A Prophet without Honor
Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.
NOT FIRST TRIP TO NAZARETH
6:1 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. After the previous incidents in Capernaum, where Jesus healed the bleeding woman and brought a dead girl back to life, Jesus left there and went to his hometown; that is, he returned to Nazareth (1:9, 24). Nazareth was about twenty miles southwest of Capernaum. Mark mentioned that Jesus was accompanied by his disciples (a detail Matthew omitted), setting the stage for the sending out of the twelve disciples, recorded in 6:7.
Jesus had been born in Bethlehem, but he was raised in Nazareth (Matthew 2:19–23; Luke 2:39–40). This was not the first time he had spoken and taught in Nazareth; Luke 4:14–30 states that Jesus went to Nazareth, “where he had been brought up [and] went to the synagogue on the sabbath day” to read and teach (Luke 4:16 NRSV). The response at that time was less than positive—in fact, the people had tried to kill him, but Jesus had walked away unharmed. Thus, this trip to Nazareth, recorded in Mark, is significant. The people of Nazareth were about to receive a second chance to believe; unfortunately, they again refused. Their rejection of Jesus was certainly a learning experience for the disciples, who would soon be sent out on their own (in pairs) to preach the Good News.
Opportunity to Know the Servant (6:1–6)
The people in His hometown had tried to kill Jesus a year before (Luke 4:29), but He graciously returned and gave them another opportunity to get to know Him. They thought they really knew Him because He had grown up in their city and lived there for thirty years. Yet they saw Him only as “the carpenter” (v. 3) and not as the Son of God, and they were amazed at His wisdom and works. Familiarity of the wrong kind encouraged unbelief, and unbelief robbed them of blessing. Just as He had marveled at faith (Matt. 8:10), Jesus now marveled at unbelief.
STUDY GUIDE 95
Mark 6:1–8:30
JESUS’ CONFLICTS
Overview
The first few chapters of Mark show us that Jesus is the authentic Son of God. Still, the people to whom Jesus came and showed His powerful proofs did not acknowledge Him! Why?
In two cycles of stories, Mark reveals the reason for Israel’s rejection, and demonstrates the response that all must make to Jesus, the Son of God. In these chapters Mark invites us to look at two kinds of hearts. There is the hardened heart of Jesus’ followers, who could not seem to grasp the meaning of what they saw. And there are the distant hearts of Jesus’ enemies, who refused to even look. Yet Mark also shows us faith, a principle which can open our eyes and our hearts to spiritual reality.
Here, as in the rest of his Gospel, Mark’s style is not to preach. Mark simply tells what happened, carefully linking story with story to lead us to discover in Jesus alone a power that can cleanse and renew us.
➔ Heart. The theological meaning of “heart” is established in the Old Testament. The “heart” is the conscious self, the inner core of the individual. Jeremiah portrayed the heart as “deceitful above all things and beyond cure” (Jer. 17:9). Every dimension of the human personality has been infected by sin. But only the willfully hardened or distant heart is beyond the power of Christ to change.
Commentary
There has never been any real question about Jesus’ authority. The question has always been how human beings will respond to Him. Many throughout history have heard the evidence and hesitated. Others have heard and actively opposed the Gospel. But always one key alone has released the power of the Saviour to operate in the life of the individual.
The Issue Drawn: Mark 6:1–44
Unbelief (Mark 6:1–6). After Jesus’ reputation had been well established, He returned to His hometown of Nazareth. When Jesus taught in the synagogue, His words created the familiar “amazement,” an amazement linked with doubt rather than faith. As Jesus’ fellow-townsmen listened they began to resent Him. How was Jesus better than they? Wasn’t He just the village carpenter? Didn’t His mother and brothers live next door? Why should Jesus be given such wisdom, and the power to do miracles?
Mark says they “took offense at Him.” The word is a strong one. It indicates anger, shock, and even revulsion.
Among these friends and neighbors Jesus did no miracles, except for a few healings. And Mark comments, “He [Jesus] was amazed at their lack of faith.”
In this short story Mark established the theme of this section of his Gospel. Mark would examine the response of people to Jesus the Son of God. And he would go about explaining their amazing lack of faith.
WHO IS JESUS
5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.
MIRACLES IN MARK
WHY COULD THEY NOT SEE?
5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”
