Faith is an extraordinary thing

Mark 6:1-6

Have you ever tried going back home, or being around people who knew you as a youngster?  I am very privileged to have many friends from my childhood, and yet they still call me Bobby, I have not used that name since High School, yet in their minds, I’m still that kid.  My mother had a hard time looking at what I had become as an adult and not thinking of me as her little boy, so I understand some of what Jesus is experiencing in trying to return to his hometown Nazareth.

Yesterday, we saw an example of unbelief when Jesus had to remove the people from Jairus’ home so that He could heal his twelve-year-old daughter.  And it became clear that unbelief and faith couldn’t go together.  Jesus had to remove those with disbelief from the house so that faith could work.

Now think about this, Jesus is back home and it is the Sabbath and He begins to teach in the synagogue.  Who is His audience, is it not those who watched him grow into manhood?  It’s His mother, brothers, uncles, aunts, cousins, neighbors, kids he went to school with, and people who knew the family.  That’s a tough group to address, and this is what took place as Jesus spoke.  This is the account in verses 2-3, “And on the Sabbath, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works 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?” And they took offense at him.”

It is interesting how Jesus handled this, look at verses 4-5, “Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.”

Faith is an extraordinary thing; we use it every day, we put faith in some of the strangest items, a yellow strip on a road that only puts us inches from a car coming at us at speeds of 70 miles an hour.   We ride on an airline even after reading that a pilot was stoned on drugs or alcohol.  You and I have faith, it's not that we do not have faith, we do have faith, but the issue is in whom do we put our faith?

From the Back Porch,

Bob Rice