Mark 6
A claim that someone is the Son of God
is not likely to go unchallenged.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry he was received with doubt, curiosity and
skepticism. Others flocked to Him. There is some of both going on in Mark
6.
When Jesus returned to his hometown
people were curious about Him. They
wondered where He got His wisdom and power.
Well might anyone wonder how a man can heal the sick! But in this case it seems that they wondered
how Jesus was able to do these things and they were not. Hadn’t they grown up in the same place? Drunk from the same well? Played in the same streets? Why did He have
such power, while they did not? “So they
took offense at him.”
Mark says that Jesus was not able to do
any mighty work there; just heal a few sick people. It is interesting that healing sick people
comes across as an insignificant thing.
This makes sense though in light of Mark’s theme that this is the
beginning of the gospel – the good news of salvation from sin and death. Healing a few sick people is small stuff by
comparison.
At the end of the chapter Jesus and the
disciples arrived in Gennesaret. Here
people mobbed Jesus, bringing Him their sick that He might heal them, and it
sounds like He healed a lot of them. For
whatever reason they recognize that a prophet had come among them and that God
was at work in their midst.
People respond differently to the
message of the gospel even today. Some
gladly receive it. Others flatly
deny. There is little that we can do to
control the response in our hometowns or in other villages. All we can do is to keep sharing the news –
Jesus, the Son of God, has come.
What did Jesus do when people did not
receive Him? He kept sharing the gospel. He might leave one area and go to another,
but He kept preaching, teaching, healing, and driving out demons. The kingdom was on the move to break the
chains of sin and darkness!
The kingdom is still on the move. All who believe in Jesus can be set free from
sin and death. This is good news that
must be shared.
Lord, help me to not get discouraged, but to
always point people to You. Amen.
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