MARK 6, 1-6
Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 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, that he even does miracles! Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” 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.
Shortly after he was created, Satan tried to defeat God! And he’s been continuing his attempts ever since. Trying to thwart God’s will. To keep God from doing what God wants to do. Now we know that he can’t do that! The Bible is full of stories, where Satan tries to beat God, and God always wins. So, we know that Satan can never defeat God. That’s just impossible.
But then we look at our world! Speak words that mock and ridicule God, you have crowds listening and TV cameras spreading your words all over the world! Speak words that praise God, and it seems all you hear are the cricket’s chirping! Think about how many Christian Churches have had to close their doors, because they don’t have the people to support it anymore. It makes you wonder! In Satan defeating God?
And then we have these verses. Maybe you were as shocked as I was the first time I read that Jesus “could not do any miracles there!” God could not do what He wanted! Someone was thwarting God’s will? How can that be? We know in our hearts that Satan cannot thwart God’s will? That’s impossible. So, then, what do these words mean? “JESUS COULD NOT DO ANY MIRACLES THERE!”?
I
Jesus headed back to Nazareth, His home town. Mary and Joseph had lived in Nazareth before they got married. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, but for almost His entire life, He lived in Nazareth.
You would think the people in Nazareth would welcome Jesus with open arms, maybe have a parade for Him. You’d think the local newspaper would run a headline, “Local Boy makes it big.” The little boy that grew up in Nazareth was now an important Rabbi. Even did miracles. Little Jesus made it big!
And when the Sabbath Day came, Jesus and His disciples went to worship at the synagogue, because that is what God-fearing men do on the Sabbath. Jesus was given the opportunity to preach, and so we read, “he began to teach in the synagogue.” And we’re also told, “many who heard him were amazed.” That was the usual reaction people had when they heard Jesus preach! The way He preached the Word of God! The answers He gave about what the prophesies meant! He preached with authority! He didn’t say, “Well, I believe this passage means this,” like so many of the Rabbi’s of His day did. He said “This is what this passage means!” He did not spend all His time reminding the people of the rituals and customs they should be following. He spent His time talking about the sacrifices and what they meant! He taught that God forgives sin by sacrificing His precious lamb for the sins of the world. He gave comfort to those who were hurting, forgiveness to those who had sinned, and hope to those who had none. And He did the same thing in that synagogue in Nazareth. And the people of Nazareth were also amazed at Jesus’ teaching.
And their amazement caused them to ask, “Where did this man get these things?” ‘What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles!” Legitimate questions. But questions that should be pretty easy to answer. Jesus has abilities that no mere human being could have. The way He preached! The wisdom He demonstrated! The power He exhibited by doing miracles. Those are not things that man can do. Those are things only God can do. So, the logical answer to their question should be, “Where did Jesus get these things that only God can do?” Well, they must have come from God! That would be the logical answer. Since Jesus was doing things only God can do, then obviously those abilities must have come from God! But that was not the logical conclusion these people came to.
And then they continue their questions. “Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” Joseph had been a carpenter in Nazareth, so obviously he taught Jesus the Carpenter’s trade. Joseph must have died, since they call Jesus, Mary’s son. So, Jesus must have taken over the carpenter’s shop after Joseph died, so Jesus, too would be known as the Carpenter. They mention the brothers and sisters of Jesus. They are saying, “We’ve known this kid since he was small. We know his family! We know all about Him! Even though he was a good kid, yet He’s only a carpenter. There’s nothing special about Him that would make this possible.
And again, if they would think logically about what they had just asked, they would have their answer too. Look at all the men and women God called to do His Work. They were all just ordinary people. Nothing special about them. Just regular folk, like everyone else. But God called them to do the work He wanted them to do, gave them the ability to do it, and then blessed their efforts tremendously. God did that to demonstrate that their power did not lie in the person called, but solely in the power and majesty of God.
The logical answer to their question was, “Yes, Jesus was an ordinary person, nothing special about Him, but God called this regular man, like He had called many other regular men, and God’s Spirit rested on him, and gave Him power to do God’s work. If God can use common men like Moses and Joshua, to do miraculous work, then God can call a nobody like Jesus of Nazareth to work miracles. That would be the logical conclusion these people should have come up with.
II
But these people were anything but logical! “And they took offense at him.” These people didn’t like what was happening! They didn’t like that someone they knew from childhood should become a prophet of God. They didn’t like it, and they were not going to put up with it. They closed their mind to any logic! They didn’t want to hear any explanation! They had made up their mind, that they didn’t like Jesus, and nothing you can say will change their minds. Jesus may be a big deal at other places. But not here in Nazareth! We won’t put up with this nonsense. We have closed our heart to Him and that’s that!
And, sad to say, these people were able to thwart God’s will. They were able to keep God from doing what He wanted. God wanted to preach the gospel to them. God wanted to heal their sick and show God’s love to them. But they wouldn’t have anything to do with it. They had closed their minds and their hearts to God!
And sad to say, “He could not do any miracles there.” Perhaps because their hearts were so hard, they wouldn’t bring their sick to Jesus to be cured. Jesus offered them hope, and life, and forgiveness! But they wanted nothing to do with it. Jesus wanted to save them. But they would have nothing to do with it! They kept Jesus from doing what He wanted to do. And now, they can brag that “Yes! We have beaten God!”
We probably all know other people who can make that same boast don’t we? God didn’t give me what I prayed for so fervently. So, they get angry and conclude that God is a fake! They won’t listen to any logic; they won’t listen to any explanations. God didn’t do what they wanted, so God must be a fake, and I want nothing to do with Him. They buy the lie that the Bible is just a book of fairy tales! They buy the lie that they don’t need God because they’re good enough on their own. And suddenly like the people of Nazareth, their hearts are hard, and they “take offense at Jesus.” They will not listen to Jesus, they want nothing to do with Jesus, and they will thwart Jesus’ attempts to save them. So, they too can brag, “We have beaten God!”
And they are correct. They have beaten God! They have thwarted God’s will. God wanted to save them! God wanted to give them eternal life! God wanted to give them peace in this world, and a hope for their home in Heaven. But they refused to listen! They refused to believe. They chose to fight against God. And now for the rest of eternity, they can brag about their victory over God, as they suffer the torments of hell for eternity!
This would be a very depressing portion of Scripture, were it not for the few words at the end. “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.” Oh, yes, these people thwarted God’s will, and kept God from doing what He wanted to do, for them! But they didn’t beat God! Nor did they keep God from doing what He wanted to others.
Even in this stubborn hard-hearted city, there were hearts that had been softened by the gospel, lives that were changed by the healing only Jesus could bring, and souls who were brought into God’s family by the gospel Jesus proclaimed. Even in this city where Jesus could not do any miracles, Jesus did miracles, and souls were saved. Just like it happens today.
Satan is at war with God and wants to thwart His will and keep Him from doing what He wants. And see how that worked out for Satan. When Jesus came, Satan tried with all his might to get Jesus to sin. That didn’t work. So, Satan got the people of Jerusalem so angry with Jesus that they manipulated Pilate into crucifying Jesus on a cross. Now Jesus is dead! God’s people have rejected the Messiah. So, Satan says, “I”ve won!” And then on Easter Sunday Satan realized that he had gotten the people to do exactly what God had planned from the beginning of the world. Jesus won! Satan lies defeated!
Satan will win battles, in this world. He will harden hearts so that they refuse to listen to the gospel, and go to hell with him. He will even get us to do foolish things and make a mess of our lives. But he will never win the war. Jesus has already won the war for us! We are evidence that despite Satan’s worst attacks, we stand firm in the faith, because Jesus holds on to us just like He promised. We are evidence of the fact, that regardless of what it looks like in the world, even if there is a place where JESUS COULD DO NO MIRACLES, He still works miracles in us every day of our lives.
