Mark 6: 1-6
Jesus, the Hometown Preacher-boy

Scripture Reading 

Prayer 

Intro: Have you ever been disappointed by your family?

It is a very common human experience to return home to a disappointing response after having achieved something significant or experienced a significant change or crossed a certain threshold.  Perhaps you can think of such a time in your own life.  Maybe it was a graduation or a certification; a business, athletic, or artistic success which you put years into accomplishing.  Perhaps you have been abroad and used your gifts to help others as a missionary or a relief volunteer.  You return home to family and hometown friends knowing that your achievements will be recognized and expecting praise from those who know you and love you best.  God has blessed you with special gifts and insight and you expect your own people to rejoice in the blessing.  “The boy’s done good.”  - you want them to say – “Praise be to God for his work and his blessing in your life; It’s been a blessing to us also.”  That’s the best kind of response you could hope for.  And we do hope for it – don’t we? 

But when you get home and share the news about how God has blessed you (and what God is doing in your life), what success you’ve had - people are not so impressed.  You find that not everyone is as interested in your success and accomplishments as you are.  They may be glad to see you, but they’re more interested in catching you up on the goings on about town and the new local gossip.  This is a disappointing moment.  And it can be an especially bitter moment if what you are wanting to celebrate and share with your family and hometown friends is not about worldly success, but about the movement of God in your life.  You have been changed; you’ve experienced a spiritual awakening, perhaps for the first time you have known the rebirth that comes by faith in Jesus Christ.  But you quickly discover that not everyone wants to celebrate God’s goodness in your life.  In fact, it’s quite the other way round.  You’re ready to testify, but people wonder what all the fuss is about.  They may be glad to see you, but they’d rather not hear all about your new insight on life and spiritual blessings from God.  They wonder where you’ve gotten your new ideas and why you’re so caught up in them and where have you found the audacity to speak about God. 

The experience of rejection at home is perhaps especially common and acute among preachers, and the stakes are especially high when the preacher in question is the Son of God.  Bishop Tom Wright is worth quoting at length on this: 

“Most preachers can remember the first time they stood up to preach in front of their own parents.  It’s not the same as with other things people do.  If you’re a musician, they probably heard you practicing when you were little.  If you’re a footballer, they saw you playing in the garden.  But preaching is something dangerously public that emerges from something intensely private.  Parents, and others who have known you when you were growing up, are inclined to be embarrassed both at the revelation of something so deeply personal and at its being waved around in front of the neighbors.  Everybody is vulnerable at a moment like that.

Multiply that up a bit to allow for the fact that Jesus’ message was different.  He wasn’t just another synagogue preacher…He was saying, apparently on his own authority, that the kingdom was coming, then and there.  Where he was, the kingdom was.  And if there was any doubt on the matter, he was doing things that demonstrated it.” (N. T. Wright) 

After calming the sea, drowning a Legion of demons, and raising a dead child, Jesus, the Christ walks home to face disappointment, rejection, and (astonishing) unbelief among his own people . 

FCF  Too often local people do not expect the power of God to be found locally.  It is thought that in order to discover the wisdom of God one must go on pilgrimage far away, and in order to find the power of God one must look to the foreign mission field.  It is truly said that familiarity breeds contempt.  And because of our contempt with familiar things God does often work through what is unfamiliar.  But God more commonly works through familiar things.  And too often we are blind to the wisdom of God in our closest neighbors.  Too often we try to squelch the power of God in our own family members.  We expect nothing local to be extraordinary.  But everyone of us is a local person somewhere.  And if you move away then you eventually become local elsewhere.  So if the power of God may not be found locally, just where else may it be found?  Do you expect to find Jesus of Nazareth in Nazareth?  Or may he only be found in Jerusalem?  Are you scandalized by the power of God in your own family?  Can you celebrate the Kingdom of God when it enters your own home? 

According to Mark 6…

God works in remarkable ways in regular places and through regular people like your local carpenter.  We must be ready to recognize God’s work, to look for it, and to celebrate it locally whenever our neighbors stand up to testify. And we must not, by our unbelief, dampen and limit the power of God in our own locality. 

Today’s passage teaches us at least three things about the man Jesus Christ.

1. Jesus was in many ways a regular guy.

2) Jesus was a scandal to his own family.

3) Jesus is limited by unbelief.  (Unbelief limits the power of God.) 

1. Jesus was in many ways a regular guy.

Jesus had a home.  He was from Nazareth.  Up to now he has mostly been preaching in Capernaum and in the region of Galilee by the sea.  But the small town of Nazareth is about 25 miles to the southwest of Capernaum – and it’s out in the hill country.  Jesus grew up there.  It was an out of the way place, not well known, not well esteemed.  And it is there he has returned to preach (the text just says “hometown”, but cf. 1: 24). 

He worked there as a te,ktwn – a label applied to carpenters and to stonemasons, and more generally to those who could fix things.  Jesus was a handyman – he worked with his hands like his earthly dad, Joseph, before him.  In Roman society manual labor was often ridiculed as low-class work. But among Jews this sort of labor was respected, the Talmud taught that a father owed it to his son to teach him a manual trade.  As eldest son, Jesus would naturally have taken over the trade.  The te,ktwn was the sort of guy that you would want to have around in a bind, and as commentator R. T. France notes, “..the te,ktwn [or the handyman] is a reassuring sign of normality, not the sort of person from whom you expect  sofi,a and duna,meij.”  So Jesus was known in his hometown as a man who worked with his hands – it was a very human, “regular guy” sort of occupation.

Furthermore, it’s clear from this passage in Mark that Jesus had a family – a relatively large family.  (Remember, Mark did not tell us about Jesus’ birth as Matthew and Luke do.)  But now he explains there were 4 brothers (James, Joses, Judas, and Simon) and apparently multiple sisters.  He was Mary’s boy – a local son now returned to proclaim the presence of the Kingdom of God. 

Now Roman Catholic theologians have made every effort to explain away these brothers and sisters in order to preserve Mary’s perpetual virginity.  They must have been Joseph’s children from a previous marriage, they speculate.  Or, more commonly, they insist these were surely cousins and not siblings mentioned here.  But Mark does not say “cousins”, he says “brothers” and “sisters”.  There’s a different word in Greek for cousins, and cousins and siblings are not typically interchangeable words.  Joseph is not even mentioned in the book of Mark.  So the plain meaning of the text is that those mentioned are also children of Mary.  It’s part of the point here to emphasize that Jesus came from a regular Jewish family. 

We believe in the virgin birth of the Savior, following the testimony of Matthew and Luke, and we respect Mary as blessed among women, but we do not hold that Mary was “ever virgin” as do the Catholic and Eastern Orthodox traditions.  That doctrine is driven more by Greek philosophical notions suggesting that our material bodies and our sexuality are somehow evil in themselves – but that is not the biblical way of viewing things and there is nothing wrong or unholy or unbiblical in Mary having borne more children.  In fact, it’s part of God’s mandate to his good creation that mankind should be fruitful and multiply. Jesus had brothers and sisters; he was a carpenter from a hometown, and in this way he was a regular guy like us.  But Jesus was also a regular guy in that he offended his family and was disappointed by their unbelief. 

Brings to…

2) Jesus was a scandal to his own family.

The locals are filled with questions and they are scandalized by Jesus.  They are indignant in their interrogations.

"Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.

The word for offense here is….it means to offend or to cause to stumble.  The local people are not passively irritated, they are outwardly and actively agitated against Jesus.  Unfortunately this is a common response whenever the gospel newly enters a community or freshly encounters a family.

"Woe to you, when all people speak well of you, for so their fathers did to the false prophets.” (Luke 6: 26)  The message of the Bible is not a feel good message which always comforts and always encourages.  On the contrary, the gospel is often an agitating and disruptive force (cf. demoniac); it is a subversive alternative to the status quo.  In fact, to the ears of many the gospel is an offense and a scandal. 

1 Corinthians 1: 18-24 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  19 For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."  20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?  21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe.  22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,  23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles,  24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 

There’s a social phenomenon known as the Tall Poppy Syndrome – it’s most commonly associated with Australians and New Zealanders, but also with the English.  It’s esp. prominent among these groups but the practice is found in shades all over the globe.  TPS refers to the socio-cultural inclination which prompts people to cut down anyone who is perceived to over-reach their bounds in achievement or recognition or success.  It’s the image of cutting off the tops of all the tallest poppy plants in the field so that the elevation of all the flowers looks smoother and nobody stands out or above the rest.  Some have complained that Tall Poppy Syndrome is so culturally dominant in Australia that it prohibits economic growth and innovation.  Every high achiever gets systematically cut down. 

I think this is part of what is happening when people find folly and offense in the gospel message.  After all, we are claiming to have been born again by none other than the power of the Spirit of God.  Furthermore, when we testify to Christ we are claiming that all men are sinners who are also in need of that grace and cleansing that we’ve found (or that has found us in Christ).  So by testifying to know Jesus we are setting ourselves up as foolish tall poppies to be cut down – stumbling blocks who disrupt the even flow of society.  It’s part of what Jesus ran into in his hometown.  But there’s more at stake here – our testimony to the kingdom of God differs from Jesus’ testimony every time in that whenever we proclaim the Kingdom of God we are also proclaiming ourselves to be sinners (chief sinners) before God in need of grace.  But wherever Jesus himself proclaims the coming Kingdom of God, he is also claiming to be the sinless master and Lord of that Kingdom himself – Tall Poppy indeed.  No wonder he was such a scandal.  How could he make such claims?  Where did this man get these things? 

Are you willing to become a scandal for the name of Jesus Christ – even as he became a scandal for you?  Are you willing to stand out in your family as someone who testifies to God?  Are you willing to be counted as a disruption for the sake of the Kingdom?  Are you willing to be known as a fool for God?  Now I’m not suggesting that you should become a rude person or that you should try to force feed your faith in Christ to others – turning every dinner table conversation into a preaching session.  No, but I am asking – are you willing to even talk about Christ at all at the dinner table?  Do you have the courage to take your faith home with you and to be known as one who represents the power and wisdom of God in Jesus Christ?  And are you willing to be disappointed by those who disbelieve the message? 

Not everyone was impressed with Jesus and…

3) Jesus’ power was limited by unbelief. (Unbelief limits the power of God.) 

Mark 6: 5-6 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.  6 And he marveled because of their unbelief. 

We should not be surprised at this having just studied the previous passage where Jesus explained to the woman who touched his garment that her faith had made her well – that is was her faith that had connected her to the power of Jesus in a way that the others in the crowd did not experience – that is was not so much the touch of his garment, but the powerful personal connection to Jesus established by faith which made her well.  Jesus also told Jairus that he should not be afraid, but only believe in order that his daughter might be raised.  With those two examples we found belief, but here we meet unbelief again, lack of faith – which seems like the more common response.  But in this case Jesus is amazed at the stubbornness of heart among the people who knew him best.  It’s the only time where we read that Jesus was amazed in Mark’s gospel.  His amazement is only matched by their astonishment and offense.  And, again we notice the very human face of Jesus who experienced and felt disappointment like we do. 

Conclusion

In some respects the message from today’s text is a message of judgment.  Many in the world are too proud to accept Jesus.  Who does he think he is after all – setting himself up as God?  And from the note of limitation on his power it looks as though Jesus is unable to overcome such doubts.  It seems that he can do all things except that he cannot force faith.  He has been on a role up to now in stilling the sea and drowning demons and raising the dead.  But Mark concludes this section of great power demonstrations with this very sobering account of Jesus return home.  If you thought all was looking rosy for the unstoppable Messiah – think again.  This is a foreboding moment for Jesus. 

Tall Poppy Syndrome draws its origin from an account recorded by the ancient Greek historian Herodotus (5th century B.C.).  He tells the story of how – Thrasybulus, the ruler of Miletus once advised the younger prince Periander of Corinth about how to handle the citizenry.  His own father having died, Periander sent an emissary seeking counsel from Thrasybulus about how he should rule over his newly inherited city-state.  Thrasybulus said nothing to the emissary directly in answer to his question, but instead he spent the afternoon walking through the grain fields with the emissary and every time he noticed a taller – stand out – stalk of grain he would slice it down with his stick.  The emissary returned home to Corinth thinking that Thrasybulus must be mad.  But when he gave account of what had happened to Periander   the young prince surmised at once that the counsel intended was that he should strike down any stand out citizens in his purview lest they rival his rule.  And this he did great cruelty.  The story was given by Herodotus as an example of Tyranny to the Spartans – advising them how not to run a state. 

Tyranny – I suggest to you that it is just this manner of Tyranny which Jesus faces in the stubborn unbelief of his kith and kin  who wish to cut him down (to size).  It is no arbitrary rejection, but a rejection by the same dark tyranny which governed the Legion of demons in the previous chapter.  It is no accident that the account of King Herod beheading John the Baptist follows almost immediately in this same chapter.  The powers at work in the world are raising themselves against Jesus.  Herod senses a rival in the camp – and he is right to do so because Jesus does threaten his Kingdom.

And as one commentator has noted, this early homecoming and rejection at Nazareth foreshadows a much darker and more severe homecoming and rejection at Jerusalem for Jesus.  Nazareth may be Jesus’ childhood home.  But in Jerusalem sits the house of his true Father, and there he will face the final disappointment and rejection of unbelief among his own people. 

John 1: 9-11 The true light, which enlightens everyone, was coming into the world.  10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.  11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 

Still, from a broader perspective Judgment is never the end of the story with the God of the Bible.  We know that Jesus’ brothers and Mary are found praying with the disciples in one accord in Acts 1: 14.  We further know that James, the Lord’s brother became head of the Christian church in Jerusalem, and we find him presiding over the apostolic council in Acts 15.  So take encouragement in knowing that those who once disbelief and scoff and ridicule – also in your family – may one day encounter the power of God in such a way that they can no longer deny.  And Jesus will still forgive, he will still welcome the former scoffers into his family. 
 

John 1: 12-13 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,  13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 

John 1: 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it.