God works in the ordinary
Introduction
Mark 1 – 6
As I’m sure you have been made aware that the purpose of Mark’s gospel is spelt out in the first verse of Chapter one. That is to declare that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that this is good news. Already in the first five chapters Mark has shown us that Jesus demonstrated the power and authority of God in five key areas:
1 He taught as one who had authority
2 He had power and authority over sickness
3 He had authority to forgive sins
4 He had authority and power over nature
5 He had authority over death.
What we have seen in these early chapters of Mark is that Jesus of Nazareth says and does things that only God can do.
No wonder that his followers were asking, “Who is this? Even the wind and waves obey him?”
No wonder that people were amazed at what he said and what he did. His fame had spread around Galilee so that wherever he went large crowds followed. Not surprisingly his fame had even spread to Jerusalem so that teachers of the law came down from Jerusalem to check him out.
Now in Chapter 6 we see Jesus making a visit to his home town, Nazareth, in the company of his followers. Was this going to be a case of local boy makes good coming home to a heroes welcome? Well no. What we see is a town that is amazed by him but offended. The Son of God who is amazed by them and restricted and we also see the start of an amazing and effective spread of the good news.
1 Amazed but offended
Mark tells us that as soon as the Sabbath came, Jesus joined the town’s people in the synagogue and began to teach. So far so good; local boy returns, his reputation gone before him, so he is given the opportunity to teach. And like everyone else who heard him they were amazed. Anyone who listened to Jesus was amazed by his teaching, he was not like other teachers, he spoke with authority. People who take time to listen to him today still find him amazing; he is different from anyone or anything else they have heard. I shall be having lunch today with a colleague of my wife’s who about three years ago picked up a copy of the Message (a modern day translation of the Bible) which was on my wife’s desk at work. She read some of it and in her own words found it “an amazing book”. We gave her a copy, had her round for meals and invited her to a Christianity Explored course where she met Jesus Christ and has not ceased to be amazed by him.
So we should not be surprised that the people of Nazareth were amazed but what does follow is a surprise and a warning to us. In verse 3 we see that “they took offence at him”. Why? Was it what he said? No, they acknowledged that he spoke wisdom. Was it what he claimed to do? No they believed that he did miracles.
It wasn’t what he said and it wasn’t what he did; it was who he was that offended them. They recognised that what he said and what he did was the work of God but he did not live up to their expectations of God. He was too ordinary: a carpenter, Mary’s boy, he had brothers and sisters living in the town. They knew him too well. They took offence because what he said and what he did, did not match up to how they viewed him or how they viewed God.
Consider the tragedy of what was happening. For almost thirty years the Son of God, God become man, had lived with these people. He had played in their streets, ate in their homes, worked alongside them, shared their sorrows and their joys but they did not recognise him because their thinking was too narrow. And now Jesus gives them the chance to change their thinking, their world view, and recognise who he is but they stumbled over him they were not prepared to change their view so they rejected his words, rejected his actions and rejected him.
It reminds me of the story of the man fishing who was seen catching tiddlers and keeping them then catching a large trout and tossing it back, again catching tiddlers and keeping them then tossing back another large trout. Eventually he was asked why he kept the small fish but threw back the large. He answered, “Well I’ve only got a small frying pan and the big ones won’t fit.”
Jesus always challenges our thinking, he does not fit into our world view but we are the ones who have to change if he is going to fit into our lives.
The people of Nazareth had the opportunity to meet God in the ordinary every day things of life and they did not recognise him because he was too ordinary. But that is the goodness and grace of God in Jesus Christ that he became a man, a playmate, a neighbour, a workmate, a son, a brother that we might know him. God is still willing to meet with people in the ordinary, everyday experiences of life.
My daughter works for a security alarm company. A couple of weeks ago one of the Engineers was bemoaning the fact that his wife wanted him to go to church because she thought it would be good for their young child. He was not intending to go. A few days later something went suddenly and seriously wrong on a job he was doing. The system went down and he tried everything to trace the problem without success. It was going to take a lot of expensive time to sort it out. Finally in desperation he said, “If there is a God in heaven then help me fix this.” He then keyed in one more code and the whole system came back to life again. The next day he was telling the office staff that he was going to church on Sunday and moaning about having to wear a suit. My daughter told him that these days casual dress was OK and that’s when he told her that he had agreed to go with his wife because of what happened on the job. God is willing to meet us in the everyday things of life if we listen for him.
Are we willing to meet him on his terms? The people of Nazareth were offended by a God who came and lived with them. Amazed but offended.
2 The Son of God was amazed and restricted.
“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.”
Jesus had come to his home town, to his family, to neighbours, to old friends and he wanted to share the good news with them; the good news that he had come to rescue them from sin and bring them into a relationship with the living God. He wanted them to experience healing and forgiveness but instead was amazed at their lack of faith and he could not do any miracles there.
That is an incredible statement when you consider that this is the man who healed a woman who secretly touched his coat. This is the man who raised a 12 year old dead girl to life. He had calmed the storm and stilled the sea. He had cast out demons and healed lepers but “he could not do any miracles there.”
It was not for lack of power, and it was not for lack of authority but because of their lack of faith he could not do any miracles because the miracles would not do them any good. They had already rejected the miracles they had heard about and seen because in their minds he was too ordinary to do these things. They were antagonistic towards him and not willing to accept him as anything other than the carpenter, the local builder so he could not do any miracles because miracles would only have made their rejection of him worse.
Jesus has come that we might have a relationship with him so that we might know him and know the Father. If we refuse to have a relationship with him, if we don’t want to accept him then he will not force his way on us. Jesus’ miracles are to reveal who he is so if there is no faith present, only antagonism and rejection, miracles will not convince they only serve to condemn. “Woe to you, Korazin! Woe to you Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.” (Luke 10:13-14)
It is because of his mercy that Jesus could not perform any miracles in Nazareth.
Jesus could not do any miracles because they had rejected the biggest miracle of all, that God became man and lived among them. They failed to meet God in the ordinary so missed out on the extraordinary. It would be depressing if that is where the story was to end but what we see next is the start of an amazing and effective spread of the good news of Jesus Christ.
3 An amazing and effective spread of the good news.
Jesus did not stop in Nazareth but went around teaching from village to village. Then in verse 7 we see the start of something new, something amazing, something effective and something that is still going on.
Jesus sent the 12 disciples out, two by two to go from place to place to tell out the good news and he gave them his authority over evil spirits. This is amazing because of who he sent out. They were ordinary men, fishermen, a tax collector, a political activist. Yes they had spent some time with Jesus as his disciples but they had not done very well so far. In chapter 4 we found that they did not understand his teaching (v10), they did not trust his will or power to protect them (v28) and in chapter 5:31 they were not sensitive to Jesus’ ability to recognise when power had gone from him. Basically they still had a lot to learn they were not the finished article but Jesus sends them out with his message and his authority.
He also sends them out with limited resources, a staff and sandals! And he tells them to expect rejection. What we find is that they preached so that people would turn around and stop going their own way and go God’s way, they drove out demons and people were healed. Very ordinary men were empowered to do some very extraordinary things.
Jesus has not stopped doing the work he started that day. He still sends out ordinary women and men, people who still have a lot to learn, people who are not the finished article, to tell out the message that turns people around, challenges them to change their thinking, drives out evil and brings healing and salvation.
Did you notice that known of the twelve said I’m not ready, or I’m not equipped. They did not say I’m not good enough or strong enough but they went trusting in Jesus’ word and God worked through them.
What about you? Jesus is still sending ordinary men and women to reach ordinary men and women with the good news that Jesus wants to come into their homes, meet with them in their workplaces, share in their sorrows and in their joys and through his death and resurrection bring them eternal life and forgiveness of sin. In effect Jesus has come into our ordinary lives to give us his extraordinary life. Let him not be amazed at our lack of faith.