Abstract
Questions That Inspire Faith
When Jesus returned to his hometown of Nazareth, he did what he often did on the Sabbath by going to the synagogue to teach. Like Mark 1:21–28, the Gospel of Mark’s first documented experience of Jesus teaching in the synagogue, which took place in Capernaum, the many who heard him were ‘astounded’ (Mk. 1:22, 6:2). While Mark describes both audiences in this same way, the nature of their astonishment differed. Whereas the audience in Capernaum was ‘astounded at his teaching because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law’, the audience in Nazareth was ‘astounded’ and ‘took offence at him’. In Capernaum, he is recognized as ‘the Holy One of God’ by an unclean spirit, and the audience who witnessed his teaching and miracle began to wonder, ‘What is this? A new teaching—with authority!’ (Mk. 1:27). The audience in Nazareth, however, had the opposite reaction and ‘they took offence at him’ (Mk. 6:3).
Interestingly, the difference between the kind of astonishment experienced by those in the synagogue in Capernaum and those in Nazareth resulted from the amount of information the audiences had about him. The audience in Capernaum was meeting Jesus for the first time, while those in Nazareth knew Jesus and his family. Nazareth was his hometown, and those who heard and saw Jesus in the synagogue that day admitted that he had wisdom and power, but they could not reconcile this with what they understood as his humble beginnings. They wondered, ‘Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?’ (Mk. 6:2–3). They thought they knew all there was to know about Jesus and refused to consider that there might be something more to him than they knew.
Of much relief to me, Jesus’s experience in Nazareth differs significantly from my experience of returning to my ‘home church’, where I first discovered my call to ministry. Not that I teach or preach with the same wisdom and authority as Jesus, his is a unique authority that can only come by being the Son of God, but nevertheless, in my home church, I have always felt welcomed and supported. If my home church invited me back to preach after all these years, I think I would experience a sort of ‘home-field advantage’, where everyone was cheering for me and supporting me. This would be significantly different from Jesus’s experience. Instead of being welcomed and supported, the people ‘took offence’ at Jesus. Jesus responded, ‘Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house’ (Mk. 6:4).
Rather than the difference between what those in Nazareth knew about Jesus (their limited understanding of his earthly beginnings) and how they now found him (teaching with wisdom and performing miracles) inspiring questions that might lead to faith, it led to offence and rejection. They were confronted with teaching and actions that could only come from God, but instead of this leading to the kind of astonishment that produces awe and wonder about what they do not understand, it led to distrust and doubt. The people in Nazareth refused to question what they thought they knew about Jesus and grapple with the possibility that they did not know everything there was to know about him. Rather than attempting to reconcile what they thought they knew and what they experienced, they ‘took offense’. They refused to wrestle and engage with something new.
This was an incredibly regrettable situation for the people of Nazareth. They were in the presence of God, but they failed to realize it. Rather than learning that there was more to his lineage and upbringing than they were aware of, the people who ‘knew’ Jesus ‘took offense’ and missed the truth of there being more to Jesus than they thought they knew. They missed the enjoyment of being with the Son of God, of celebrating the true identity of Jesus, who lived among them for so long.
The audience in Nazareth shows us how not to respond to what we do not understand. The people of Nazareth would have been better served by questioning what they thought they knew than by dismissing what threatened their understanding. Questions, surprises, or astonishment do not have to lead to disbelief. Instead, they can lead to better understanding the truth before us and, in turn, inspire great faith. As I hope we know from scripture, God can always do the incredible and defy expectations. God calls unexpected people, uses unexpected events, and continually does miraculous things that should give us hope. These may cause us to question our understanding, but again, astonishment does not have to lead to offence. Instead, it can lead to understanding and faith. As Proverbs 3:5–6 instructs, ‘Trust in the
The scripture takes an interesting turn when the Gospel writer states, ‘And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them’ (Mk. 6:5). Jesus healing the sick is incredible, and it seems like that would, or should, constitute a deed of power. Perhaps the Gospel writer is not referring to miraculous healings however, but is referring to instilling a life-transforming and life-giving faith to those in his presence. Maybe the disbelief of those who refused to question the difference between what they thought they knew and what they were experiencing in the presence of the Messiah means that no deed of power being done refers to the inability of those in Nazareth to accept the miraculous love of Christ in their lives. Whatever this verse might mean, how sad for the people who failed to realize that the Son of God was in their midst. Mark concludes by saying that Jesus ‘was amazed at their unbelief’ (Mk. 6:6).
Jesus then left Nazareth and went from village to village teaching. He also sent his disciples out, ‘two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits’ (Mk. 6:7). Telling them not to bring certain items, he challenged them to rely on God, who paved the way before them. On their journeys, they preached and ‘cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them’ (Mk. 6:13). Jesus and the disciples changed lives. Their God-given authority brought many to faith and serves to inspire faith today. We must never think that we know all that there is to know. Instead, all that we can be sure of is that Jesus is the Son of God, and with that truth, be ready to recognize the work of God among us.