Transcript:
When God doesn’t answer our prayers, we tend to blame God. We question His goodness, love, or attentiveness. Some even doubt the existence of God when He doesn’t do as asked.
What often does not happen is self-examination. Today’s passage tells us Jesus was not able to perform miracles in His hometown because of skepticism and unbelief. This shows us that when we pray, we need to constantly evaluate our motives and faith, and make sure we actually believe Jesus is who He is and can do what we ask.
The gospels of Matthew and Luke tell us Jesus grew up in Nazareth. Nazareth was a town in the region of Galilee, but it was about a days walk, 20 miles / 30 km, away from the Sea of Galilee.
The first chapter of Mark tells us after Jesus left His hometown of Nazareth, was baptized by John, and then tempted in the wilderness by Satan, He went into Galilee, preaching the gospel of God. Mark 1:16 specifically mentions Jesus walking along the Sea of Galilee, calling disciples. Mark 1:21 says He went into Capernaum, a town beside the sea.
At one point Jesus withdrew to a desolate place to pray. Another time He went up on a mountain. Mark 4:36 and Mark 5:21 record times when Jesus crossed the sea on a boat. He did a lot of walking and traveling from village to village, but all His activity was in the area around the Sea of Galilee. The Sea of Galilee is about 12 miles / 20 km long from the north side to the southern tip.
Mark 6:1 ¶ And Jesus went out from there and came into His hometown; and His disciples followed Him.
Mark did not use the name Nazareth, but that was Jesus’ hometown.
Mark 6:2 And when the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to this man, and such miracles as these performed by His hands?
Jesus spent a couple decades growing up in Nazareth, so the people there knew Him as a somewhat normal man who had normal human abilities and no formal religious training. Suddenly, Jesus started teaching great things and performing miracles. He was no longer just like them. The residents of Nazareth did not know what to think of this abrupt change.
Mark 6:3 Is this man not the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they were taking offense at Him.
Notice that the people of Nazareth were offended by the quick change in Jesus. Out of nowhere, He was no longer their equal. He was demonstrating power and wisdom that far exceeded theirs.
Mark 6:4 And Jesus was saying to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.”
A prophet was someone chosen by God to speak on behalf of God, with the authority of God. The prophetic words of a prophet were as authoritative as scripture itself. Any person chosen for that role would be set apart from other people.
Humans naturally find it easier to accept a stranger as a prophet than someone they have known for a long time. Many times a prophet was rejected by those who knew him well.
That happened to Jesus. When Jesus traveled around the Sea of Galilee and interacted with strangers, they accepted Him, His wisdom, and His miracles. When He went to His hometown, He was rejected.
Something similar happens today. When a person becomes world famous, extremely wealthy, or super-successful, the people who grew up with that person can get envious. They might downplay the person’s success rather than celebrate it.
Also, people tend to reject the moral teachings of someone they know very well. It is easier to accept criticism from a stranger, than it is to take it from a friend. Oftentimes children will respond to correction from a non-family member more readily than from their own parents.
It is human nature to do this, and Jesus acknowledged that it is human nature. However, when Jesus said a prophet is only without honor in his hometown, He did not say it as a compliment. It was a criticism. Yes, it is natural for us to repel the moral teachings of someone we know well, but we should work to overcome that resistance, not harden our resistance.
Mark 6:5 And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.
Notice it was not possible for Jesus to do miracles in Nazareth. It wasn’t just that He chose not to, He was not able to.
Mark 6:6 And He was marveling at their unbelief. ¶ And He was going around the villages teaching.
Unbelief was the reason Jesus could do no miracles in Nazareth.
When God doesn’t answer our prayers, it is easy to blame God. Some people conclude God doesn’t love them if He doesn’t do what they ask, particularly when He is asked to cure disease or protect the vulnerable.
What is often not examined is whether the failure of prayer is due to unbelief. If God doesn’t answer someone’s prayers, perhaps it is because the person doesn’t actually believe God can do what was asked of Him. If the prayer was for wisdom or guidance, perhaps God sent the answer via a person who was well-known by the one asking God for help, and the person who prayed rejected the advice because they didn’t want to accept that a friend of theirs had the answer.
Mark 6:7 ¶ And He summoned the twelve and began to send them out in pairs, and was giving them authority over the unclean spirits;
Mark 6:8 and He instructed them that they should take nothing for their journey, except a staff only—no bread, no bag, no money in their belt—
Mark 6:9 but to wear sandals; and He added, “Do not put on two tunics.”
Mark 6:10 And He was saying to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave town.
Mark 6:11 And any place that does not receive you or listen to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust off the soles of your feet for a testimony against them.”
Jesus warned His disciples that some towns would not receive them and their message. That would happen even though the disciples had authority over unclean spirits. Jesus did not tell the disciples to take revenge on them. Instead, He told them to shake off the dust as a testimony against them and allow God to deal with their rejection.
Today, many people reject the truth of the Bible. We do not control who believes and who does not. Christians have a tendency to try and force the truth into people. At some point we need to walk away, allow God to deal with them, and spend our evangelistic efforts on people who are more receptive. Any amount of time we spend speaking the gospel to people who don’t want to hear is time we are not spending sharing the gospel with people who might be receptive to the truth.
Mark 6:12 And they went out and preached that men should repent.
Mark 6:13 And they were casting out many demons and were anointing with oil many sick people and healing them.
Mark 6:14 ¶ And King Herod heard it, for His name had become well known; and people were saying, “John the Baptist has risen from the dead, and that is why these miraculous powers are at work in Him.”
Mark 6:15 But others were saying, “He is Elijah.” And others were saying, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.”
Mark 6:16 But when Herod heard it, he kept saying, “John, whom I beheaded, has risen!”
Mark 6:17 ¶ For Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife of his brother Philip, because he had married her.
Mark 6:18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.”
Mark 6:19 Now Herodias was holding a grudge against him and was wanting to put him to death and was not able;
Mark 6:20 for Herod was afraid of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he was keeping him safe. And when he heard him, he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening to him.
When prayers go unanswered, it is typical for God to be blamed, doubted, and questioned. However, self-examination should also be performed. The residents of Nazareth doubted Jesus because He had been one of them. Jesus could perform no miracles because of their unbelief. Today, when we pray, if we have doubts about God, then that might be the obstacle to our prayers, not the character of God.
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“Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com.”
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