Dwell in the Word Mark 6:1-6

Consider these questions as we dwell on Mark 6:1-6:

1. How does the response of Jesus' hometown crowd reflect a common human tendency when it comes to recognizing authority and power? What does this reveal about the challenges Jesus faced in His ministry?

2. Jesus mentions the familiar saying, "A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household." How does this statement shed light on the dynamics of belief and familiarity? How does it relate to the limitations Jesus experienced in performing miracles in that context?

3. The passage highlights the role of faith in receiving Jesus' healing power. How can we apply this principle in our own lives when we encounter challenges or doubts? How does trust in God's Word and faith in His promises help us overcome unbelief?

Transcript:

So far in the Gospel of Mark, what have we seen? That Jesus is powerful, that Jesus has authority. And it's been building up, hasn't it? To the point where on Wednesday, we saw that Jesus was able to heal someone without her actually touching him instead, or him touching her even. She touched his garment and she had faith and she was healed. And then we saw Jesus able to raise the dead. So, we're seeing the pinnacle of his ability. This is the real deal. Jesus can do miracles. We've seen that through the whole thing, but again, it's been a build-up, right? So, what are we seeing here? In some ways, it's the opposite. We're seeing that the breaks are being put on here. What's going on? Well, Jesus comes back to his hometown, and I don't know if you've ever experienced this, but sometimes when someone has success away from their hometown, they come back and are like, Who is this guy? We've known him the whole time, and that's what they're doing. Who is he to teach with authority? He's just a carpenter. They're not looking down on Jesus because of his profession. That's not the point.

They were used to the ideas of rabbits having other jobs. What they're saying is, we know you? Don't we know you were just here not that long ago? We know your brothers and your sister and your parents? How all of a sudden are you this amazing Rabbi who's not only teaching with authority, but healing people? And so, Jesus responds, it's a famous statement, A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household. And so, what do we see there? That Jesus could do no mighty work there, except he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. Now, the idea here is not that, boy, Jesus, who has all this power, he's being limited by humans. No, what we're seeing is that Jesus understands and shows us so that we can understand that His miracles are a blessing and people have faith. It's not that they are somehow healing themselves, but that there is a blessing that He bestows when people have faith. And so, what did He do? Those there that were sick, He healed them. Those people had faith. And so, what does it tell us?

I've highlighted it here if you're watching on video. It shows us that Jesus marveled because of their unbelief, and He went about among the villages teaching. So, He keeps on going, but he is marveling at their unbelief that even though they are seeing miracles, even though they are seeing that he is able to teach with authority just because of his former position and the fact that they know him, they've decided not to believe. And so how do we apply this to our lives? What is our concern as we come to this text? Well, the issue is that we are often plagued with unbelief. We come to the things that we see in scripture, and maybe we think, Are we sure about that? But we need to remember that God's word is true and that He tells us the things that are in scripture for a particular reason. And when we find ourselves in unbelief, the problem is not with God's Holy Word. The problem is with us. And so, we need to do what these sick people did. We need to trust that Jesus can heal, that His Word is true, that it is what is good for us.

When we come up against it and we doubt it, we need to remember that God's Word is true and that by our belief, we are saying, God, I'm putting myself out of the place of judgment over you and what you say, and I'm instead allowing your word to be at work in me. So, may we put aside our unbelief. May we come to God's word, trusting in its sufficiency and trusting that when God speaks through His word, He will keep His promises. He has given us the gift of faith. And so, may we put aside all that unbelief that we are prone to, and instead trust in that faith that He has given us.