Mark 6:1 - Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
"Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! 3 Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him.
Imagine this moment in the life of Jesus. He has just completed a couple of days of intensely powerful ministry. He has calmed the storm, cast out the devils, healed a woman, and raised the dead all in a short span of time. But then He goes back to his hometown. Consider the challenge that this represents. He must have been full of faith and thanksgiving for the miracles that He had just been a part of. He must have been confident of God’s work both in Him and through Him as He went to the synagogue that day to bring a message of hope. But look at the response of the people.
People can be so fickle in their reaction to the things of God. He is teaching with great wisdom and power. The initial response of the crowds is amazement at both the wisdom that He speaks with and the power of that is flowing through Him. They acknowledge that something miraculous is taking place. They even recognize that the wisdom and miracles He is demonstrating are something that has been given to Him. It is not of His own conception. And yet they cannot see past their familiarity with Him.
The people see and hear things that they have never seen nor heard before. There is a level of wisdom being presented to them that they have never fathomed. It is so completely contrasted from anything that they have ever witnessed before that they are amazed by it. But they cannot see past the messenger to embrace the message. This people miss one of the greatest potential moments in their lives because they cannot accept the source.
It is not as if Jesus was some former delinquent. Nor was He some psychologically broken youth that has come back to them and because they know how conflicted His past was they cannot trust His message today. Even though God does transform and use people in this way Jesus was not one of them. His only disqualifying feature in this passage was His normalcy. The people could not receive Him as from God because they could not see past the fact that He was not surrounded by mystery. They knew His parents, His family, His trade and their family background. They loved the ministry of Jesus but were so offended by His roots that they could not believe the divine content that was flowing from this God empowered life. Jesus committed the offense of being normal!
People of all generations want to dictate how God will be packaged. Many people want to clothe God in an aura of mystery and majesty that feeds their sense of drama. They cannot conceive of God as a child in a manger. They cannot see him with his hands weathered and calloused as He works a trade. They cannot picture Him walking right amongst them with no trumpet sound nor banners waving to acknowledge His presence. But still He comes. God comes riding on a donkey, dressed in common clothes. God comes in flesh and blood, in forms that carry no drama, and yet He calls us to believe. He presents Himself in humility and calls us to humble ourselves along side of Him. He adorns himself with the towel of the servant and washes our feet and invites us to join Him in a life of service. And we stumble. We are offended by his lowliness, His simplicity. Don’t miss the ministry of Jesus that is reaching out to you because it is coming in a form that seems so familiar. Do not overlook the miracle that may already be present because it is not packaged in bright lights and loud music. God often is hiding amongst the stuff of everyday life, waiting to be discovered by those who will have eyes to see Him.
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