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July 12, 2009
“Rejected!”
Mark 6: 1-13
Sunday, July12, 2009
In some of my recent sermons I have pointed out instances where the translation of the bible that we use here, the NRSV has not given the best translation of the Greek Text. So, today in order to be fair, I want to point out to you a case where our NRSV offers the best translation. In the 1st verse of our passage this morning we read that Jesus “Came to His hometown”. Other versions have translated the Greek here “He Came to His own Country.” Now the Greek word that is being translated here can mean both Native country or district or hometown. Since Jesus spent much of his time in his own native district of Galilee, this specific reference would not be too helpful. But if it is translated “hometown” then we understand the specificity of Mark’s intent.
Jesus’ hometown, of course was Nazareth, a little village nestled in the hills of Galilee. It seems to have been a village that did not enjoy a very good reputation. In his gospel, John tells us that when Philip told Nathaniel that they had found the Messiah, Jesus from Nazareth, Nathaniel wondered how anything good could come from Nazareth.
In this passage we might see why the residents of Nazareth had developed such a reputation.
Jesus had come to visit his hometown and worship in his home synagogue. As someone who had developed a reputation as a traveling Rabbi of some repute, Jesus was invited to deliver the spur of the moment homily on the two scripture passages that were read during the service. Each Sabbath day a passage from the Law ( the first five books) and a passage from one of the prophets was read during the synagogue service.
Mark does not tell us what Jesus said, But he does tell us about the response of some of Jesus’ ex-neighbors. They seem to have thought, “Who does he think he is, anyway? He is just a good man who used to be our village carpenter, now he is going around the country doing miracles and preaching about God’s kingdom. People in other towns seem to think that he is somebody special, but we know who he is. Some of us changed his diapers when he was a toddler.”
Some of the residents of Nazareth believed that neither Jesus nor any of the members of his family who still lived in Nazareth were special. There might have been a bit of jealousy mixed in with their response. But because they had known him as a carpenter, they could not accept him as a great teacher or healer, let alone as the Messiah.
Mark tells us that Jesus “was amazed at their unbelief” and that “he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.”
What is Mark trying to tell us here? Is he saying that Jesus or God’s power is limited by our lack of faith? Is it possible that God cannot act in certain circumstances because of the lack of faith on the part of the people He would like to help? As Christians of the Reformed tradition of theology, can we say that our lack of faith limits God’s power? No. God is the all-powerful sovereign and nothing we do or believe or do not do or believe can add to or subtract from his power.
But God can choose to act in lesser ways as a response to our lack of faith. In this case, I think we should say that Jesus chose not to do any major miracles in Nazareth because he did not want to cause them greater punishment for rejecting him in spite of greater miracles. He did not want to be the cause of a greater hardening of their hearts.
But let’s think about a more practical application of this truth. The residents of Nazareth did not believe in Jesus because they were too familiar with him. Or perhaps it would be better to say that they had a stereotype in their minds of Jesus as their carpenter and they could not see him in the role as healer and Messiah.
What stereotypes do you have of Jesus that might hinder his working in your life? Do you see him as the mighty lord of lords and king of kings? Do you recognize his right to command you and send you to do his bidding as he would send the Apostles in the second part of this passage? Or are you limited by the romantic view of Jesus as our older brother and friend who carries us when we are too tired or sick or confused to stand on our own?
Some of the people of Nazareth were too locked in on Jesus as their carpenter and could not begin to accept him as the eternal Son of God. Some of us are too locked in on Jesus as big friend who puts up way too much with our weaknesses and excuses. We need to also recognize him as our commander in chief, the ruler of the kingdom we belong to. Is Jesus your carpenter who builds cabinets to conceal your weaknesses and constructs props and platforms to hold you up and builds nice annexes onto your life so you can really enjoy yourself in this world? Or is he the King of kings and Lord of lords who rules over and commands his subjects to increase his kingdom in this world?
Jesus not only called his apostles to follow him, he also sent them out into the world to drive out unclean spirits. How is that going for you? Have you defied and denied some of the evil that is a part of this world?
Jesus was rejected by his own ex-neighbors in Nazareth and he predicted that His apostles and the many others who would be sent into the world by Jesus would also be rejected at times. He instructed his apostles what to do in the face of rejection. He said (vs 11) “If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.”
Now, that might sound strange to westerners. But Jesus’ directions to his apostles were based on a common practice of the Jews in his day. When Jews returned to the Holy land, they would shake off the dust of the unholy lands from their feet and shake the dust of the gentile nations out of their clothes. It was a recognition that they had been exposed to the corrupting ways of the other nations and that they were now entering God’s property.
Jesus’ directions to his apostles was to turn this practice of the Jews back against some of them. When the apostles shook the dust of villages from their feet they were saying to the residents of those villages “because you have refused to hear about Jesus you have become as filthy to God and to us as the other nations are to all of us”. The shaking off of the dust was an expression of disappointment and outrage.
As a citizen of God’s eternal kingdom temporarily living in one of the kingdoms of this world, I sometimes wonder where my and our sense of outrage is as we face the sinfulness and degradation of this world and as we deal with those who do not want to hear about Jesus.
When someone refuses to receive Jesus as their savior or to even hear about him, this is a catastrophic decision that will have eternal consequences unless it is reversed. Do you feel sorrow and outrage at that? Do you express it?
As you live your life with your family in this world, do you experience the outrage you ought to at the fallenness of this world? Do you express to your children and grandchildren and friends how disgusting certain aspects of life in this world have become and how we are called by our loving God to do better?
Christians living in this world are supposed to feel not at home. Christians living in this world are supposed to experience rejection for Jesus as he was rejected. But we are not to take it lightly. When we are rejected for the name and honor of Jesus, we are supposed to feel pain and experience sorrow for those who have rejected Jesus and His heavenly father. And we are supposed to let the people of the world know how disappointed we are in them and how outraged we are at their behavior. But we are to do it in such a way that people will understand that God and we love them and want them to reconsider for their own good.
Pastor David Horner
Faith Presbyterian Church
West Lafayette, IN 47906
Posted by faithpres at July 12, 2009 03:31 PM