MOVE Series# 5, There’s No Place Like Home

Move Series# 5, There’s No Place Like Home
By: Bobby Sullivan

Mark 6:1-6
6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. ² When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? ³ Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph,^[a] Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. ⁴ Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.”⁵ He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. ⁶ He was amazed at their lack of faith.

There’s no place like home! Really?

Intro: Thomas Wolfe wrote a novel entitled “You Can’t Go Home Again”. The book is about a man named George Webber. He is an author who has written a successful book about his hometown. When he returns home, he expects to receive a hero’s welcome. Instead, he is driven out of town by his own friends and family. They feel betrayed by what he has written about them in his book. Webber is shaken by their reaction to his work and leaves his hometown behind to go find himself. George Webber discovered that those who know you best tend to respect you the least.

INTRODUCTION:    Our text finds Jesus returning to Nazareth. He is going home again. He returns to His hometown somewhat  of a celebrity by this time. He has been going around the countryside preaching, teaching, healing the sick, casting out demons, raising the dead and controlling the forces of nature. He has proven that there is something very special and very different about Him.

The last time Jesus was in Nazareth things didn’t go too well for Him. He went to the synagogue and preached from Isa. 61. (Luke 4:16-20) In that service, Jesus proclaimed Himself to be the Jewish Messiah.

The people of Nazareth rejected His message and tried to kill Him by throwing Him over a cliff! He left Nazareth and preached in other places in Galilee. A year later He returns to the very place He was so cruelly rejected. He wants to give His family, His friends and His neighbors another chance to receive Him and His message.  He must have heard the echoes of Gomer Pyle, Surprise. Surprise, Surprise

NOTE: Jesus Rejected at Nazareth

¹⁴ Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside. ¹⁵ He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him. ¹⁶ He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read, ¹⁷ and the scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written: ¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me
to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, too set the oppressed free,¹⁹     to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”^{[f] 20} Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him. ²¹ He began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”²² All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

²³ Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself!’ And you will tell me, ‘Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.’” ²⁴ “Truly I tell you,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown. ²⁵ I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land. ²⁶ Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon. ²⁷ And there were many in Israel with leprosy^[g] in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.” ²⁸ All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this. ²⁹ They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him off the cliff. ³⁰ But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

When Jesus arrives in Nazareth, He is not greeted by anxious crowds. It seems that they ignored Him . What is of real interest is the people’s reaction not only to his preaching but his claims and the demonstration of it.

 

How do you react and respond to rejection

1. v. 2  THE PEOPLE WERE SHOCKED BY HIS PREACHING
2. When Jesus began to speak, the people who heard Him were “astonished”. This word means “to be seized with panic; to be struck with terror; to be stricken with startling and sudden alarm.” When they heard Jesus, they were actually filled with fear.

They immediately began to speak among themselves and talk about three areas of Jesus’  ministry that amazed them.

• 1.  His Words – When Jesus preached, He did so with grace and charm. His words were filled with divine authority. He did not speak like the local rabbis. They quoted other rabbis and had no sense of certainty in their words. When Jesus spoke, He did so with the sense that He knew what He was talking about. He left no doubt in the minds of His hearers that His words must either be accepted or rejected. In fact, when some officers were sent from the Pharisees to hear what Jesus had to say, they came back and said, ⁴⁶ “You don’t understand—he speaks amazing things like no one else has ever spoken!”

When the people of Nazareth heard Jesus speak, they were amazed.

Proverbs 12:18  “There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.”

Colossians 4:6  “Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.”

Luke 6:45  “The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

Listen to this, every word that comes from your mouth has an address assigned to it!

• 2.    His Wisdom – When Jesus spoke, His words were filled with truth. The people heard Him declare old truths in new ways. They listened as He taught spiritual truth by using the common everyday things around them. While His illustrations may have called on the common, the truth He preached was anything but common. The Lord’s wisdom left them shaking their heads in disbelief.

PROVERBS 8 is the catalyst for wisdom.  Take a moment to read it.

What is wisdom? How does wisdom differ from its close cousins’ knowledge, understanding and discernment?

Knowledge comes from the ability to see, to hear and to ascertain through experience. Knowledge resides in the intellect.

Understanding is insight into the nature of a thing, a deeper level of knowing.
Discernment is the ability to distinguish one thing from another and often involves one’s moral sensitivities, i.e., feelings about right and wrong. The discerning person not only distinguishes one thing from another but will normally proceed to make a moral judgment as to which is best.

Wisdom goes beyond knowledge, understanding, and discernment. Wisdom is to exercise sound judgment based on these so as to pursue a proper course of action.

That’s what mesmerized the people about Jesus.

Knowledge and wisdom are not the same. Knowledge refers to the accumulation of facts. Wisdom gives you understanding of what the facts mean. You could be the smartest person in the world and still be a fool. Anyone can gain knowledge, but only God can give you wisdom.

What does God’s wisdom look like? How do we know it when we see it? James 3:17-18 gives us seven marks of God’s wisdom:

“But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate,submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace raise a harvest of righteousness.” Purity comes first because without it, nothing else on this list matters. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God” (Matthew 5:8).

WHO WANTS THAT KIND OF WISDOM?

“If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and he will give it to you. He will not rebuke you for asking” (James 1:5 NLT).

• 3.  His Works – The Lord’s fame had preceded Him to Nazareth. They had heard about the miracles He had performed elsewhere. They could not believe that a young man from their own town could do the miracles that were attributed to Him.

The people of Nazareth could not believe what they were hearing and Who they were hearing it from. They heard what Jesus had to say and they were left with their mouths hanging open.

Matthew 4:23 And he went throughout all Galilee, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom. 

John 14:12 …He that believeth on me, the works that I do shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do

A disciple is an apprentice. An apprentice learns to imitate the master.

Most Christians see Jesus as the plumber who’s come to repair their plumbing, instead of seeing him as the master plumber who is teaching them to repair plumbing.  

Luke 9:1 Then he called his twelve disciples together,   and gave them power and authority over all devils, and to cure diseases. 2 And he sent them to preach the kingdom of God, and to heal the sick.

Luke 10:1-9 After these things the Lord appointed seventy others also and sent them two and two before his face into every city and place, where he himself would come… 8 And into whatsoever city ye enter, and they receive you, eat such things as are set before you: 9 And heal the sick that are therein, and say unto them, The kingdom of God is come nigh unto you.”

How did he give them power and authority?

It says Jesus “gave them power and authority over all devils and to cure diseases,” but how did he give them this power and authority  He did it by telling the disciples something quite similar to what he says in John 14, “…whatever you ask in my name that will I do…,” especially so because when the 70 disciples returned they said to Jesus:

Luke 10:17 And the seventy returned again with joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject unto us through thy name.

We do the works of Jesus by demanding, by giving orders, by issuing decrees, in Jesus name, as ones authorized by him to implement his sovereignty, his rule, his dominion, his reign, the kingdom of God

“God does not need your good works, but our neighbor does.” Martin Luther.

1. vs. 3      THE PEOPLE WERE SHOCKED OVER HIM PERSONALLY
2. As the people of Nazareth heard the message Jesus was preaching, they rejected His message because they thought they knew everything there was to know about Him. He had grown up among them and was one of their own. They had seen Him play there as a child; they knew His family; they thought they knew Him. They knew that He had never been to the divinity schools. They knew that He had no formal training. They knew everything there was to know about Jesus, or so they thought! To them, Jesus was just another boy from Nazareth. He did not deserve their respect. They saw Him as a common man!

They also knew His occupation. They call Him “the carpenter”. A carpenter in those days did not always build houses. Typically, they built ox yokes and plows. Sometimes they would build things like tables, chairs, beds, etc. Sometimes, the word carpenter referred to men who could do anything from carving a plate to building a house. The people of Nazareth probably had things in their possession that Jesus had built for them. They saw Him as a common craftsman. They looked at Him and said, “You are no better than we are! Why should we listen to you?”

1. We are told that they were “offended in Him”. The word “offended” has the idea of “to cause to stumble or to be repelled to the point of abandonment”. Because these people could not explain Jesus, they refused to listen to Jesus. They could not see past the carpenter; and they refused to receive their theology from a common carpenter.

These people did what all people do when they cannot understand someone. They resorted to ridicule! Ridicule is the final refuge of a small mind! They called Him “the son of Mary”. This was never done in that society! A male was always referred to as the son of his father, even if his father was dead. To call a boy the son of his mother was to imply that is mother had played the harlot. The people were calling the birth of Jesus into question. Of course, the people of that day rejected the notion that Jesus was born by supernatural means through a virgin womb. They consistently called His birth into question, John 8:41; 9:29.

The people of Nazareth could not explain Jesus, so they reacted to His words, His wisdom and His works with contempt. Listen to the criticism in their voices in verse 2 as they say “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing?”

This state of mind is still with us today.

People reject what they cannot easily explain.

People are not concerned  with the manger scene. They seem to be able to accept a little, harmless baby lying in a manger. But, when you tell people that the little baby was born of a virgin and that He is God in the flesh, they can’t handle that!

People are not concerned with Jesus going about from place to place preaching His message of peace, love and acceptance like some itinerant philosopher. But, when you tell them that He is the only Savior and that rejecting Him will lead to Him sending the sinner away into Hell, they can’t handle that!

People are not concerned with a dead Jesus hanging in shame on a cross. But, when you tell them that He rose again after He died and that He still lives today to save all those who will accept Him by faith, they can’t handle that!

What I don’t understand does not prevent me from acting on what I do understand.

III.  V. 4-6      THE PEOPLE WERE SHOCKED  BY HIS POWER

1. The people rejected Jesus and they rejected His message. His response to their unbelief is to quote a common proverb. In summary, the proverb Jesus told them simply means “familiarity breeds contempt”.

Prov 25:17 Seldom set foot in your neighbor’s house– too much of you, and they will hate you

The people of Nazareth, like people everywhere, took for granted what they had and wanted what they didn’t have. They looked at Jesus and saw one of their own. They treated Him as a common thing.

This is the first time Jesus is described as a prophet in Mark. “Prophet” comes from the Greek root word profetes and refers to someone who receives revelations from God for others.

When Christ began his ministry and his family heard about it, they accused him of having gone mad, and acting on that belief, tried to take charge of him as if he did not know what he was doing.  ‘When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind”’ (Mark 3:21);

‘For even his own brothers did not believe in him’ (John 7:5);

‘but his own did not receive him’ (John 1:11);

‘Then Jesus’ mother and brothers arrived. Standing outside, they sent someone in to call him. A crowd was sitting around him, and they told him, “Your mother and brothers are outside looking for you.” “Who are my mother and my brothers?” he asked. Then he looked at those seated in a circle around him and said “Here are my mother and my brothers! Whoever does God’s will is my brother and sister and mother”’ (Mark 3:31-35).

Psalm 69 of David: ‘Those who hate me without reason outnumber the hairs of my head; many are my enemies without cause, those who seek to destroy me…O God of Israel. For I endure scorn for your sake, and shame covers my face. I am a stranger to my brothers, an alien to my own mother’s sons; for zeal for your house consumes me [I stand resolutely against the world of denial], and the insults of those who insult you fall on me’ (4,6,7,8,9).

1. Mark 6 :5 tells us that because of their unbelief, Jesus was unable to perform many miracles there. Only a few sick folks were healed. Let’s get one thing straight now; their unbelief did not hinder His power. Jesus was and is absolutely sovereign. He could have done anything there that He wanted to do. He possessed the power, but He refused to demonstrate His power in the face of blatant unbelief. The hands of Jesus were not tied. A few people came to Him in faith and those people received His help. The rest rejected Him.

God’s best blessings are not the works of healing, multiplying your loaves and fishes, or meeting your needs. The greatest work of God is saving, sealing and securing lost souls! If you are saved, you have experienced the greatest of our Lord’s works.)

1. When Jesus saw the depth of their rejection, v. 6, He “marveled at their unbelief”. The word “marveled” means “to stand in wonder and amazement”.

Jesus is said to have “marveled” only twice. Both times His amazement was over faith. He marveled at the great faith of a centurion, Luke 7:1-10. Here, Jesus marveled at the lack of faith among His own people.

Jesus was amazed that these people had heard the truth, seen the truth and still turned a deaf ear and a blind eye to that truth. As a result, He left Nazareth, and there is no record that He ever returned there.

 

In closing, 4 steps to deal with the rejection  of our peers?

• RECEIVE THE RIDICULE  Accept It. Things hurt less when you are prepared.

Focus on the rewards of rejection. Peter felt lonely because he was separated from his family because of his faith. Jesus reminded him that the separation from family didn’t mean he was separated from Him and it didn’t go unnoticed.  Matthew 19:29 “ and everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for my name sake, will receive many times AS MUCH, AND WILL INHERIT eternal life.”

Focus on the reasons for the rejection

Focus on your response to the rejection. There will be others to follow you. The power of salvation is in the gospel not the person. Sometimes the best messenger is not you.

2.)  Remain Steadfast

Okay, so the conversation was not successful this time. Your plans to run Alpha tanked. You thought God wanted you to invite a girlfriend to ladies’ night at the church but she said “no.” Were you wrong? Is it possible you just planted a seed for later conversations?

Maybe the invitation was turned down today, but that same individual was prompted to think about God on her own. Marketing experts say that consumers are more likely to consider buying something after they are exposed to advertising numerous times.

We’re not trying to sell a product, but repetition leads to curiosity. A colleague might think “why is she so persistent?” Over time, the consistency of your character and of the message you share will sink in. A friend who rejected your invitation last week and the week before might seek you out privately with questions about what you believe and why.

3.)  Rejoice that you have a part in the body of Christ.

Picture the scene: your co-worker’s mother calls one night for a chat, then asks “Dear, have you thought about coming back to church?” You have been talking to her about Jesus and the topic is fresh in her mind. Perhaps you planted a seed, or watered one, or added fertilizer to the soil, but for some reason her mother’s question inspires a visit to the local church. She turned down your invitation, but Jesus still used you.

“Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it.” (1 Corinthians 12:27)

This is not your battle, it’s not about you, so don’t expect to reap the rewards. Somewhere down the line, if you’re faithful, a person might enter your life whose seed of faith has been planted, watered, and fertilized ready for you to guard her during the last steps towards accepting Christ. If not, don’t be discouraged. Pray for those God places on your heart.

Jesus was constantly rejected. Even His disciples abandoned Christ’s teaching after He died, so what can you expect? Following Christ is never going to be easy. At least you know the end of the story: we are following a resurrected King.

4.)  Reconsider your methods.

Are you too strident? Attacking? Is your language full of “should” and “must?” Have you let your guard down enough to show your need for Jesus or do you try to behave like a righteous do-gooder? Are you arguing, trying to be “right” or just gently sharing truth?

Don’t debate; that leads to argument. “The Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.” (2 Timothy 2:24)