Mark 6:4 - April 10, 2010

Mark 6:4 “Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith.”

There is a famous line from an old movie that says “there’s no place like home, there’s no place like home.” What is clear from these words of Jesus in Mark 6:4 is that this phrase can be applied in both a positive and negative context. In Mark 6 the primary defining attribute of home is an astonishing degree of unbelief found amongst the people of Jesus home town!
Jesus has moved the people of His town with His teaching to such a degree that they are amazed at His authority. His reputation for the miraculous has followed Him with such intensity that the people are talking about the things that He has done and yet the still do not believe. It is in this context that Jesus establishes a principle that still carries on to this day. To our families and those who know us well there is often a degree of familiarity in their hearts towards us that causes them to lose sight of the extraordinary work of God in our lives.
Jesus was so hindered by the lack of faith amongst these people and their attitude towards Him because of the fact that they knew His background history that He could only heal a few sick people. Very few times in scripture does the word provide insight into Jesus’ emotions but this is one of those cases. Mark reports that Jesus was “amazed” by their lack of faith. The hardness of their hearts towards Him actually shut down the work of God. Not because God was not there but because their receptivity to Him was limited by their offense at Him. Jesus said something insightful in Matt 11:6. He stated “blessed is he who does not take offense at Me." NASU He knew that many would be offended rather than receptive towards Him because of the limitations of their own hearts.
This passage in Mark 6 is a great example to us as servants of the Lord. If the master was rejected in His home town so will the servants be. If in His hometown and amongst His relatives Jesus was limited in the works of God that He could perform, we can assume the same thing. Perhaps it is the norm of the kingdom of God that we are given the gift of familiarity amongst those who know us best as a means of guarding our hearts and adding a touch of humility. Perhaps God in His wisdom has provided a place of normalcy for those who serve Him, where they are not the star but only seen as average. Could it be that God allows this as a shield for His people?
When God begins to use you in extraordinary ways prepare your heart for the sobering response of those who knew you before the grace of God. Receive as a gift the cool response of those who know you best at times. If they are not impressed with the blessings and favor that fall upon you elsewhere rejoice and be glad that God has surrounded you with a shelter of humility to protect you! God can hide us in the midst of our own families at times. And when He does find the wisdom of God in it and walk before Him with a humble heart, thanking Him for the grace that He has poured out on you, the grace of hiddeness!