Sermon Tone Analysis

“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being recieved, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.”

And so begins Charles Dickens’ classic, “A Tale of Two Cities”, where his fictional characters endure the adventures of the French Revolution from Paris, France to London, England in the year 1775.

Tonight we will read a much different Tale of Two Cities…certainly much different in most every respect, but also with several striking similarities to the description we just read.

The biblical author, John-Mark, will tell his own account of the time that Jesus Christ walked upon the earth and we will see that it was indeed both the best and the worst of times:

It was The Best of Times: The very Son of God stepped down from heaven to earth as a man, bone and flesh, Incarnate, to walk upon the soil and breath the air that He spoke into existence.

The Creator was now among the creation.

He was Immanuel, God with us…It was The Best of Times!

But it was also The Worst of Times: This Messiah was not recognized by those who should have known him best, and while many believed, Israel as a nation rejected Him.

The religious leaders, experts in the Scriptures though they were, remained blinded by their jealous rage and had Jesus Christ, sinless and innocent, put to death.

They murdered God!…It was The Worst of Times!

And so we pick up Mark’s account in Mark chapter six....not about 18th century Europe, but about 1st century Israel…not located in busy, bustling capital cities, but in backwater towns and obscure hovels that were disregarded and largely ignored.

It was to these places that Jesus went to teach and to heal and to love.

Nazareth and Gennesaret- not the well-to-do destinations were you might expect a King enter, but it was to these places Jesus did go, and that is where the similarities cease.

Tonight is a study in contrast between these two cities, as we ask the most important question in the universe: What did they do with Jesus?

And then we will turn the question inward: What have we done with Jesus?

I.

The Worst of Times

I. The Worst of Times

A. Astonished at Jesus (v.1-2)

Jesus’ teaching always brings astonishment, but this is not a response of belief…it is a response of intrigue or interest but not of faith.

There was a way that Jesus taught that distinguished Him from all other teachers.

Even still today, many continue to be astonished by Jesus’ words.

“Jesus, to me, is a great world teacher among others.”

“I love the idea of the teachings of Jesus Christ and the beautiful stories about it, which I loved in Sunday school and I collected all the little stickers and put them in my book.”

“I am a Jew, but I am enthralled by the luminous figure of the Nazarene.

Jesus is too colossal for the pen of phrase-mongers, however artful!”

But what DID Jesus teach that stirred such interest, both positive and negative?

“I did not come to bring peace but a sword...” - Matthew 10:34b

“Whosoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life...” - John 6:54a

“If your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off...” - Matthew 5:30a

Jesus becomes a thought-provoking sidelight and a person of interest, but not the Son of God and certainly not a Savior.

Their astonishment was not an awe-struck amazement of belief, but that of provocation and even shock.

I.

The Worst of Times

A. Astonished at Jesus (v.1-2)

B. Apostate from Jesus (v.3-4)

The word “offended” means to be led into sin by being repelled away from Jesus…notice they refer to Him as “this man”…a term of disrespect and contempt

Remember these are all Nazarenes, and what was the reputation of Nazareth?

John 1:46a (NKJV)

And Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”...

Nazareth had a terrible reputation…anyone from there was looked down upon.

Nathanael’s question was not without warrant and as far as he was concerned, Messiah and Nazareth hardly belonged in the same sentence, much less the same town.

Perhaps these Nazarenes had started to believe the rhetoric surrounding their town…COULD anything good come out of Nazareth?…Maybe

all the haters were right!

“He’s one of us!…How dare He assume anything more, and if someone from Nazareth is going to be a great teacher and healer, it certainly won’t be this Carpenter…the son of Mary!”

In 1st century culture, the son was always referred to with his father’s name (see the genealogies), but here they reference Mary, Jesus’ mother - no doubt trying to recast the shadow of scandal that surrounded Mary’s conception and Jesus’ birth.

(this could also refer to the fact that Joseph had died, but the father’s name should have been used)

But why this response from Jesus’ hometown?…He

gives us the reason in v.4:

Notice the progression: country, relatives, house (immediate family)

You see, the Nazarenes were too familiar with Jesus…He was common to them…ordinary and everyday…nothing special.

Familiarity breeds contempt

This brings up a soul-searching question: “Has Jesus become too familiar to us?”

For those of us that grew up in church, we’ve heard all the accounts and the narratives…the miracles and the parables…we can quote Jesus’ words in John 3:16 and many other verses…we know Jesus…don’t we???

The warning here is against COMPLACENCY…against forgetting that Jesus is an everlasting source of strength, wisdom, light, life, and love…He never gets old, never changes, He is the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last!

THIS is the Jesus we need to run to, to strive for, to embrace and endeavor to know.

When Jesus becomes too familiar, He becomes small.

And when Jesus becomes small, we look elsewhere for our object of worship…and we become like an apostate in our practice.

I.

The Worst of Times

A. Astonished at Jesus (v.1-2)

B. Apostate from Jesus (v.3-4)

C. Apathy towards Jesus (v.5-6)

It’s important from the start to deal with this phrase, “He could do no mighty work there...”

First of all, this does not in any way mean that Jesus’ power was somehow diminished at this point, as if His deity was lessened.

His healing of a few sick people dispels that notion

The fact is that the majority of those living in Nazareth closed their doors to Him that day…they simply refused His offer to heal them…their apathy became their downfall.

Verse 6 completes the picture: “He marveled because of their unbelief.”

It’s faith that Jesus is looking for.

He offers the grace, the free gift of eternal life, but He requires faith - that passive choice to believe for oneself that Jesus alone saves.

And THAT is what these Nazarenes were missing.

Their apathetic familiarity with Jesus led them to a lack of faith.

It was the worst of times!

II.

The Best of Times

I. The Worst of Times (Mk.6:1-6)

II.

The Best of Times (Mk. 6:53-56)

A. Recognized Jesus (v.53-54)

Already we can sense something is different here in Gennesaret!

There’s a thrill in the air, an excitement brewing, anticipation is growing!

Unlike the Nazarenes, these people RECOGNIZE Jesus!

It’s like they saw Him and said, “It’s Him!”

Are you listening for Jesus’ voice?…Do you know Him?…Are you following Him?

The greatest source we have for hearing the voice of Jesus is that Bible your holding…and the only way to hear His voice is to read it.

Jesus also said that another Person would come to teach us…a Person that we need to learn to recognize:

We must learn to recognize the Holy Spirit’s voice…His leadership in our lives

We must be Spirit-led and Spirit-controlled…so we must recognize His leading.

II.

The Best of Times (Mk. 6:53-56)

A. Recognized Jesus (v.53-54)

B. Ran Towards Jesus (v.55)

Notice that first they ran away into the “whole surrounding region” but then they come toward Jesus, bringing the sick “to wherever He was”.

This was an unstoppable kind of running…nothing was going to stand in their way!

[example: military homecoming videos]

What is your greatest need right now?…What is the most pressing need in your life?

So to where or to whom are you running?

Could I suggest that Jesus is the answer to whatever that need is?

Are you RUNNING to Jesus when life becomes difficult?

We sing that song, “I Run to Christ”, but do we really do that?…or