“HOMETOWN HERO!”

Mark 6:1-6a

INTRODUCTION:

            Well, I must admit, like a lot of people, I got caught up in it a couple weeks ago.  A hometown hero came home!  The 38^th president of the United States, Gerald R. Ford, returned home to Grand Rapids.  To most people around here, he was just “Jerry”—loved by all.  It makes me proud to be a Grand Rapidian—that’s a word I never heard used until a couple of weeks ago.  Now, everyone around here is a Grand Rapidian, and they are proud of it.  I haven’t heard a single negative word about our hometown hero.  And, that’s probably the way it should be. 

            In our passage, today, Jesus most definitely didn’t get the same treatment, did he?  Jesus just couldn’t please those who should have been his biggest fans.  It reminds me of the man who came home, one day to a cranky wife.  Arriving at 6:30 PM, he spent an hour trying to cheer her up, to no avail.  Then he had an idea.  He told her, “Let’s start over and pretend I’m just getting home.”  He went outside and came back in.  His wife said: “It’s 7:30, and you’re just now getting home from work?”

            Jesus could have been God Himself, and he wouldn’t have been able to please those clowns—oh yeah, he was God, wasn’t he?  Well, why didn’t they recognize him?  How many of you saw the movie, Oh, God! several years ago?  John Denver was a store manager who meets God, played by George Burns.  John Denver gets a letter telling him he has been called to meet with God. 

He thinks it’s just a big joke, but he goes to the designated meeting place, anyway.  There is just an empty room and the voice of God.  He wants God to show Himself.  Reluctantly, God appears, looking quite a bit like George Burns.  God stands there as an old man with thick glasses, dressed in baggy pants, tennis shoes, a windbreaker, and a golf hat.  John Denver stares, mouth open.  God replies, “Well, what did you expect?”

This is what happened in our Scripture, today.  God, in the person of Jesus, stands before these people in Nazareth, the town where he grew up, in the church where he was taught.  He was saying, “What did you expect?”  They weren’t able to recognize the Messiah because He was one of them!  He was the carpenter, to them.  He was Mary’s son, Jesus. 

It’s not that they didn’t know God was going to send a Messiah, some day.  They were Jews—they knew the Scriptures frontwards and backwards.  God promised a Messiah, that would be sent to save them, only He didn’t tell them it would be Mary’s boy—the kid who lived down the street. 

I’ve heard this passage preached before—you probably have, too.  And, I’ve almost always heard it preached that a prophet won’t be honored in his hometown—that the people you grew up around will always think of you as “the little neighbor kid”—that they will never respect your greatness. 

Well, that’s not what this passage is about at all.  “Not being accepted in your hometown is just peripheral to the main point.  It only set’ up what we should really be preaching about.  And, that is: “We must believe in Christ for him to do miracles in our lives.” 

PROBLEM THEN—LACK OF BELIEF RESULTED IN CHRIST NOT DOING MIRACLES IN THEIR LIVES:

            The flip-flop of that statement is: “lack of belief will result in Christ not doing miracles in our lives.”  These people were not a bit bashful about spouting-off their lack of faith—were they?  When you 1^st start reading V.2, you think it’s going to be a good reception: “When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.” 

            You might think they were amazed in a good way, wouldn’t you?  Until you put it into context with what follows: “Where did this man get these things?  What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles!  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!

            They were amazed and offended that Jesus was trying to pawn himself off as a learned Rabbi.  What they were saying was: “This guy doesn’t have any religious training—he didn’t go to seminary.  He is just one of us—a working stiff—A CARPENTER!  He’s Mary’s son!” 

            I don’t know if you caught it or not, but they called him Mary’s son, which was totally opposed to their culture.  A man was never known as his mother’s son, it was always as his father’s son.  Even if Joseph was dead at this time, they would have called him Joseph’s son—except for one fact—Mary was pregnant with Jesus BEFORE she married Joseph.  In this small town of Nazareth, do you think these neighbors would have forgotten that juicy bit of information? 

            There is no way these people were going to believe in Jesus.  Nor were they going to believe the message he was bringing to them.  Do you remember what that message was?  Mark told us in the 1^st chapter.  V.14 says, once again, “The time has come,” he said, “The kingdom of God is near.  Repent and believe the good news!”  That “GOOD NEWS” was the ONE standing before them that day.  And, they didn’t have the sense to believe in him. 

            So, what was Jesus’ response to their lack of faith?  V.5 tells us, “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.”  A few did believe, and Jesus did miracles for them.  But, most of them didn’t, and Jesus responded to their lack of faith. 

The passage says that, “Jesus could not do any miracles…”  Don’t misread that!  Of course Jesus COULD HAVE done miracles if he had chosen to—he was after all God, and he could have done anything he chose to do.  But, he chose NOT too because of their lack of belief.

PROBLEM NOW—LACK OF BELIEF WILL RESULT IN CHRIST NOT DOING MIRACLES IN OUR LIVES:

            And do you know what?  Jesus still chooses not to do miracles, today, for those who don’t believe.  Jesus hasn’t changed one little bit. 

            I think this is where we need to stop and look at that word “miracles”.  The Greek word used is dunameis, which literally means “powerful deeds”.  Jesus was certainly capable of doing many powerful deeds, wasn’t he?  When we think of the miracles or powerful deeds that Jesus was doing we, of course, think of the healing miracles—helping the blind to see; the deaf to hear; the lame to walk; etc.  But, there is much more to Christ’s miracle work than physical healing. 

            To expand that Greek word, dunimeis, especially today, means “God’s divine activity in our lives”—the power and guidance of God in our lives.  Now, for those of you who believe, do you have any doubt about the power and guidance of God in your lives?  So, Christ is still doing miracles, today, isn’t he?  He just works through the Holy Spirit rather than being physically with us. 

            We must believe and confess Jesus as Lord and Savior to get that power and guidance of God in our lives.  And lack of belief, just like those at Nazareth, causes Jesus to withhold the miracles that he wants so badly to give.  The last verse of our passage tells us that Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith.  Even Jesus can’t believe it when people reject him and what he has to offer. 

            I think a lot of people are like the atheist who was out fishing in England.  All of a sudden, a huge dragon type amphibian began to come out of the water.  With snarling teeth, it moved closer to the atheist.  In desperation, he shouted, “Dear God, Please save me!”  All of a sudden, everything stopped moving and the heavens opened and a deep voice said, “I thought you didn’t believe in Me.”  To that, the atheist responded, “Give me a break, 2 minutes ago I didn’t believe in the Loch Ness Monster, either!”

SOLUTION THEN—BELIEF IN CHRIST ALLOWED HIM TO DO MIRACLES IN THEIR LIVES:

            Mark certainly did give us examples of Jesus doing miracles for those who believed, didn’t he?  Before we went on Advent/Christmas break from Mark, we covered 2 very heartwarming stories about belief/miracles. 

            Remember the synagogue ruler whose daughter was dying and actually did die?  Because of the man’s great faith in Jesus, Jesus stopped what he was doing to revive his daughter—a miracle in anyone’s book.

            And, remember also, the woman who touched his garment when Jesus was going to the little girl?  The woman had been bleeding for 12 years.  Because of her faith, Jesus lovingly healed this suffering woman.

            And, who could ever forget a couple of months ago when we read about the paralytic whose friends lowered him through a roof where Jesus had been preaching.  Jesus healed him because of his faith.

            These people all had great faith in the miracle worker, Jesus of Nazareth.  And, Jesus didn’t disappoint them a bit.

SOLUTION NOW—BELIEVE IN CHRIST AND HE WILL DO MIRACLES IN OUR LIVES:

            The Apostle Paul tells us in his letter to the Galatians that when we believe in Christ, we become God’s sons/daughters.  We become His heirs, and we receive everything God has to offer.  Now, would you call that a miracle?  We, who are sinners—we who have rejected God—can be His sons/daughters.  All through the redeeming blood of our Savior—Jesus.

            Yes, Jesus is still doing miracles, today.  Some people think we have to give up a lot to follow Christ.  I don’t know, I’m thinking we give up a lot more by not following him. 

CONCLUSION:

            Believe in Jesus Christ, Lord/Savior.  And, let him shower you with his miracles.