Amazed at their lack of faith 21/03/2022

Read Mark 6:1-6.

He was amazed at their lack of faith. [Mark 6:6 NIV]

[Photo by Ross Sneddon on Unsplash.]

Jesus clearly expected these people to believe in Him. What was the problem? Why were they so reluctant to believe in Him? The problem is summed up in a Scots phrase, "A kent his faither." Scots are experts in bringing you down to size if they think that you are getting a bit above yourself. This is one of the expressions that was used to remind upwardly mobile people of their lowly roots. I find this strange because I have memories of being proud of people who had achieved 'fame' from our wee town of Stevenston - one lad from Stevenston was signed up for Glasgow Rangers football team and this was a great source of pride. A local young lady appeared on television as a singer - Wow! We thought that their elevation would be a source of inspiration to us.

That's not how the folk from Nazareth perceived Jesus. Who does he think he is? He is a carpenter. I have a great admiration for carpenters who can make amazing objects from wood - especially in those days with very primitive tools. But Jesus was not considered special by his fellow townspeople from Nazareth. When they heard his preaching, they were deeply offended. In keeping with his narrative style, Mark does not provide us with the content of Jesus message in the synagogue. Luke provides us with a longer account which provides us with a summary of the content of Jesus statement in the synagogue. We know that he read from Isaiah (Isaiah 61:1-2) and that he applied that prophecy to himself thus claiming to be the Messiah. He also referred to Gentiles being blessed by God instead of Jews. So there were things in the message which caused offence. (Luke 4: 16- 30) But Mark identifies the real issue. They knew too much about him so he could not be the Messiah. They were able to list the names of the brothers of Jesus - James, Joseph, Judas and Simon. They referred to his sisters although they do not name them. They even suggest that they are present in the synagogue that day. Interestingly enough there is no mention of Joseph which would indicate that he was deceased by this time and Mary, who is mentioned, was a widow by this stage. They would have expected the Messiah to come from some distinguished family - as he is the descendant of King David. They did not appreciate that this carpenter was God's Son in human flesh. This was a stumbling block to them and it is still an issue with the Jewish people today who are still awaiting the coming of their Messiah.

Because of their lack of faith, Jesus was not able to perform many miracles in his hometown. However, it is interesting that the passage in Mark provides an exception to this lack of miracles - 'except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.' I love the casual way that Mark talks about the dramatic healing of several sick people. For those who were healed, this was significant. This was a day they would never forget even though the majority of people were enraged with this man they regarded as an imposter. They tried to kill him - another thing we learn from Luke's more detailed account. We also learn how they went about this - they dragged him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built with a view to pushing him over the edge to his death on the rocks below. But this was not the time for Jesus to die and this was not the way he would end his short life. So Jesus was able to slip through the crowd and escape from their clutches. This is another miracle - a whole crowd wanting to carry out an execution and he manages to avoid them.

This town lost out on so much because of their lack of faith. Many individuals also lose out because they are not prepared to place their simple faith and trust in the Son of God. Maybe in our own lives, our lack of faith is a major stumbling block to our experiencing the blessing that Jesus is able to offer us in abundance.