THE NAZARETH OF TODAY differs from Jesus’ time only in the addition of some paved streets, the advertising signs of small mercantile shops, and the crisscrossing of overhead power and communication lines. It remains a jumble of mostly small stone buildings carved into the steep and convoluted hillsides. It is now what it was then, an out-of-the-way and insignificant small town where people of a lower socio-economic order eke out a hard-scrabble life. It is only one of the many such that surround the Sea of Galilee, and is of no particular repute—other than the fact that the history of the bible records this as the town where Jesus and his family resided and worked for their living. “So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.” (Matt. 2:23)
Throughout the gospels there is frequent mention of Jesus teaching in the synagogues on the Sabbath; this is a regular practice of his. Today, Jesus and his disciples “went to his home town” (Mark 6:1a), after a tour of the region surrounding Galilee. The blind have received sight, the lame have been healed and walk again, demons have been cast out of those who were possessed, and, just before he returns home, a twelve-year old girl has been raised from the dead. Now, “When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.” (Mark 6:2). Frequently, people are struck by what he teaches, sometimes in opposition to him, sometimes in favor, but usually both. When he finished teaching at the Sermon on the Mount, “the crowds were amazed at his teaching, because he taught as one who had authority, and not as their teachers of the law.” (Matt. 7:28-29)
Not so much here in his hometown. Now the amazement is not birthed from wonder, but from familiarity, and is expressed as derision. “Where did this man get these things?” (Mark 6:2d) Their inflection is upon the word ‘this,’ and that is further emphasized by the corroborating ‘facts’ that follow in evidence as they wield a sword in their attempts at character assassination. “The carpenter—Mary’s son—his brothers and sisters.” (Mark 6:3) These people know Jesus well. They have seen him grow up, and watched his work ethic. They know him and his family from years of interaction in the social and economic and religious life of the community. They know him so well that, “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.” (Mark 6:5)
This story exposes a dark truth about the carnal nature of fallen mankind. Disrupters of the social order breed resentment in the established members of that order. Sometimes this is a good thing, for some disrupters put the entire order at risk because of their aberrant behavior, and it is only prudent that the rest of the members police and protect the order for the greater good. But that is not the case here. Instead, this becomes a display of envy, and an all-too-common effort to tear down the one who is advancing beyond their perceived proper place, especially in threatening the stability of the community. It becomes a threat to both group and personal identity.
John the Baptist, humbly, said of Jesus, “He must become greater; I must become less.” (John 3:30) He recognized that the coming major disruption was because “the kingdom of heaven has come near.” (Matt. 3:2) Jesus’ detractors in Nazareth stand firmly in opposition to humility, and instead display self-aggrandizement. They feel they must tear him down, so that their potential is not at risk. And, of course, their potential will never be realized, for it is crippled from within by their own venal aspirations.
It is not only in his hometown and with his own relatives that Jesus “is a prophet without honor.” (Mark 6:4) His statement here is in respect to this specific incident. On the mega scales being weighed between man and God, he is without honor amongst the very people who have been diligently searching the scriptures for their Messiah. At the highest level of the national theocracy, within the halls of the Temple and the elite of the Sanhedrin, Jesus-as-disrupter is condemned—and for the same venal reasons of petty jealousies and even deeper envy. “Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.” (John 7:52) Only a few minuscule miracles could be done in Nazareth: “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.” (Mark 6:5) The town is robbed of its blessing; in Jerusalem, the fate of a nation is sealed. Whether on the micro or the mega scale, the missing ingredient, as always, is lack of faith and lack of obedience.
There is a lesson here that cuts through the ages. While God clearly moves on his own timeline, and for his own purposes that we seldom and then only partially understand, he does move in personal lives, and he does respond to prayers of intercession and petition. If he does not do miracles in response to lack of faith, what miracles will he do in respect to great faith? And what can he accomplish through us because of this same great faith? “I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Son may bring glory to the Father. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.” (John 14:12-14)
Q. Am I standing in the way of miracles?
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