Mark 6:1-6-- Seeing God At Work

Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, "Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these performed by His hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?" And they took offense at Him. Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household." And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their lack of faith. And He was going around the villages teaching.

Jesus then travels to his hometown, Nazareth, which is a small community in the middle of Galilee. He does the same actions there as he did in other places—taught in the synagogue, and healed the sick. Nevertheless, the response was different. Jesus was seen as too common, and his waving about of authority was strange to those whom he had grown up with—it was as if they didn’t even recognize him. In their response, we get more information about Jesus’ pre-ministry life than anywhere else in Mark. He is called “son of Mary”, not by his father’s name, which probably indicate that he was considered illegitimate—not worthy of his father’s name. It is said that he has four brothers who are all named, and sisters who are not. They say that he was a skilled worker, probably a carpenter, but possibly also a maker of bricks, or other skilled labor. But they used their knowledge of his past to indicate that he could not have the authority he seemed to have. They felt that he could not be commanding spirits or be having such wisdom, because they knew how he was raised and who raised him. Jesus’ teaching fell on deaf ears—like the soil by the path. Jesus’ commentary was a general commentary on prophets being unable to be seen as anything special in one’s home—the contempt for the familiar. Mark’s commentary on the event is that their faith prevented Jesus from fully displaying his authority over their illnesses—most of them didn’t recognize his authority, and so they didn’t ask for it.

Why is a prophet not accepted in his own hometown? First of all, because everyone there knows your weaknesses-- or thinks they know them. They all assumed that Jesus was an illegitimate child. They called him "bastard" every time they named him by his mother Mary. Secondly, he is too familiar, and familiarity breeds contempt-- at least if someone is trying to say that they are more important than you. "Jesus, you aren't really important. You're one of us!"

The real problem is that when God is working in our lives we often can't see Him because the tools are too familiar. The important thing about a miracle is its uniqueness, the strangeness of it. But Jesus wasn't unique at all, and often the miracles in our lives are so common we don't even notice them.

The proper response to God's salvation is gratitude. But we can't show our gratitude if we never see the work done.