In his hometown Jesus was met by suspicion and ridicule. These people with whom Jesus had grown up from childhood were sure that they knew everything about him, and they were not open to the possibility that anything new and important could have arisen in his life or in their relationship to him. They knew his family and background, and they took offense when Jesus taught in the synagogue because his words came with an authority that his old friends found shocking and unacceptable. Jesus quoted a saying from that day, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." (v. 4)
Actually, Mark recorded some miracles. Verse five reads in full, "He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them." Jesus could have and would have done more. The reason he did not is explained in verse six. Jesus was "amazed at their lack of faith."
Quantity of faith was not the issue. Jesus could have taken a mustard seed of faith and moved a mountain. The problem was lack of faith. Most people in Jesus' hometown did not have the faith that would draw them to him to ask for help. Their pride prevented them from even asking. One could use a common saying sometimes quoted today to describe these folks: "Familiarity breeds contempt." They were so sure that they knew everything about Jesus that they would not entertain the possibility that God's supernatural power was present and available to them through him.
Amazingly, people fall into this same prideful disdain for the Gospel today just as the folks in Jesus' hometown rejected his ministry. For many of those who live in what are described as Christian lands, the Gospel seems too familiar. For them the stories of Jesus and the church and the call to Christian disciplines of prayer, Bible study, worship, giving and service are just too pedestrian, too familiar, too boring. Consequently, people with "itching ears" as Paul described them, listen for some new source of authority, some new approach, some novel interpretation. Their confidence that they have heard everything that Jesus has said and know everything that the church has to offer, makes them spurn the message that God would use to transform their lives if they had enough faith to ask.
So, Jesus left his hometown to teach in the villages that were responsive. He sent his disciples throughout the land to call people to repentance. Those who rejected the message received a symbolic witness. Jesus told his disciples, "And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." (v. 11)
People who welcome the authority of Jesus and the message that he has entrusted to the church will be transformed. If they have the humility to repent and the faith to ask for help, they will find that the power of the resurrection and the strength of the living Christ will dwell within them, and with Paul the apostle they will say, "I can do everything through him who gives me strength." (Philippians 4:13)
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The Supreme Court Decision. In a very helpful article published in the Washington Post Russell Moore has stated his exception to the decision for same sex marriage and in a gentle but firm spirit written a challenge to the church to stand for truth and speak and minister in love. He made the observation that the church has always been on the wrong side of history; always the church is given the charge to stand as a countersign and witness to a culture gone wrong. Read his article.
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