Dan Herold | Mark 6:1-6 | January 31, 2015
(Sermon starts at 8:54)
How do you feel when you hear how Jesus was treated in his hometown church in Mark 6:1-6? Does it make you angry that the people that Jesus grew up with and knew his whole life would treat him that way? Does it surprise you that he isn’t welcomed home like a hero? Or are you not surprised? Knowing the history of the Israelites, does it just seem to make sense that the people of Nazareth would reject the Messiah when he was right there in front of them? Do you ever relate to the people in the synagogue though? Do you ever hear how they reacted to Jesus preaching and wonder to yourself if you have ever done that?
The Bible is full of stories of people rejecting God’s messengers—the prophets and apostles. So, lest we fall into the temptation to reject God’s messengers let’s take a look at this instance in Nazareth. Why did the people reject Jesus and how can we guard our hearts so that we don’t grow cold toward the message of our Savior?
Mark doesn’t tell us much about what Jesus preached that day in Nazareth, but it amazed the people who heard it. They recognized what he was saying as wisdom and knew that Jesus had performed miracles. That’s why what the people in the synagogue say next is so surprising. They reject him!
Think about the things that Jesus had done—the miracles he had performed. He had turned water into wine at the wedding at Cana. He had healed the sick, raised a young girl who died back to life, and made the lame walk. In every instance he helped individuals in the community and the community as a whole.
So, what would have been the logical response from the people who benefited from these miracles? Maybe a thank you? But instead they said,
“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.
Why would they take offense at Jesus? Have you ever heard the saying, “familiarity breeds contempt”? What happened in Nazareth in Mark 6:1-6 is a prime example of the truth of that saying. Jesus hadn’t done anything wrong, he hadn’t committed any crime, he hadn’t said anything that wasn’t true—and still the people there took offense at him. The people were offended because they refused to believe that Jesus—the son of Joseph the carpenter and whose brothers and sisters were there in Nazareth—could be the promised Savior. They rejected their Lord and Savior, because they thought he was too familiar.
Does that seem like a strange or silly reason to take offense at someone? Well, look at it from their point of view for a minute. If someone you knew, a cousin or even a second-cousin maybe, had won that billion dollar Powerball jackpot a few weeks ago. As soon as you saw their name in the news as the winner what would you start to think? It’s ok, you can admit it—I’d be thinking it too…when am I going to get my cut? Surely I am going to benefit from this somehow because, after all, I’m related to the winner.
Then, after you get yourself all worked up about the nice fat check your going to be getting from your second cousin who won the lottery days and weeks go by and you still haven’t heard from him. Now what are you thinking? “That horrible cousin of mine won a billion dollars and hasn’t even offered me any yet!” We’d probably be at least a little offended or put off if we didn’t get any of that billion dollars.
That sense of familiarity makes us think that for some reason we should receive special treatment. Really, it’s our sinful nature that wants the special treatment. Our sinful nature always wants to feel important and recognized. It never wants to be a fly on the wall and quietly observe. It’s loud, it’s obnoxious, and it loves to make a scene.
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It was the sinful natures of the people at the synagogue in Nazareth that caused Jesus to say,
“Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”
In fact, the people’s reactions were so strange that even Jesus was “amazed at their lack of faith.”
So, how do we guard against acting like the people of Nazareth? We need to be aware of our sinful nature. We need to be aware of what it is, how it acts, what it likes, and what lies and tricks Satan likes to use most often to tempt us. We do that by taking every opportunity to hear and study God’s Word.
That helps us fight our sinful nature because the Holy Spirit works through the Word to create faith and to build up the new man in us that believes and trusts in Jesus—the carpenter from Nazareth. By hearing and studying God’s Word we are surrounding ourselves with the tools necessary to fight the urge to reject God for seeming too familiar or boring.
The way our Savior entered this world wasn’t spectacular by some people’s definition of the word. He was born in a small town amongst livestock and had to sleep in a feed trough. His first visitors were a few lowly shepherds. But, through the eyes of faith, that night was miraculously spectacular.
The way God chose to take away the sins of the world and reconcile sinners to himself wasn’t glamorous by any means. Jesus lowering himself to become man and becoming obedient to death on a cross as a common criminal—even being put to death between two criminals—lacks the flair that some were expecting. But, through the eyes of faith, what our Savior did for us on that cross was the most beautiful and precious gift that could ever be given.
The way that we guard our hearts from despising God’s word and rejecting it for seeming too mundane is to continue to hear the Word and when we hear the Word to search for what makes it special. That means examining our hearts and admitting just how lost and broken we are and then listening to our Lord’s words of healing and comfort. It is not the job of God or his messengers to bend God’s Word so that it excites us. Earlier we sang the hymn, “Preach You The Word” #544. And in that hymn we sing the line “Preach you the Word and plant it home, to those who like or like it not.” Jesus did not change his message when he was rejected at Nazareth, but he moved on to a different place after the people of Nazareth rejected the promised Savior.
What a terrible feeling those people of Nazareth must have been left with. They drove away the only one who could take away their sins—and all because he was too familiar to them. May God be with us and strengthen us so that we never tell our Savior to go away because he isn’t what we want. Our Lord, our Savior, is exactly what we need… He preaches Law and gospel, he convicts us of our sin, but also takes those sins away. He has great wisdom, he is able to perform miracles, he is able to give life to the dead and take away all the sins of the world—and when he speaks the people will most certainly know that a prophet has been among them.
Through the eyes of faith that the Holy Spirit has blessed you with see your Savior for what he is—the glorious and victorious King who has defeated death and sin and Satan, who rules on heaven’s throne, and who will return one day to bring you to the home he has prepared for you in heaven.
Amen.