Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. Mark 6:1-3 NLT
For anyone who has tried to rise above their circumstances or station in life, even Jesus faced familia familiarity! Jesus returns home, as an adult, as a well known Rabbi, with rumors of miracles he had performed. Of course, coming back into his hometown as a recognized Rabbi, he would be invited to speak at his synagogue.
Mark doesn’t give us the same detail of Jesus’ reading, nor his shocking words we find in Luke’s gospel (4:21). Mark just tells us that Jesus spoke and they were “amazed.” The consensus question; “where did he get all this wisdom and power to perform such miracles?” Remember when Jesus spoke? It was said that he did so with “authority.” But the amazement quickly faded into dismissive disbelief.
Mark writes, “they scoffed.” And, they were offended! The Greek word, “skandalizó,” they believed that Jesus scandalized them – sure, offended – but even more, that Jesus was beguiling them, setting a snare, a trap. They believed that their own homegrown understanding of Jesus was that he returned as some kind of city-slicker con-man! Where else could Jesus have gained all these abilities? With all of this local, mis-guided gossip they convinced themselves that Jesus was a fake! Jesus own community would not believe and Jesus was truly astonished at their unbelief, their lack of faith. Jesus uses an ancient proverb, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his own family.”
This scene, this rejection of Jesus just because they were family and they were familiar with his beginnings, reinforces what Jesus told his disciples in Matthew 10, “all nations will hate you because you are my followers.” And, “Don’t imagine that I came to bring peace to the earth! I came not to bring peace, but a sword. ‘I have come to set a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. Your enemies will be right in your own household!’” Jesus told them, and us today, people will hate us or turn against us because of their own unbelief! There comes a point when we have to realize that sometimes friends and family are not rejecting us, they are rejecting God – and it turns their hearts. I had a stepdad like this. My stepdad Ben, didn’t exactly oppose me, I was just a nobody, a teenager. Ben’s battle was with the God he despised.
When we feel rejection, it’s hard not to think it is all about something we’ve done or who we are. It is helpful to remember there is more going on than we know. If Jesus hometown folks treated him with disdain, why would it be any different for us.
Prayer
Dad,
I am still baffled as to how your own son, doing Your will with grace and mercy, with miracles following, could possibly be mistaken for a religious scandal. It truly highlights the duplicity and complexity of our human hearts. This is just one of many aspects of our brokenness that you came to heal and restore. Thank you for persistently putting up with us! Amen.