from above, the couldn’t get passed the fact that He had been raised as a carpenter. Sure, the things He had built with His Hands were impressive. There is a good chance that many in Nazareth had hired Him to do projects around their homes. By the way, the term used for carpenter leads many to believe that He was sort of a handyman. He didn’t just work with wood. He also worked with masonry. He would have likely built furniture and cabinets, repaired roofs, built homes from both wood and also carved them out of stone. His hands were likely calloused and rough. But perhaps there was something else at play here. Many had watched Him work on projects they had hired Him to do. What they never saw, was Jesus speak a cabinet into existence. They never saw Him touch a roof damaged by the high winds and have the roof instantly repair itself. Yet the reports they were hearing from Capernaum and the area surrounding the Galilean countryside, was that He calmed the wind and the waves by just speaking to them. He cleansed the leper with His touch. His miracles appeared to take place with virtually no effort on His part. Perhaps they struggled with these things because they had watched Him toil and work hard over the years. Whatever it was, they couldn’t get past His job as a carpenter.

The next area they played a role in their skepticism was: Next Slide

His Unnoteworthy Family. Mark 6:3; Matthew 13:55-56

Like many of theirs, there was nothing impressive with Jesus family. He came from a pretty large family. He had at least 6 siblings, maybe more. They weren’t the wealthiest family in town, far from it. They were......well they were normal. Wait, let me change that, they were less than normal. We see this is their reference to Jesus being “the son of Mary”. While you and I may look at that as coming as a result of Joseph being gone by that time. The custom among the Jews was to always refer to a son with the name of his father, even if the father was deceased. The fact that they called Jesus “the son of Mary” was most likely a shot at Him as someone whom, in their eyes was an illegitimate child. He came from a woman who, they believed, had been unfaithful to her espoused husband. While Joseph did the right thing by not ending the relationship, Mary could never live down a shadow she had nothing to do with creating.

Then there was His siblings. Jesus hints at animosity between He and His siblings in verse 57, which we will look at a little later this morning, but don’t forget, the last encounter He had with them was less than favorable.

In many ways for the town of Nazareth, Familiarity Breeds Contempt. Much of the time for you and me, that Contempt is earned based on behavior people had seen in our past. This would not have been the case for Jesus.

Yet still, all of these things played a role in their: Next Slide

Turning Their Backs On this Last Opportunity To Follow Him In Faith. Mark 6:3c; Matthew 13:57a

We learn at the end of verse 3 that they “took offense at Him”. The Greek word Mark uses for “offense” is the word from which we get the English word scandalize. In other words, whatever it was Jesus said in the synagogue that day, caused a scandal among them. Chances are, He may have echoed what He said the last time He was before them. Claiming to be the long awaited Messiah. Accusing them of hypocrisy and a lack of faith, calling them unbelievers. Whatever it was, they turned their backs on this last opportunity to follow Him in faith.

In response to their unbelief, Jesus said to them; “A Prophet is not without honor, except in His hometown and among His relatives and in His own household.” The crowds swarmed around Him all over the countryside of Galilee, but it His hometown, they stubbornly clung to their prideful hardened hearts.

Before we address the results of their lack of faith, as was promised a moment ago, let’s take a moment to look at His siblings. What do we know about their last encounter with Jesus? (They accused Him of being crazy and He made it clear that his real family wasn’t those whom He shared a blood line with, but those who sought to do the will of His Father in heaven). That was far from a favorable encounter. I would imagine that they left Capernaum that day a tad bit hot under the collar! I wonder what kind of conversations they had on the 20+ mile walk back to Nazareth. Don’t forget, there is no indication in Scripture that any of His siblings believed in Him until after He rose from the dead. In fact we learn the opposite in John 7:5. Based on what we read in verse 3 and what Jesus says in verse 4, they returned to Nazareth angry and with bitter hearts. Reading a little between the lines in verse 3, you get the impression they brought their anger back to Nazareth. When the townspeople mentioned Jesus was the “brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon”, there appears to be an underlying current that His brothers had carried their anger from their time in Capernaum all the way back to Nazareth. This town had a population of around 500 in those days. That’s not much bigger than New Richmond. There aren’t a lot of secrets in towns of that size! When you add Jesus statement in verse 4 “A Prophet is not without honor, except in His hometown and among His relatives and in His own household.” It is clear that Jesus wasn’t receiving any more honor from His brothers, than He was from the townspeople.

From His brothers, we now move to: Next Slide

The By-Product Of The Faithlessness Of Nazareth. Mark 6:5 & 6; Matthew 13:58

In verse 5 we read that “He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” Everywhere Jesus went, He obliterated sickness and disease, opened the eyes of the blind and the ears of the deaf. Cleansed the lepers, gave the lame the ability to walk again. But in His hometown, their lack of faith tied His hands. In Matthew 13:58 we read “And He did not do many mighty works there, because of their unbelief.” Next Slide

Faith opens the door to the miraculous, but unbelief slams that door shut and locks the bolt lock.

For the town of Nazareth, they then threw away the key to that bolt lock. There is no indication that Jesus ever set foot in His hometown again after that day.

So, the first by-product of their faithlessness was: Next Slide

1. The door was closed to the miraculous.

This wasn’t because Jesus no longer had the ability, His power was in no way diminished by their lack of faith. We get the idea that Jesus kind of throws His Hands up in the air and says “Fine, if you don’t want to believe, then your seeds of unbelief, will cultivate a harvest of what you planted.”

The next by-product of their faithlessness was: Next Slide

2. Jesus “marveled at their unbelief.”

“This shocking and calloused rejection by the people in Nazareth was so fixed that even Jesus {marveled} at their unbelief. The word {marveled} indicates that Jesus was jarred by the deep-rooted faithlessness and open hostility He encountered there. For all of His earthly life, He had been the most unique and amazing person in their midst. They did not know why Jesus was different, but they could not have missed the manifestations of His divine perfection. How could those who claimed to know all about Him stubbornly refuse to accept the only reasonable explanation regarding Him, that He was the Son of God? But such is the blinding power of unbelief (cf. 2 Cor. 4:3–4).” MacArthur, J. (2015). Mark 1–8 (p. 281). Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.

This was a head-scratcher for Jesus. Of all people on the face of the earth that had every reason to believe in Him, none had more reason than those in Nazareth. They were like the Pharoah in Egypt, who watched God bring plague after plague through the instrument of Moses, so much so that all of his high ranking officials pushed him to relent and let the Israelites go. Yet still he refused, until God brought the death angel through the all of Egypt, costing him the life of his own son. Even then, His belief was short-lived.

This brings us to the last by-product of their faithlessness: Familiarity Breeds Contempt

3. Jesus rejected them.

“Once it became clear that Nazareth had rejected Jesus, He rejected them. (Reading on in verse 6 we see) ‘And He went out among the villages teaching.’ The Savior left and began a teaching tour in other, more receptive towns in Galilee. For the inhabitants of His hometown, the outcome was horribly and forever tragic.” MacArthur, J. (2015). Mark 1–8 (p. 281). Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.

Earlier this morning I used a phrase that is likely very common to everyone listening this morning, both those here live as well as those listening online. The phrase is “Familiarity Breeds Contempt”.

You know, we can experience the same type of contempt in our day. This is an all to frequent occurrence in the confines of the church today. We are spoon fed God’s Word on a Sunday morning, only to let our own eating utensils gather dust the rest of the week. We are moved in our hearts by the worship music we gather together to sing, but praise and worship of our incredible God rarely if ever graces our lips the rest of the week. We partake of Communion regularly on Sunday mornings, spending time remembering the immeasurable sacrifice Jesus made on our behalf, but don’t give it a second thought until the next time we do it again together. For far too many, we have become so familiar with all the trappings of life as a part of the church, that it has no affect whatsoever on our lives the rest of the week. It is hard for me to imagine that Jesus isn’t getting close to doing in today’s church what He did with his hometown of Nazareth. Rejecting us altogether, in the same way He rejected the church of Laodicea in Revelation 3. Let me read His Words to that church as we close out this morning. Next Slide

Revelation 3:14–20 ESV

14 “And to the angel of the church in Laodicea write: ‘The words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the beginning of God’s creation. 15 “ ‘I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were either cold or hot! 16 So, because you are lukewarm, and neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth. 17 For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing, not realizing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. 18 I counsel you to buy from me gold refined by fire, so that you may be rich, and white garments so that you may clothe yourself and the shame of your nakedness may not be seen, and salve to anoint your eyes, so that you may see. 19 Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline, so be zealous and repent. 20 Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and eat with him, and he with me.