NOTES for Mar 6:1-7
1 And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. |
2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? |
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. |
4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. |
5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. |
6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching. |
7 And he called unto him the twelve, and began to send them forth by two and two; and gave them power over unclean spirits; |
Hide
It is not surprising that Jesus cannot work a miracle where people do not believe Him. After all, every miracle is nothing other than a manifestation of the Kingdom that He brought into the world. And the Kingdom is not forced on anyone; it can be accepted and entered only freely, by trusting the Savior.
But if there is no trust, one may fail to notice the Kingdom at all, even while being physically in the same space with it. Spiritually, the person who does not trust Christ will be in different dimensions from Him, and therefore will also be in different dimensions from the Kingdom. But why is Jesus not accepted in the town of His childhood, where He grew up, where everyone knew Him from the time He was a boy?
Perhaps, paradoxical as it may sound, precisely because they knew Him too well. Of course, when some world-famous celebrity, or at least someone famous locally within his own country, returns to his hometown, especially if the town is small, it is always a celebration for the town and a reason for legitimate pride. But the point is that Jesus was not that kind of celebrity, and the inhabitants of Nazareth sensed this perfectly well.
Jesus' renown was already somewhat scandalous, although He did everything He could to avoid a popularity He did not need at all. Such renown could bring the inhabitants of Nazareth no benefit. But even that was not the main reason for their rejection. The main thing was that to acknowledge Jesus as the One He truly is meant also acknowledging His obvious and unquestionable superiority over themselves.
For provincial mediocrity, such acknowledgment is completely unbearable. Then a psychological mechanism is switched on that changes one's point of view toward a great person, making one ignore what matters most and focus on secondary details that have nothing to do with the issue.
And so there arises the illusion of understanding, of knowing "reality," familiar to everyone who has ever said of some great fellow citizen, "Come on, we've known him since childhood," then adding several of the vulgarities usual in such cases. It is not surprising that such a view of a person, whoever he may be, completely excludes any possibility of real, deep relationship. And in the case of Jesus, it also completely excludes any possibility of sharing in the life of the Kingdom that He brought into the world.
Topics:
Readings for 16 September 2025
After registering, you can subscribe to any Bible reading plan. Personalized settings and other services for registered users are planned, so we recommend registering now. Registration is free. | ||
