WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:10.900 Well, we're told in verse 1 that Jesus traveled from Capernaum, where he was in these other instances, we believe, with Jairus and the woman with the issue of blood. 00:00:11.259 --> 00:00:16.359 And he travels from there and goes to his hometown, which we know to be Nazareth. 00:00:16.359 --> 00:00:36.659 So though Jesus was born in Bethlehem and spent his infant months as a refugee in Egypt, most of his earthly life, at least 30 years probably, was lived in the obscurity of this small town near Galilee. 00:00:36.659 --> 00:00:45.640 Now scholars estimate that the town of Nazareth in Jesus' day had a population of about 500 people. 00:00:46.359 --> 00:00:50.519 So Nazareth was the type of town that everyone knew everyone else. 00:00:50.759 --> 00:00:52.060 Have you ever been in a town like that? 00:00:52.560 --> 00:00:56.539 You ever grow up maybe near a town like that, where just everyone knew everyone? 00:00:57.179 --> 00:00:58.600 And it's nothing like this area. 00:00:58.780 --> 00:01:03.159 In just this little tiny space in Cornelius, there's 30,000 people. 00:01:03.519 --> 00:01:07.560 Well, in the same amount of space in Nazareth, there was 500. 00:01:08.019 --> 00:01:09.359 There was one market. 00:01:09.939 --> 00:01:11.579 There's one place for people to meet. 00:01:11.680 --> 00:01:12.719 There's one synagogue. 00:01:13.280 --> 00:01:14.859 Everybody knows everybody else. 00:01:14.859 --> 00:01:17.540 Everybody probably is in everybody else's business. 00:01:17.640 --> 00:01:18.659 You know how that goes, right? 00:01:18.739 --> 00:01:20.299 Like everybody knows everybody. 00:01:20.539 --> 00:01:26.159 Jesus lived for 30 years of his life in this little town, in this small town dynamic. 00:01:26.159 --> 00:01:28.340 So he wasn't unknown in Nazareth. 00:01:28.780 --> 00:01:30.879 Everybody there knew him. 00:01:31.620 --> 00:01:34.879 Not only that, he knew everybody in Nazareth. 00:01:34.879 --> 00:01:40.920 And so it was located about 25 miles southwest of Capernaum. 00:01:41.259 --> 00:01:50.939 And it was so insignificant of a place that nowhere outside of the New Testament is the town ever mentioned in ancient literature. 00:01:50.939 --> 00:01:59.599 Now Luke tells us that Jesus had gone back to Nazareth, his hometown, one other time early on in his ministry. 00:01:59.819 --> 00:02:03.719 And some have suggested that these two events are one and the same. 00:02:04.159 --> 00:02:06.039 I don't think that that is the case. 00:02:06.620 --> 00:02:09.159 The descriptions are far too different. 00:02:09.340 --> 00:02:12.919 And I do think that it's best to view them as two separate occurrences. 00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:20.139 Luke actually includes many more details about the early visit that Jesus made to Nazareth. 00:02:20.139 --> 00:02:23.159 In fact, if you want to write this reference down, you can read about it later. 00:02:23.319 --> 00:02:27.039 Luke chapter 4, 16 to 32 is where you'll find that story. 00:02:28.000 --> 00:02:30.979 Jesus had gone back to Nazareth and same thing. 00:02:31.039 --> 00:02:32.779 They invited him to teach in the synagogue. 00:02:33.719 --> 00:02:42.399 And his preaching that day so infuriated the people that they literally tried to execute him. 00:02:43.060 --> 00:02:44.159 His own people. 00:02:44.739 --> 00:02:46.779 The people he'd grown up with his whole life. 00:02:46.780 --> 00:02:52.080 He goes to the synagogue and he begins to teach and he reads from Isaiah about the Messiah. 00:02:52.280 --> 00:02:57.860 And then he closes the scroll and Luke says that Jesus looked at the people in the synagogue and he said, 00:02:58.120 --> 00:02:59.360 Today this is fulfilled. 00:03:00.280 --> 00:03:01.819 Today this is fulfilled in me. 00:03:02.120 --> 00:03:04.539 It's fulfilled in your presence, in your ears, in your eyes. 00:03:04.860 --> 00:03:07.199 I am him is what he says. 00:03:08.219 --> 00:03:10.360 And then they grew in their unbelief. 00:03:10.360 --> 00:03:13.760 They were infuriated further by some of his other statements. 00:03:14.260 --> 00:03:18.380 And they grabbed him and attempted to throw him off of a cliff. 00:03:19.120 --> 00:03:22.660 Jesus escaped and continued on into his ministry in Capernaum. 00:03:22.920 --> 00:03:30.000 So the visits to Nazareth are not usually very prosperous for Jesus. 00:03:30.440 --> 00:03:33.820 The last time he was there, they tried to murder him. 00:03:34.220 --> 00:03:38.820 This time he went with his disciples, which I think is significant. 00:03:38.819 --> 00:03:41.659 This trip wasn't for visiting family. 00:03:42.159 --> 00:03:45.000 It wasn't for seeing his old stomping grounds. 00:03:45.139 --> 00:03:47.879 This was a stop on his itinerant preaching schedule. 00:03:48.519 --> 00:03:53.400 And as he came into town with his disciples, he had an intention in mind. 00:03:54.120 --> 00:04:03.599 And the episode reveals that the hardest of hearts when it comes to the faith often belong to the people that we least expect. 00:04:03.599 --> 00:04:13.259 But it also provided an incredible lesson to these disciples just before he sends them out to preach on their own. 00:04:13.659 --> 00:04:16.399 So picture for me here what Jesus is doing. 00:04:17.019 --> 00:04:22.219 Jesus is going to send his 12 out kind of on their first like short-term mission trip. 00:04:22.600 --> 00:04:25.579 And they're going to be responsible to go and share the gospel. 00:04:25.579 --> 00:04:32.939 But just before he does that, he brings them along with him to Nazareth, where he knows what is going to take place. 00:04:33.800 --> 00:04:36.300 What they're going to witness is not great revival. 00:04:36.779 --> 00:04:39.579 What they're going to witness is great rejection. 00:04:40.579 --> 00:04:43.279 And this was an important lesson for these men. 00:04:43.919 --> 00:04:49.360 As they were getting ready to go out and fulfill this commission that Jesus had given them, 00:04:49.579 --> 00:04:52.579 they needed to be prepared for rejection. 00:04:52.579 --> 00:04:57.419 And so though this passage is heartbreaking really at its core, 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:02.800 the event was valuable training for his disciples. 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:06.819 It was encouragement probably for Mark's early Roman readers. 00:05:07.139 --> 00:05:09.839 And then of course it is just as valuable for us today. 00:05:09.899 --> 00:05:10.120 Okay. 00:05:10.199 --> 00:05:13.319 I've really divided this into three sections like typically would be done. 00:05:13.399 --> 00:05:16.060 And so here's the first thing if you like to keep an outline. 00:05:16.180 --> 00:05:19.319 I wrote his reception, his reception. 00:05:19.319 --> 00:05:22.819 Look with me at verses two and three again. 00:05:22.819 --> 00:05:27.060 And when the Sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue. 00:05:27.480 --> 00:05:33.339 And many hearing him were astonished, saying, from whence had this man these things? 00:05:33.659 --> 00:05:39.699 What wisdom is this which is given unto him that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? 00:05:39.699 --> 00:05:46.800 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? 00:05:47.659 --> 00:05:49.680 Are not his sisters here with us? 00:05:50.219 --> 00:05:52.899 And they were offended at him. 00:05:53.759 --> 00:05:55.300 He comes back to his hometown. 00:05:55.659 --> 00:05:59.800 And actually what happens is the first time they try to kill him. 00:05:59.800 --> 00:06:03.520 And then this time they are just as hardened in their heart. 00:06:03.520 --> 00:06:08.319 And their unbelief is such that Jesus responds with marveling. 00:06:09.100 --> 00:06:14.080 He says that he literally stood in awe at their unbelief. 00:06:14.500 --> 00:06:18.939 And a part of this reception, this rejection that they give when he comes back to Nazareth, 00:06:19.060 --> 00:06:20.060 is really twofold. 00:06:20.360 --> 00:06:22.879 They rejected his message first in verse number two. 00:06:23.019 --> 00:06:26.600 And then they resented him personally in verse three. 00:06:27.220 --> 00:06:28.080 Let's just work through it. 00:06:28.079 --> 00:06:29.240 Look at verse number two. 00:06:29.300 --> 00:06:31.379 On the Sabbath day, began to teach in the synagogue. 00:06:32.039 --> 00:06:35.979 Many who heard him were astonished, saying, where did this man get these things? 00:06:36.500 --> 00:06:38.120 What is the wisdom given to him? 00:06:38.759 --> 00:06:42.000 How are such mighty works done by his hands? 00:06:42.740 --> 00:06:48.379 So as was Jesus' custom, he gathered at the local synagogue on the Sabbath day to worship. 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:56.519 This time with his disciples, there was clearly evidence that his rabbinical career was strong. 00:06:56.519 --> 00:07:03.159 And so as was customary in other places, a visiting rabbi, especially with a particular following, 00:07:03.240 --> 00:07:07.439 was invited to deliver some kind of lesson or message on the Sabbath day. 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:12.180 Perhaps people had had a bit of amnesia from the last time that he was there. 00:07:12.419 --> 00:07:14.759 Maybe they wanted to just give him a second chance. 00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:19.339 Perhaps the ruler of the synagogue was sympathetic to Jesus in some way. 00:07:19.659 --> 00:07:20.439 We don't know. 00:07:20.439 --> 00:07:23.600 Jesus opens up the Torah scrolls, though, and he begins to teach. 00:07:23.740 --> 00:07:28.740 We don't know what he taught, but we can be certain that it's the same message he's teaching everywhere else. 00:07:29.620 --> 00:07:33.199 Mark tells us in chapter one, the kingdom of heaven is near. 00:07:33.379 --> 00:07:34.160 It's at hand. 00:07:34.600 --> 00:07:36.459 Repent and believe the good news. 00:07:36.920 --> 00:07:38.620 The message never changed for Jesus. 00:07:39.240 --> 00:07:40.420 It hasn't changed today. 00:07:40.420 --> 00:07:46.379 Everywhere he went, it's repent and believe the gospel. 00:07:46.720 --> 00:07:48.280 Repent and believe the gospel. 00:07:48.460 --> 00:07:54.240 So he goes back to Nazareth, and he's not going to water down his message now because of their response the last time. 00:07:54.360 --> 00:07:57.819 He's going to preach the same truth as boldly as he preached it before, 00:07:57.939 --> 00:08:02.560 because it is only the truth of the gospel that can actually benefit them and change their lives. 00:08:03.340 --> 00:08:04.680 So he doesn't change it. 00:08:05.259 --> 00:08:10.060 He goes back, repent, and believe the good news because the kingdom of heaven is near. 00:08:10.060 --> 00:08:12.560 And what he means by that is I am near. 00:08:12.879 --> 00:08:14.079 I am near to you. 00:08:14.319 --> 00:08:16.199 This is who I am. 00:08:16.860 --> 00:08:24.699 And interestingly enough, in verse two, the people could not deny the authority with which he taught the scripture. 00:08:25.579 --> 00:08:27.639 It says that they were astonished. 00:08:28.160 --> 00:08:29.639 They were amazed. 00:08:30.639 --> 00:08:38.279 But their amazement, as we come to find out, was packaged in skepticism rather than faith. 00:08:38.279 --> 00:08:43.279 So these questions that follow, they're not coming from a heart of discernment. 00:08:44.059 --> 00:08:50.519 It's not that the people of Nazareth were listening to Jesus in the synagogue and being like the Bereans in the book of Acts, 00:08:50.559 --> 00:08:53.919 where they were diligently searching the Torah scrolls to see if these things were true. 00:08:54.240 --> 00:08:57.779 This isn't coming from a discerning heart that wanted to know the truth. 00:08:57.779 --> 00:09:04.279 This was actually coming from a heart of denial that refused to believe the truth. 00:09:05.779 --> 00:09:07.439 It wasn't that they were searching it out. 00:09:07.639 --> 00:09:09.799 It's that they saw who Jesus was. 00:09:10.019 --> 00:09:13.459 They recognized him only as the boy that grew up next door. 00:09:13.779 --> 00:09:16.959 And they said, we won't believe this. 00:09:17.279 --> 00:09:18.600 Look at the questions again. 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:19.959 What is it that they ask? 00:09:19.960 --> 00:09:22.680 Where did this man get these things? 00:09:23.720 --> 00:09:24.920 Where did he get this from? 00:09:25.780 --> 00:09:27.700 This isn't what we've always been taught. 00:09:28.759 --> 00:09:33.680 This isn't what the rabbis have been teaching us our whole lives. 00:09:33.879 --> 00:09:36.040 What is this wisdom that's been given to him? 00:09:36.900 --> 00:09:38.180 Where did this come from? 00:09:39.080 --> 00:09:40.780 And then look at this last question. 00:09:41.160 --> 00:09:43.280 How are such mighty works done by his hand? 00:09:44.200 --> 00:09:46.200 Okay, this is skepticism, not faith. 00:09:46.200 --> 00:09:50.180 This is not, wow, how is he doing this? 00:09:50.259 --> 00:09:53.620 No, it's like, how is he doing this? 00:09:53.820 --> 00:09:54.759 How is he doing this? 00:09:54.860 --> 00:09:55.800 This is skepticism. 00:09:55.980 --> 00:09:56.879 This is not faith. 00:09:58.180 --> 00:10:00.720 The people were aware of Jesus' mighty acts. 00:10:00.860 --> 00:10:04.360 They just didn't thoughtfully and honestly consider its source. 00:10:05.259 --> 00:10:09.879 Instead, they defaulted to skepticism, which is so often what happens, isn't it? 00:10:10.220 --> 00:10:11.280 Look at verse 3, though. 00:10:12.460 --> 00:10:14.840 Their questions continue, but they get more personal. 00:10:14.840 --> 00:10:23.060 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? 00:10:23.460 --> 00:10:25.820 Are not his sisters here with us? 00:10:26.800 --> 00:10:29.860 So the questions grow increasingly more hostile. 00:10:30.840 --> 00:10:39.879 They move from rejecting Jesus' message to demonstrating resentment for who he is as an individual and as a person, 00:10:40.620 --> 00:10:44.340 which tells us something significant about Jesus' upbringing. 00:10:44.840 --> 00:10:48.820 Perhaps you've heard people refer to the veil of humanity. 00:10:50.200 --> 00:10:56.460 That the humanity, his humanness, he was thoroughly man, 100%. 00:10:56.460 --> 00:11:06.139 And there was almost a veil for the people in Nazareth that they couldn't see beyond the fact that he was a man to actually comprehend that he was more than a man, 00:11:06.580 --> 00:11:07.960 that he was also God. 00:11:09.120 --> 00:11:14.300 The response of the people is another proof of Jesus' humanness. 00:11:14.299 --> 00:11:20.240 And that's important because Jesus' humanness is essential to the gospel. 00:11:20.839 --> 00:11:27.219 If Jesus wasn't truly a man, he could not truly die for our sins. 00:11:27.419 --> 00:11:30.539 He had to be fully man. 00:11:31.000 --> 00:11:33.799 But he also had to be fully God. 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:37.519 And the scriptures testify to this over and over and over. 00:11:37.579 --> 00:11:44.879 And even as we come to a tragic passage in the scripture, we see once again evidence of Jesus' humanness. 00:11:45.939 --> 00:11:48.579 But I want you to look at these three questions as they grow. 00:11:49.699 --> 00:11:51.639 First question, is not this the carpenter? 00:11:51.639 --> 00:11:57.759 The reference here, this is not meant to be derogatory toward the trade itself. 00:11:57.759 --> 00:12:07.220 Actually, in this time and in this way, the kind of labor that was involved with this craftsmanship was actually very well respected. 00:12:07.960 --> 00:12:11.039 It was just meant to speak to his total ordinariness. 00:12:12.019 --> 00:12:14.399 That to them, there was nothing unique about Jesus. 00:12:15.059 --> 00:12:16.759 And it reflects their earlier questions. 00:12:17.059 --> 00:12:19.299 Is not this, he's a carpenter, not a rabbi. 00:12:19.480 --> 00:12:21.059 He didn't go to rabbinical school. 00:12:21.639 --> 00:12:23.699 Who is he to teach us these things? 00:12:23.740 --> 00:12:24.720 He's just a carpenter. 00:12:25.259 --> 00:12:26.620 He's just a craftsman. 00:12:27.519 --> 00:12:28.659 And they go on. 00:12:29.720 --> 00:12:33.539 They say something that possibly was actually very insulting. 00:12:33.699 --> 00:12:36.179 They say, is not this the son of Mary? 00:12:36.740 --> 00:12:37.559 The son of Mary. 00:12:38.559 --> 00:12:40.460 What makes this potentially insulting? 00:12:40.779 --> 00:12:42.799 Perhaps maybe they didn't quite mean it this way. 00:12:42.980 --> 00:12:46.740 It's hard not to understand it in this way as you read through the gospels. 00:12:46.740 --> 00:12:54.340 But a man in this custom was always referred to by his father's name, even if his father was dead. 00:12:54.460 --> 00:13:00.200 So even if Joseph was dead, customarily, he would have not been referred to as the son of Mary. 00:13:00.200 --> 00:13:03.419 He would have been referred to as the son of Joseph. 00:13:03.419 --> 00:13:11.919 And he was in other passages of scripture, even beyond what probably was his earthly father's death. 00:13:12.159 --> 00:13:15.939 But he wasn't referred to here as the son of Joseph, but as the son of Mary. 00:13:15.940 --> 00:13:21.480 This was done when the legitimacy of an individual's birth was questioned. 00:13:22.780 --> 00:13:25.200 So it's not only that they're saying he's just a carpenter. 00:13:25.540 --> 00:13:29.720 They're saying, how could somebody that we don't even think is legitimate, 00:13:30.300 --> 00:13:35.520 whose mother is an adulterer, we don't even know who his real father is. 00:13:35.620 --> 00:13:38.260 How could he be this Messiah? 00:13:39.160 --> 00:13:41.120 And so it gets a little more personal. 00:13:41.120 --> 00:13:45.799 And then the final thing is they start pointing out his siblings, 00:13:45.960 --> 00:13:48.799 who were probably in the synagogue that day. 00:13:49.259 --> 00:13:51.679 We've been introduced to them once before in Mark's gospel. 00:13:51.919 --> 00:13:54.179 They came to Capernaum in order to stop him. 00:13:54.240 --> 00:13:55.440 They thought he lost his mind. 00:13:55.799 --> 00:13:57.060 Now they're in the synagogue. 00:13:57.460 --> 00:14:01.560 And these people that are questioning Jesus openly, is how Mark records this. 00:14:01.620 --> 00:14:02.940 This is open rejection. 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:05.120 They're saying these things to Jesus. 00:14:05.680 --> 00:14:10.460 And they say, aren't you the brother of James and Judas and Joseph? 00:14:11.120 --> 00:14:12.159 And Simon? 00:14:13.340 --> 00:14:15.080 Aren't these your sisters over here? 00:14:15.200 --> 00:14:18.139 In other words, your own family doesn't even believe you. 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:19.279 Why should we? 00:14:20.919 --> 00:14:23.519 None of Jesus's siblings, as far as we can tell in the scriptures, 00:14:23.700 --> 00:14:25.700 believed until after the resurrection. 00:14:25.940 --> 00:14:29.000 And even after his resurrection, we don't know that all of them believed. 00:14:29.980 --> 00:14:32.740 We just know that a few of them at least believed. 00:14:32.740 --> 00:14:36.259 And so he comes to the synagogue and they start asking these questions, 00:14:36.460 --> 00:14:38.560 not from a perspective of faith, 00:14:38.700 --> 00:14:41.980 not because they were legitimately trying to reason through these things, 00:14:42.060 --> 00:14:44.320 but because they were rejecting him outright, 00:14:44.779 --> 00:14:47.820 rejecting his message and resenting his person. 00:14:48.039 --> 00:14:49.759 Your own family doesn't even believe you. 00:14:50.019 --> 00:14:51.220 Get out of here with this stuff. 00:14:52.500 --> 00:14:55.240 And then Mark summarizes this response in verse 3. 00:14:55.240 --> 00:14:57.600 And they took offense at him. 00:14:57.860 --> 00:14:58.919 They took offense at him. 00:14:59.879 --> 00:15:03.419 That word offense, it means to stumble at something. 00:15:04.120 --> 00:15:06.860 It doesn't mean that Jesus did something offensive, 00:15:07.379 --> 00:15:13.360 but that the people stumbled at the ordinary humanness 00:15:13.360 --> 00:15:17.299 to the extent that they refused to believe his message 00:15:17.299 --> 00:15:19.159 and to acknowledge his works. 00:15:19.159 --> 00:15:22.219 Paul uses this word another time. 00:15:22.339 --> 00:15:24.719 It might have been to the Corinthian church in one of those letters. 00:15:24.860 --> 00:15:30.240 He says that to the Jews that the cross of Christ is a rock of offense, 00:15:30.399 --> 00:15:32.319 a rock of offense, a rock of stumbling. 00:15:32.480 --> 00:15:35.039 They stumble over the crucifixion 00:15:35.039 --> 00:15:39.759 because they will not accept that their Messiah would have been rejected in such a way. 00:15:40.199 --> 00:15:41.019 Same word here. 00:15:41.899 --> 00:15:43.299 They stumbled at him. 00:15:43.480 --> 00:15:44.799 Well, what is it that they're stumbling at? 00:15:45.079 --> 00:15:47.100 They're stumbling at what they had grown up with, 00:15:47.100 --> 00:15:49.560 not because he had ever done anything wrong, 00:15:50.000 --> 00:15:52.180 but because to them he was just a man. 00:15:52.659 --> 00:15:55.840 And they refused to believe who he really was. 00:15:56.720 --> 00:16:01.759 So the bottom line is that Jesus didn't meet their messianic expectations. 00:16:03.180 --> 00:16:08.399 They expected a warrior, political leader, not a carpenter. 00:16:08.399 --> 00:16:13.720 They expected a king, a royal birth, 00:16:14.019 --> 00:16:18.259 not someone whose birth was shrouded in scandal. 00:16:19.100 --> 00:16:24.600 They anticipated a national revolution, not a spiritual kingdom. 00:16:25.299 --> 00:16:26.720 Are you tracking with me now? 00:16:27.819 --> 00:16:31.659 Their messianic expectations weren't met in Jesus, so they refused him. 00:16:31.659 --> 00:16:36.019 And this is exactly what Isaiah told us would happen. 00:16:36.639 --> 00:16:37.699 Isaiah 53. 00:16:38.500 --> 00:16:40.819 He grew up before him like a young plant, 00:16:40.939 --> 00:16:43.279 like a root out of a dry ground. 00:16:43.959 --> 00:16:48.100 He had no form or majesty that we should look at him, 00:16:48.279 --> 00:16:50.939 no beauty that we should desire him, 00:16:51.240 --> 00:16:52.639 because he's a Nazarene. 00:16:52.740 --> 00:16:53.339 He's despised. 00:16:53.399 --> 00:16:56.220 There's nothing significant about Jesus in human form. 00:16:56.299 --> 00:16:56.659 He was despised. 00:16:56.659 --> 00:16:57.799 He was despised. 00:16:57.879 --> 00:17:02.240 He was rejected by men, a man of sorrow, acquainted with grief. 00:17:03.059 --> 00:17:06.659 And as one from whom men hide their faces, 00:17:07.139 --> 00:17:10.819 he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 00:17:12.339 --> 00:17:15.659 Hundreds of years before, Isaiah plainly says, 00:17:16.119 --> 00:17:19.240 this servant of God will be despised, 00:17:19.339 --> 00:17:24.019 and he will be despised by us, by us, the Jews. 00:17:24.019 --> 00:17:28.119 And here we see Jesus going back to his own hometown. 00:17:29.119 --> 00:17:30.480 And what is it that they do? 00:17:31.240 --> 00:17:32.379 They despise him. 00:17:32.420 --> 00:17:33.660 There's nothing significant about you. 00:17:33.759 --> 00:17:36.259 There's no beauty for which we could look at with you. 00:17:36.400 --> 00:17:39.460 There's no form to which you could impress us. 00:17:40.379 --> 00:17:42.480 You're no better than us, Jesus. 00:17:43.139 --> 00:17:45.660 You're just a Nazarene like the rest of us. 00:17:46.639 --> 00:17:48.619 And so his reception was quite cold. 00:17:49.200 --> 00:17:50.559 Secondly, we see his reply. 00:17:51.180 --> 00:17:51.839 His reply. 00:17:51.839 --> 00:17:53.200 Look at verse 4. 00:17:54.019 --> 00:17:57.200 Jesus said to them, 00:17:57.660 --> 00:18:00.019 A prophet is not without honor, 00:18:00.359 --> 00:18:02.039 except in his hometown, 00:18:02.859 --> 00:18:04.079 and among his relatives, 00:18:04.900 --> 00:18:06.139 and in his own household. 00:18:07.460 --> 00:18:10.839 It's an interesting reply here that Jesus has, 00:18:10.900 --> 00:18:11.599 which, by the way, 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:15.180 how you receive Jesus 00:18:15.180 --> 00:18:19.059 is the most important thing that you will ever do. 00:18:19.059 --> 00:18:23.039 The way that you receive him. 00:18:23.559 --> 00:18:25.980 They received him in unbelief and in coldness. 00:18:26.779 --> 00:18:29.179 That's the most significant decision you will ever make. 00:18:29.440 --> 00:18:30.940 What will I do with Jesus? 00:18:32.579 --> 00:18:33.480 John told us, 00:18:33.539 --> 00:18:36.299 John the Baptist actually said this in John chapter 3. 00:18:36.700 --> 00:18:39.059 Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life. 00:18:40.079 --> 00:18:43.379 Whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, 00:18:43.380 --> 00:18:47.380 but the wrath of God remains on him. 00:18:48.600 --> 00:18:50.520 That's significant to this story. 00:18:51.980 --> 00:18:54.340 Because whether or not the people in Nazareth 00:18:54.340 --> 00:18:56.120 were going to experience eternal life 00:18:56.120 --> 00:18:58.840 or whether they were going to remain under the wrath of God 00:18:58.840 --> 00:19:01.320 depended on how they received Jesus. 00:19:01.319 --> 00:19:04.339 And that's the same thing for you and I. 00:19:05.519 --> 00:19:07.279 Whether or not we have eternal life 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:10.879 and whether or not we remain under the wrath of God 00:19:10.879 --> 00:19:15.480 is in how we respond and receive Jesus. 00:19:17.019 --> 00:19:19.619 And so Jesus replies to this unbelief, 00:19:19.659 --> 00:19:20.879 and he says this proverb, 00:19:21.500 --> 00:19:25.119 similar to what we would say from familiarity breeds contempt. 00:19:25.240 --> 00:19:26.399 Perhaps you've heard that before. 00:19:27.419 --> 00:19:28.599 When criticized for our faith, 00:19:28.599 --> 00:19:31.459 we tend to respond with either spiteful anger, 00:19:31.599 --> 00:19:32.839 either we get upset about it, 00:19:32.839 --> 00:19:35.139 or we weaken our stand on the truth. 00:19:36.399 --> 00:19:37.939 Jesus didn't either of these things. 00:19:38.939 --> 00:19:40.619 He committed himself to the truth. 00:19:40.719 --> 00:19:41.799 We know that because he said, 00:19:41.879 --> 00:19:43.379 a prophet is not without honor. 00:19:43.480 --> 00:19:46.539 He's sticking to the fact that this is who he is. 00:19:46.819 --> 00:19:47.839 He is the Messiah. 00:19:48.119 --> 00:19:49.480 So he didn't back down on the truth. 00:19:50.579 --> 00:19:52.759 He just acknowledged the people's rejection, 00:19:53.119 --> 00:19:55.399 but he did it without sinning against them. 00:19:55.439 --> 00:19:56.059 He wasn't angry. 00:19:58.599 --> 00:20:00.199 But then this was, 00:20:00.839 --> 00:20:07.359 this was a particularly helpful lesson to his disciples. 00:20:09.240 --> 00:20:11.399 His statement was for everyone in the synagogue. 00:20:11.899 --> 00:20:13.139 Everybody there heard it. 00:20:13.240 --> 00:20:15.419 It was the people in the synagogue speaking against him. 00:20:15.980 --> 00:20:19.379 But I can't help but think that Jesus maybe turns his attention 00:20:19.379 --> 00:20:21.500 specifically to his disciples at this point. 00:20:21.500 --> 00:20:22.980 So just, 00:20:23.119 --> 00:20:24.400 just for my benefit, 00:20:24.400 --> 00:20:25.059 because this helps me, 00:20:25.140 --> 00:20:25.299 maybe, 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:26.700 maybe this would be helpful to you. 00:20:27.380 --> 00:20:29.539 Picture yourself in the synagogue on this day. 00:20:30.460 --> 00:20:32.579 Jesus would have been sitting somewhere near the center, 00:20:33.220 --> 00:20:33.519 seated, 00:20:34.380 --> 00:20:35.339 the scroll open, 00:20:35.700 --> 00:20:36.059 teaching, 00:20:36.420 --> 00:20:39.400 and there would be risers around the sides on the walls, 00:20:39.440 --> 00:20:41.099 and you would be on the risers, 00:20:41.160 --> 00:20:42.220 and the synagogue would be full, 00:20:42.279 --> 00:20:43.039 it'd be full of people. 00:20:43.900 --> 00:20:46.740 Everybody listening with their eyes fixed on Jesus. 00:20:46.740 --> 00:20:47.980 And he says all these things, 00:20:48.079 --> 00:20:50.599 and then people start to respond from around the room. 00:20:50.700 --> 00:20:52.180 And they're asking all of these questions, 00:20:52.279 --> 00:20:53.579 and they're beginning to attack him. 00:20:53.720 --> 00:20:55.339 And then Jesus makes this statement. 00:20:55.460 --> 00:20:55.620 Now, 00:20:55.799 --> 00:20:57.240 he makes it for everybody to hear, 00:20:57.460 --> 00:21:00.059 but let's say his disciples are over here in the front. 00:21:00.900 --> 00:21:02.019 They got a front row seat. 00:21:02.920 --> 00:21:04.420 He says it for everybody to hear, 00:21:04.660 --> 00:21:06.799 but perhaps his gaze is set on his disciples. 00:21:07.200 --> 00:21:08.859 And what is it that he says to his disciples? 00:21:08.859 --> 00:21:11.299 A prophet is not without honor, 00:21:11.579 --> 00:21:12.919 except in his own hometown, 00:21:13.699 --> 00:21:14.539 and among his relatives, 00:21:15.059 --> 00:21:16.339 and even his own household. 00:21:16.659 --> 00:21:18.240 This was a lesson for these men. 00:21:19.199 --> 00:21:20.159 It's a lesson for these men, 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:21.899 which means it's a lesson for you and me. 00:21:23.500 --> 00:21:25.419 They were to expect this rejection. 00:21:26.899 --> 00:21:32.039 If Jesus's own family rejected him in such a severe way, 00:21:32.240 --> 00:21:34.979 they should expect the same to happen to them. 00:21:35.079 --> 00:21:36.859 And this was reiterated by Jesus 00:21:36.859 --> 00:21:39.919 over and over and over in his ministry. 00:21:40.559 --> 00:21:43.039 A servant is not greater than his master, 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:43.519 he said, 00:21:43.859 --> 00:21:45.559 over and over. 00:21:49.199 --> 00:21:51.899 Jesus said he did not come to bring peace, 00:21:52.159 --> 00:21:53.519 but a sword. 00:21:53.779 --> 00:21:54.919 He said this in Matthew 10. 00:21:56.159 --> 00:21:58.039 And he followed that up by saying, 00:21:59.339 --> 00:22:02.339 whoever would love son or daughter more than me 00:22:02.339 --> 00:22:03.319 is not worthy of me. 00:22:03.979 --> 00:22:06.500 Whoever would love father or mother more than me 00:22:06.500 --> 00:22:07.880 is not worthy of me. 00:22:08.039 --> 00:22:09.400 But he that is worthy of me 00:22:09.400 --> 00:22:11.019 will take up his cross and deny himself 00:22:11.019 --> 00:22:12.680 and follow after me. 00:22:13.259 --> 00:22:14.779 What did Jesus mean by that? 00:22:15.380 --> 00:22:16.339 His gospel. 00:22:17.099 --> 00:22:19.960 The gospel message is divisive. 00:22:21.559 --> 00:22:22.720 It's divisive. 00:22:23.660 --> 00:22:25.900 It's at times contentious. 00:22:26.559 --> 00:22:29.019 And if Jesus's own family rejected it, 00:22:29.279 --> 00:22:32.119 who are we to think that our family won't reject it? 00:22:32.619 --> 00:22:32.920 Two. 00:22:32.920 --> 00:22:35.300 In fact, 00:22:35.380 --> 00:22:36.700 Jesus said in John 15, 00:22:37.140 --> 00:22:38.360 if the world hates you, 00:22:38.880 --> 00:22:41.100 know that it hated me before it hated you. 00:22:42.160 --> 00:22:43.340 If you were of the world, 00:22:43.440 --> 00:22:44.840 the world would love you as it own. 00:22:45.660 --> 00:22:47.160 But because you are not of the world, 00:22:47.840 --> 00:22:49.200 I chose you out of the world. 00:22:49.320 --> 00:22:49.560 Therefore, 00:22:49.700 --> 00:22:50.920 the world hates you. 00:22:51.860 --> 00:22:53.500 Remember the word that I said to you. 00:22:53.880 --> 00:22:56.360 A servant is not greater than his master. 00:22:56.880 --> 00:22:58.360 If they persecute me, 00:22:58.700 --> 00:23:01.420 they will also persecute you. 00:23:01.420 --> 00:23:06.539 Jesus didn't say these things to scare them. 00:23:07.039 --> 00:23:09.640 And they're not here in Mark's gospel to scare us. 00:23:11.240 --> 00:23:13.380 They're here as an encouragement to us. 00:23:15.880 --> 00:23:18.039 That the same thing that we will endure 00:23:18.039 --> 00:23:20.580 as far as the hatefulness and rejection of this world 00:23:20.580 --> 00:23:22.800 is exactly what our Savior endured. 00:23:22.799 --> 00:23:27.359 This was a difficult lesson for the disciples. 00:23:27.539 --> 00:23:29.319 But on the other end of this persecution, 00:23:29.480 --> 00:23:30.659 how is it that they responded? 00:23:30.879 --> 00:23:32.359 They counted it joy. 00:23:33.700 --> 00:23:34.180 Peter, 00:23:34.799 --> 00:23:35.200 Paul, 00:23:35.859 --> 00:23:36.379 James, 00:23:36.639 --> 00:23:37.639 they all wrote, 00:23:37.640 --> 00:23:42.540 what a joy it is to identify with my Savior in suffering. 00:23:42.759 --> 00:23:44.000 What a joy it is. 00:23:44.020 --> 00:23:44.700 It's hard. 00:23:45.080 --> 00:23:45.800 It's difficult. 00:23:45.800 --> 00:23:49.660 But it is a joy to identify with my Savior. 00:23:50.000 --> 00:23:52.160 There's not another person that would be worthy 00:23:52.160 --> 00:23:55.560 of this type of treatment than Jesus Christ. 00:23:55.559 --> 00:23:58.059 And if my Savior suffered in this way, 00:23:58.159 --> 00:24:00.799 I'm willing to suffer in this way as well. 00:24:00.940 --> 00:24:03.839 That's the point that Jesus is getting across to these men. 00:24:04.099 --> 00:24:05.440 You're going to be rejected. 00:24:05.819 --> 00:24:09.419 And it's going to be for my sake that you're rejected. 00:24:09.619 --> 00:24:11.399 And this was meant as an encouragement, 00:24:11.659 --> 00:24:14.079 not as a teaching of fear. 00:24:14.079 --> 00:24:15.679 So we see his reply, 00:24:16.019 --> 00:24:16.879 his reception, 00:24:17.299 --> 00:24:17.759 his reply. 00:24:18.119 --> 00:24:18.619 Finally, 00:24:19.159 --> 00:24:21.220 we'll see his response, 00:24:21.460 --> 00:24:22.119 his response. 00:24:23.460 --> 00:24:24.379 Now, 00:24:24.619 --> 00:24:29.179 if we were to evaluate this event 00:24:29.179 --> 00:24:35.259 by the framework of modern church growth strategists, 00:24:35.779 --> 00:24:40.139 this would be considered an utter failure, 00:24:40.559 --> 00:24:41.240 wouldn't it? 00:24:41.240 --> 00:24:44.480 What good happened in Nazareth? 00:24:45.380 --> 00:24:46.319 Not much. 00:24:48.579 --> 00:24:50.039 It wouldn't take long, 00:24:50.140 --> 00:24:50.299 would it, 00:24:50.359 --> 00:24:50.539 Brian? 00:24:50.640 --> 00:24:52.079 Brian's probably been in this area. 00:24:52.160 --> 00:24:53.620 You've read enough people to understand that. 00:24:54.279 --> 00:24:56.500 It wouldn't take long for the experts 00:24:56.500 --> 00:24:59.140 to find all the things that Jesus did wrong here, 00:24:59.620 --> 00:24:59.839 right? 00:25:00.519 --> 00:25:03.519 How he didn't contextualize enough 00:25:03.519 --> 00:25:06.440 to the people that he was going to. 00:25:06.500 --> 00:25:07.319 He should have thought more. 00:25:07.380 --> 00:25:08.460 He'd been to Nazareth before. 00:25:08.579 --> 00:25:09.359 He should have thought about it. 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:10.920 He should have contextualized better 00:25:10.920 --> 00:25:12.880 in order to carry out his ministry there 00:25:12.880 --> 00:25:14.279 and maybe he would have been more successful. 00:25:15.340 --> 00:25:16.259 Perhaps some would say, 00:25:16.340 --> 00:25:16.480 well, 00:25:16.500 --> 00:25:17.920 he was just too direct in his teaching. 00:25:18.019 --> 00:25:18.800 He shouldn't have been so hard. 00:25:18.880 --> 00:25:20.779 He should have given them some other things first, 00:25:20.860 --> 00:25:22.660 some other things to kind of soothe them 00:25:22.660 --> 00:25:23.700 and to calm them down 00:25:23.700 --> 00:25:26.000 and to make them feel better about themselves. 00:25:26.120 --> 00:25:26.620 And then, 00:25:26.740 --> 00:25:27.660 once they're on his side, 00:25:27.759 --> 00:25:29.480 then he could bring in the truth. 00:25:29.560 --> 00:25:30.680 Maybe that's what the experts 00:25:30.680 --> 00:25:33.140 would criticize Jesus for doing. 00:25:33.140 --> 00:25:38.560 Others might would say that he just didn't do enough things 00:25:38.560 --> 00:25:39.680 to attract the people. 00:25:40.220 --> 00:25:41.940 Like he should have just done more miracles. 00:25:42.060 --> 00:25:43.320 If he would have just done more miracles, 00:25:43.420 --> 00:25:44.759 he would have put in a good show 00:25:44.759 --> 00:25:45.740 and entertain them real well. 00:25:45.820 --> 00:25:48.040 They would have come along his side. 00:25:48.100 --> 00:25:50.340 But the issue in Nazareth is not an issue with Jesus. 00:25:51.920 --> 00:25:55.400 What happened here was not a problem with Jesus's message 00:25:55.400 --> 00:25:57.600 and it wasn't a problem with Jesus's method. 00:25:57.820 --> 00:25:58.620 He's perfect. 00:25:58.619 --> 00:25:58.779 He's perfect. 00:25:59.500 --> 00:26:00.459 He's perfect. 00:26:00.819 --> 00:26:02.739 He's the greatest teacher to ever live. 00:26:02.879 --> 00:26:04.299 He's God in the flesh. 00:26:04.399 --> 00:26:05.839 There is nothing about this 00:26:05.839 --> 00:26:08.379 that could ever be reduced as a problem 00:26:08.379 --> 00:26:10.139 or wrong or misunderstood 00:26:10.139 --> 00:26:12.719 or something you should have done differently. 00:26:13.259 --> 00:26:15.039 The problem wasn't with Jesus. 00:26:15.379 --> 00:26:18.019 The problem was the hardness of the hearts 00:26:18.019 --> 00:26:19.979 of the people in Nazareth. 00:26:20.339 --> 00:26:21.759 That was the issue, 00:26:22.099 --> 00:26:23.439 not the preaching, 00:26:23.859 --> 00:26:25.000 the hardness of heart. 00:26:25.000 --> 00:26:31.000 And this response comes in actions from Jesus. 00:26:31.119 --> 00:26:35.079 How is it that Jesus actionably responded 00:26:35.079 --> 00:26:36.599 to the hardness of these hearts? 00:26:36.859 --> 00:26:37.460 Verse five, 00:26:38.099 --> 00:26:39.660 he could do no mighty work there. 00:26:40.460 --> 00:26:42.259 He could do no mighty work there 00:26:42.259 --> 00:26:45.180 except that he laid his hands on a few sick people 00:26:45.180 --> 00:26:46.700 and healed them. 00:26:47.000 --> 00:26:49.740 Now, this doesn't mean that Jesus was incapable 00:26:49.740 --> 00:26:51.720 of doing a mighty work. 00:26:51.720 --> 00:26:54.360 It means that he was unwilling 00:26:54.360 --> 00:26:57.539 to do a mighty work there. 00:27:00.140 --> 00:27:02.100 Omnipotence is not omnipotence 00:27:02.100 --> 00:27:04.839 unless it is bound only by itself. 00:27:06.420 --> 00:27:09.120 So we can't say that the only thing 00:27:09.120 --> 00:27:11.920 that will prevent Jesus from doing his work 00:27:11.920 --> 00:27:12.920 is a lack of faith. 00:27:13.220 --> 00:27:15.140 It is not us. 00:27:15.140 --> 00:27:17.940 God's work in our life 00:27:17.940 --> 00:27:19.840 is not at our discretion. 00:27:20.020 --> 00:27:21.259 Like when we put a little enough, 00:27:21.360 --> 00:27:22.340 enough faith in there, 00:27:22.520 --> 00:27:23.960 he responds in this way. 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:26.220 No, he responds on his own. 00:27:26.460 --> 00:27:28.000 His omnipotence is not limited 00:27:28.000 --> 00:27:29.259 by anything that I do 00:27:29.259 --> 00:27:30.380 or anything that I say. 00:27:30.600 --> 00:27:32.380 He will do his work, okay? 00:27:33.440 --> 00:27:35.360 But what he has determined to do 00:27:35.360 --> 00:27:39.140 is withhold his miraculous power 00:27:39.980 --> 00:27:42.560 in the midst of such hostility 00:27:42.559 --> 00:27:44.419 and utter rejection. 00:27:46.339 --> 00:27:48.539 It's not that he couldn't do the work. 00:27:48.700 --> 00:27:51.440 It's that he wouldn't do the work. 00:27:53.359 --> 00:27:55.539 In the case of the Nazarenes, 00:27:56.619 --> 00:27:58.099 their open rejection meant 00:27:58.099 --> 00:28:00.159 that there was no purpose for these signs. 00:28:01.019 --> 00:28:02.460 That's what the miracles did. 00:28:03.379 --> 00:28:04.779 They weren't for a show. 00:28:04.940 --> 00:28:07.359 They pointed to the identity of who Jesus is. 00:28:07.359 --> 00:28:09.179 They pointed people to him 00:28:09.180 --> 00:28:11.720 in order that they might believe him. 00:28:12.880 --> 00:28:15.820 But the Nazarenes had already rejected him. 00:28:15.920 --> 00:28:16.740 What would be the purpose 00:28:16.740 --> 00:28:18.000 in the signs at that point? 00:28:18.440 --> 00:28:20.539 In fact, some have even suggested 00:28:20.539 --> 00:28:22.320 that it would be morally wrong 00:28:22.320 --> 00:28:23.680 for Jesus to have responded 00:28:23.680 --> 00:28:24.759 in any different way. 00:28:27.440 --> 00:28:29.779 He intentionally limited his work 00:28:29.779 --> 00:28:31.220 as an act of judgment. 00:28:31.860 --> 00:28:33.160 And we see once again 00:28:33.160 --> 00:28:35.560 a living example of this parable 00:28:35.560 --> 00:28:36.920 from chapter four. 00:28:36.920 --> 00:28:39.240 Jesus said, 00:28:39.539 --> 00:28:41.140 pay attention to what you hear. 00:28:41.380 --> 00:28:42.900 With the measure you use, 00:28:43.080 --> 00:28:44.640 it will be measured to you 00:28:44.640 --> 00:28:46.320 and still more will be added. 00:28:46.779 --> 00:28:48.320 For to the one who has, 00:28:48.840 --> 00:28:49.700 more will be given. 00:28:50.120 --> 00:28:51.720 And from the one who has not, 00:28:52.259 --> 00:28:55.140 even what he has will be taken away. 00:28:56.140 --> 00:28:57.900 The people refused to believe. 00:28:58.300 --> 00:29:00.120 So the opportunity they had 00:29:00.120 --> 00:29:01.840 was taken away. 00:29:03.340 --> 00:29:04.340 What opportunity? 00:29:04.339 --> 00:29:10.019 30 years of the Son of God 00:29:10.019 --> 00:29:12.099 living in their midst. 00:29:13.919 --> 00:29:15.799 And even beyond that, 00:29:16.099 --> 00:29:18.759 multiple opportunities to him to come 00:29:18.759 --> 00:29:21.439 and plainly express who he is, 00:29:21.819 --> 00:29:23.519 demonstrate that in the signs 00:29:23.519 --> 00:29:24.339 that he performed. 00:29:24.539 --> 00:29:26.699 And over and over again, 00:29:26.839 --> 00:29:28.720 they willfully rejected 00:29:28.720 --> 00:29:30.839 the true Savior. 00:29:31.579 --> 00:29:33.459 Over and over and over. 00:29:33.460 --> 00:29:35.420 So what was Jesus' response? 00:29:35.900 --> 00:29:36.299 Judgment. 00:29:36.460 --> 00:29:38.539 He removed even the opportunity 00:29:38.539 --> 00:29:39.259 that he had. 00:29:39.420 --> 00:29:41.019 He never went back to Nazareth. 00:29:41.420 --> 00:29:42.299 Nowhere in the scripture 00:29:42.299 --> 00:29:43.240 does it ever say 00:29:43.240 --> 00:29:44.480 that Jesus goes back 00:29:44.480 --> 00:29:45.120 to his hometown. 00:29:45.559 --> 00:29:46.299 This was it. 00:29:46.900 --> 00:29:48.000 It was judgment. 00:29:49.079 --> 00:29:50.140 Which reminds us 00:29:50.140 --> 00:29:52.180 that for those 00:29:52.180 --> 00:29:54.019 who continue to reject the gospel, 00:29:54.579 --> 00:29:56.380 there is a warning for you 00:29:56.380 --> 00:29:58.380 in this passage. 00:29:58.380 --> 00:30:02.200 Jesus' response to willful rejection 00:30:02.200 --> 00:30:04.120 is to move on. 00:30:05.240 --> 00:30:06.720 He didn't stay in town 00:30:06.720 --> 00:30:08.560 to try to convince them otherwise. 00:30:10.200 --> 00:30:11.080 He left. 00:30:12.920 --> 00:30:14.440 And he did no mighty work. 00:30:15.760 --> 00:30:17.000 And this is how he trained 00:30:17.000 --> 00:30:18.080 his disciples as well. 00:30:18.160 --> 00:30:18.480 In fact, 00:30:18.640 --> 00:30:19.980 if you read a little further down 00:30:19.980 --> 00:30:20.660 in verse 11, 00:30:21.180 --> 00:30:22.020 here's what he says. 00:30:22.839 --> 00:30:24.319 Whenever you go to a town 00:30:24.319 --> 00:30:25.440 and they don't receive you, 00:30:25.960 --> 00:30:27.240 shake off the dust of your feet 00:30:27.240 --> 00:30:28.779 and walk away. 00:30:29.740 --> 00:30:30.900 It's a sign of disdain, 00:30:30.980 --> 00:30:31.700 a sign of judgment. 00:30:32.920 --> 00:30:33.920 He didn't tell his disciples, 00:30:34.079 --> 00:30:35.279 stick around as long as you can 00:30:35.279 --> 00:30:36.379 and try to convince the people. 00:30:36.480 --> 00:30:36.680 No. 00:30:37.000 --> 00:30:38.639 When they reject the gospel, 00:30:39.440 --> 00:30:40.779 shake off the dust from your feet 00:30:40.779 --> 00:30:41.980 and walk away. 00:30:42.980 --> 00:30:43.900 And this is hard to do 00:30:43.900 --> 00:30:44.740 because you have compassion 00:30:44.740 --> 00:30:45.519 for people, don't we? 00:30:46.400 --> 00:30:46.720 We say, 00:30:46.779 --> 00:30:47.779 well, this isn't right of Jesus. 00:30:47.980 --> 00:30:48.879 But are you saying that 00:30:48.880 --> 00:30:50.760 that Jesus actually has less compassion 00:30:50.760 --> 00:30:51.640 for someone than you? 00:30:53.060 --> 00:30:53.460 No. 00:30:55.600 --> 00:30:57.320 It's just a reminder of Hebrews 4. 00:30:58.220 --> 00:30:58.620 Today, 00:30:58.840 --> 00:31:00.900 if you hear his voice, 00:31:01.380 --> 00:31:03.140 harden not your heart. 00:31:06.800 --> 00:31:08.580 The overall story here is heartbreaking. 00:31:08.760 --> 00:31:09.200 It is. 00:31:10.180 --> 00:31:11.360 But there is an encouragement 00:31:11.360 --> 00:31:12.180 in this verse. 00:31:12.600 --> 00:31:13.680 And then we're going to wrap it up 00:31:13.680 --> 00:31:14.320 after this, okay? 00:31:14.620 --> 00:31:15.700 There's an encouragement here. 00:31:16.960 --> 00:31:18.680 He could do no mighty work there. 00:31:19.460 --> 00:31:21.000 That next word's important though. 00:31:21.260 --> 00:31:21.700 What is it? 00:31:22.800 --> 00:31:23.200 Accept. 00:31:24.940 --> 00:31:25.380 Accept. 00:31:26.700 --> 00:31:27.800 Except he laid his hands 00:31:27.800 --> 00:31:28.700 on a few sick folk 00:31:28.700 --> 00:31:30.000 and healed them. 00:31:30.700 --> 00:31:31.640 This is important. 00:31:33.240 --> 00:31:34.820 Mighty here is not a reference 00:31:34.820 --> 00:31:35.520 to scale. 00:31:36.700 --> 00:31:38.240 It's not a reference to 00:31:38.240 --> 00:31:40.480 he was willing to heal some people, 00:31:40.580 --> 00:31:41.320 but he was unwilling 00:31:41.320 --> 00:31:42.340 to calm the storm. 00:31:43.060 --> 00:31:44.560 That's not the comparison 00:31:44.560 --> 00:31:45.320 that's being made 00:31:45.320 --> 00:31:46.680 in this statement. 00:31:47.440 --> 00:31:48.440 Mighty is in reference 00:31:48.440 --> 00:31:49.980 to quantity, okay? 00:31:50.160 --> 00:31:51.600 So, remember in another place, 00:31:51.740 --> 00:31:52.840 Jesus told his disciples, 00:31:53.560 --> 00:31:54.840 greater works than these 00:31:54.840 --> 00:31:56.019 shall you do, okay? 00:31:56.220 --> 00:31:57.400 Some people have taken that 00:31:57.400 --> 00:31:58.880 and said that believers 00:31:58.880 --> 00:31:59.940 will actually do 00:31:59.940 --> 00:32:01.539 bigger things, 00:32:01.960 --> 00:32:03.100 greater things, 00:32:03.100 --> 00:32:04.840 than what Jesus ever did. 00:32:04.960 --> 00:32:05.740 Well, that's foolish. 00:32:06.400 --> 00:32:07.860 The greatest thing you could do 00:32:07.860 --> 00:32:08.820 is raise yourself 00:32:08.820 --> 00:32:09.460 from the dead. 00:32:10.120 --> 00:32:10.960 Jesus did that. 00:32:11.299 --> 00:32:12.840 You're not going to do that, okay? 00:32:13.180 --> 00:32:14.160 None of us are going to do that. 00:32:14.299 --> 00:32:15.319 That's not what Jesus meant. 00:32:15.500 --> 00:32:16.860 He was talking about scale 00:32:16.860 --> 00:32:17.700 and scope. 00:32:17.819 --> 00:32:18.660 He was talking about scope 00:32:18.660 --> 00:32:20.579 and extent of what 00:32:20.579 --> 00:32:21.279 he was going to use 00:32:21.279 --> 00:32:22.100 his church to do 00:32:22.100 --> 00:32:22.700 and accomplish 00:32:22.700 --> 00:32:24.340 in 2,000 years 00:32:24.340 --> 00:32:25.559 of church history. 00:32:25.799 --> 00:32:26.660 It's been amazing. 00:32:27.019 --> 00:32:28.539 Jesus had this small 00:32:28.539 --> 00:32:31.100 ministry in a small region 00:32:31.100 --> 00:32:31.700 in Galilee 00:32:31.700 --> 00:32:32.740 and a little bit in Judea, 00:32:32.819 --> 00:32:33.980 but look at what the apostles 00:32:33.980 --> 00:32:35.120 did immediately after that. 00:32:35.299 --> 00:32:36.539 They went all over the world 00:32:36.539 --> 00:32:37.720 with this gospel message. 00:32:37.840 --> 00:32:38.660 That's what Jesus meant. 00:32:38.880 --> 00:32:39.980 That's what Mark means here. 00:32:39.980 --> 00:32:41.200 He's not talking about scale. 00:32:41.279 --> 00:32:42.120 He's not talking about 00:32:42.120 --> 00:32:42.860 calming storms 00:32:42.860 --> 00:32:43.660 and raising the dead. 00:32:43.779 --> 00:32:44.660 He's talking about 00:32:44.660 --> 00:32:46.140 how many works, 00:32:46.220 --> 00:32:47.279 the quantity of works 00:32:47.279 --> 00:32:47.880 Jesus did. 00:32:48.039 --> 00:32:48.940 And this is important 00:32:48.940 --> 00:32:49.960 because though 00:32:49.960 --> 00:32:50.819 he could do no 00:32:50.819 --> 00:32:52.380 great amount of works, 00:32:52.500 --> 00:32:54.240 there were some people 00:32:54.240 --> 00:32:55.779 who believed. 00:32:56.039 --> 00:32:56.720 And the people 00:32:56.720 --> 00:32:57.759 that believed, 00:32:57.920 --> 00:32:59.220 even if it was just 00:32:59.220 --> 00:33:00.860 an imperfect, 00:33:01.720 --> 00:33:02.920 imperfect, 00:33:03.819 --> 00:33:04.900 incomplete, 00:33:06.059 --> 00:33:07.160 ignorant faith, 00:33:07.779 --> 00:33:08.900 he responded 00:33:08.900 --> 00:33:10.680 just like he did 00:33:10.680 --> 00:33:11.160 with the woman 00:33:11.160 --> 00:33:12.180 with the issue of blood, 00:33:12.640 --> 00:33:13.660 just like he did 00:33:13.660 --> 00:33:14.780 with Jairus 00:33:14.780 --> 00:33:15.980 and Jairus' wife 00:33:15.980 --> 00:33:17.180 and raising their daughter. 00:33:17.600 --> 00:33:19.280 Jesus always responds 00:33:19.280 --> 00:33:19.880 to faith. 00:33:19.960 --> 00:33:20.980 Even if it's just 00:33:20.980 --> 00:33:22.680 a simple openness 00:33:22.680 --> 00:33:23.620 to consider 00:33:23.620 --> 00:33:24.560 the things of God, 00:33:24.940 --> 00:33:26.540 Jesus will respond. 00:33:26.920 --> 00:33:27.740 Most of the people 00:33:27.740 --> 00:33:29.280 completely rejected, 00:33:30.080 --> 00:33:30.960 utter rejection, 00:33:31.080 --> 00:33:31.480 but there were 00:33:31.480 --> 00:33:32.160 some people there 00:33:32.160 --> 00:33:33.620 which encourages me 00:33:33.620 --> 00:33:34.519 because in our 00:33:34.519 --> 00:33:35.440 personal witness, 00:33:35.660 --> 00:33:36.560 we can go day 00:33:36.560 --> 00:33:37.100 after day 00:33:37.100 --> 00:33:37.600 after day 00:33:37.599 --> 00:33:38.539 and share the gospel 00:33:38.539 --> 00:33:39.879 over and over 00:33:39.879 --> 00:33:40.379 and over 00:33:40.379 --> 00:33:41.159 and what are we 00:33:41.159 --> 00:33:41.500 going to get 00:33:41.500 --> 00:33:42.199 a lot of times? 00:33:42.419 --> 00:33:43.279 Utter rejection. 00:33:43.879 --> 00:33:44.919 Nobody wants to listen. 00:33:45.379 --> 00:33:46.579 Nobody wants to believe. 00:33:46.819 --> 00:33:47.679 But don't quit 00:33:47.679 --> 00:33:49.000 because there will be 00:33:49.000 --> 00:33:49.519 some people 00:33:49.519 --> 00:33:50.319 that believe. 00:33:52.259 --> 00:33:53.159 God's work 00:33:53.159 --> 00:33:54.879 is always active. 00:33:55.299 --> 00:33:56.000 He's always 00:33:56.000 --> 00:33:57.359 doing something. 00:33:57.559 --> 00:33:58.500 It's how he uses 00:33:58.500 --> 00:33:59.539 his word. 00:34:03.019 --> 00:34:04.039 It may not be 00:34:04.039 --> 00:34:04.839 a huge work 00:34:04.839 --> 00:34:05.699 that God does 00:34:05.700 --> 00:34:06.240 through you. 00:34:08.240 --> 00:34:09.460 And it may not 00:34:09.460 --> 00:34:10.179 be immediately 00:34:10.179 --> 00:34:10.780 visible 00:34:10.780 --> 00:34:11.820 whatever work 00:34:11.820 --> 00:34:12.360 he does. 00:34:13.940 --> 00:34:15.059 It may even 00:34:15.059 --> 00:34:15.740 be a greater 00:34:15.740 --> 00:34:16.880 work in you 00:34:16.880 --> 00:34:17.659 than it will 00:34:17.659 --> 00:34:18.800 be in others. 00:34:19.960 --> 00:34:20.740 But if you 00:34:20.740 --> 00:34:21.240 faithfully 00:34:21.240 --> 00:34:22.119 preach the gospel, 00:34:22.980 --> 00:34:24.619 if you faithfully 00:34:24.619 --> 00:34:25.679 live out the gospel 00:34:25.679 --> 00:34:27.420 and love Jesus, 00:34:28.199 --> 00:34:29.300 he will do 00:34:29.300 --> 00:34:30.119 a work. 00:34:31.059 --> 00:34:31.519 It may be 00:34:31.519 --> 00:34:31.920 in you, 00:34:32.320 --> 00:34:32.900 it may be 00:34:32.900 --> 00:34:33.320 in others, 00:34:33.579 --> 00:34:34.099 it may be 00:34:34.099 --> 00:34:34.880 on a large scale, 00:34:35.099 --> 00:34:35.599 it may be 00:34:35.599 --> 00:34:36.360 on a small scale. 00:34:36.440 --> 00:34:36.960 It doesn't matter. 00:34:37.199 --> 00:34:38.000 He will always 00:34:38.000 --> 00:34:39.079 do his work. 00:34:41.960 --> 00:34:42.639 Remember what 00:34:42.639 --> 00:34:43.219 Paul said 00:34:43.219 --> 00:34:44.239 in 1 Corinthians 3, 00:34:44.539 --> 00:34:45.279 I planted 00:34:45.279 --> 00:34:46.119 a polis water, 00:34:46.619 --> 00:34:47.460 but God 00:34:47.460 --> 00:34:48.259 gave the growth. 00:34:49.599 --> 00:34:50.239 God doesn't, 00:34:50.559 --> 00:34:51.500 he doesn't call you 00:34:51.500 --> 00:34:52.380 to provide fruit. 00:34:52.480 --> 00:34:52.940 He calls you 00:34:52.940 --> 00:34:53.579 to be faithful. 00:34:54.299 --> 00:34:55.059 And in the midst 00:34:55.059 --> 00:34:56.039 of that faithfulness, 00:34:56.219 --> 00:34:57.119 we trust him 00:34:57.119 --> 00:34:57.759 to be fruitful. 00:34:58.059 --> 00:34:59.179 So be faithful 00:34:59.179 --> 00:35:00.440 because he's always 00:35:00.440 --> 00:35:01.440 working somewhere 00:35:01.440 --> 00:35:02.840 and in some way. 00:35:04.519 --> 00:35:05.320 Let me wrap it up 00:35:05.320 --> 00:35:05.700 this way. 00:35:07.019 --> 00:35:07.460 Maybe 00:35:07.460 --> 00:35:08.380 John 00:35:08.380 --> 00:35:09.639 had this 00:35:09.639 --> 00:35:10.099 passage 00:35:10.099 --> 00:35:11.159 or this experience, 00:35:11.260 --> 00:35:11.539 he would have 00:35:11.539 --> 00:35:11.960 been there. 00:35:13.139 --> 00:35:13.720 Maybe John 00:35:13.720 --> 00:35:14.420 had this 00:35:14.420 --> 00:35:15.980 event in mind 00:35:15.980 --> 00:35:16.700 when he wrote 00:35:16.700 --> 00:35:17.659 his prologue 00:35:17.659 --> 00:35:18.360 to his gospel. 00:35:18.920 --> 00:35:19.679 Remember in John 00:35:19.679 --> 00:35:20.320 chapter 1, 00:35:20.400 --> 00:35:20.900 verse 10, 00:35:22.039 --> 00:35:22.460 John wrote, 00:35:22.579 --> 00:35:23.500 he was in the world, 00:35:24.240 --> 00:35:25.260 the world was 00:35:25.260 --> 00:35:26.380 made through him, 00:35:26.740 --> 00:35:27.720 yet the world 00:35:27.720 --> 00:35:28.780 did not know him. 00:35:29.679 --> 00:35:30.420 He came unto 00:35:30.420 --> 00:35:31.039 his own 00:35:31.039 --> 00:35:32.280 and his own 00:35:32.280 --> 00:35:33.200 people did not 00:35:33.200 --> 00:35:33.840 receive him. 00:35:34.260 --> 00:35:34.820 Maybe John 00:35:34.820 --> 00:35:35.599 had this in mind, 00:35:35.960 --> 00:35:36.760 but what I want 00:35:36.760 --> 00:35:37.360 to point out 00:35:37.360 --> 00:35:38.300 is how John 00:35:38.300 --> 00:35:39.119 immediately follows 00:35:39.119 --> 00:35:39.820 those two verses. 00:35:40.059 --> 00:35:40.659 Those are verses 00:35:40.659 --> 00:35:41.260 10 and 11. 00:35:41.720 --> 00:35:42.500 Here's what he says 00:35:42.500 --> 00:35:43.579 in verses 12 and 13. 00:35:45.500 --> 00:35:45.780 But 00:35:45.780 --> 00:35:47.720 to all 00:35:47.720 --> 00:35:48.840 who did receive him, 00:35:49.619 --> 00:35:50.440 who believed 00:35:50.440 --> 00:35:51.119 in his name, 00:35:51.460 --> 00:35:52.780 he gave the right 00:35:52.780 --> 00:35:53.700 to become children 00:35:53.700 --> 00:35:54.280 of God, 00:35:54.800 --> 00:35:55.539 who were born 00:35:55.539 --> 00:35:56.320 not of blood, 00:35:56.420 --> 00:35:56.940 nor of the will 00:35:56.940 --> 00:35:57.539 of the flesh, 00:35:57.619 --> 00:35:58.159 nor of the will 00:35:58.159 --> 00:35:58.639 of man, 00:35:58.639 --> 00:36:01.139 but of God. 00:36:02.759 --> 00:36:03.440 Yes, 00:36:03.759 --> 00:36:05.119 a lot of people 00:36:05.119 --> 00:36:06.059 rejected Jesus. 00:36:06.739 --> 00:36:07.500 The people 00:36:07.500 --> 00:36:07.960 that we wouldn't 00:36:07.960 --> 00:36:08.619 have expected 00:36:08.619 --> 00:36:10.299 rejected Jesus. 00:36:11.519 --> 00:36:12.739 But to everyone 00:36:12.739 --> 00:36:13.899 who did receive him, 00:36:14.599 --> 00:36:16.759 they became 00:36:16.759 --> 00:36:17.659 the children of God. 00:36:18.779 --> 00:36:19.819 That's the gospel. 00:36:21.259 --> 00:36:22.539 That's the gospel. 00:36:22.539 --> 00:36:24.840 that God 00:36:24.840 --> 00:36:26.000 became a man, 00:36:26.480 --> 00:36:28.320 lived a perfect 00:36:28.320 --> 00:36:29.239 life in order 00:36:29.239 --> 00:36:30.139 to fulfill 00:36:30.139 --> 00:36:31.159 perfectly 00:36:31.159 --> 00:36:31.980 the law 00:36:31.980 --> 00:36:32.739 that we cannot 00:36:32.739 --> 00:36:33.300 fulfill, 00:36:33.820 --> 00:36:35.099 and then 00:36:35.099 --> 00:36:36.340 went to the cross 00:36:36.340 --> 00:36:38.079 to pay 00:36:38.079 --> 00:36:39.199 our debt, 00:36:39.860 --> 00:36:40.699 to pay 00:36:40.699 --> 00:36:41.480 for the sin 00:36:41.480 --> 00:36:42.239 of our 00:36:42.239 --> 00:36:43.179 rejection. 00:36:45.340 --> 00:36:46.039 And then 00:36:46.039 --> 00:36:46.500 he rose 00:36:46.500 --> 00:36:47.159 from the dead 00:36:47.159 --> 00:36:47.960 to prove 00:36:47.960 --> 00:36:48.679 that he 00:36:48.679 --> 00:36:49.460 actually has 00:36:49.460 --> 00:36:50.000 the power 00:36:50.000 --> 00:36:50.920 to give us 00:36:50.920 --> 00:36:51.559 this life. 00:36:51.559 --> 00:36:52.099 And then 00:36:52.099 --> 00:36:52.519 he says, 00:36:52.639 --> 00:36:52.980 if you will 00:36:52.980 --> 00:36:53.659 just believe 00:36:53.659 --> 00:36:54.539 in my name, 00:36:54.679 --> 00:36:55.579 you will be 00:36:55.579 --> 00:36:56.239 made the 00:36:56.239 --> 00:36:57.019 children of 00:36:57.019 --> 00:36:57.340 God. 00:36:57.659 --> 00:36:58.139 Forgiveness, 00:36:58.679 --> 00:36:59.679 eternal life, 00:37:00.380 --> 00:37:00.920 reconciliation 00:37:00.920 --> 00:37:01.900 with God 00:37:01.900 --> 00:37:03.159 in the family 00:37:03.159 --> 00:37:03.880 of God. 00:37:04.880 --> 00:37:05.799 And all 00:37:05.799 --> 00:37:06.480 who received 00:37:06.480 --> 00:37:06.659 him, 00:37:06.779 --> 00:37:07.360 John says, 00:37:07.940 --> 00:37:08.980 received that. 00:37:11.320 --> 00:37:12.239 And again, 00:37:12.360 --> 00:37:12.980 we're reminded 00:37:12.980 --> 00:37:13.639 of what Jesus 00:37:13.639 --> 00:37:14.099 said. 00:37:14.960 --> 00:37:15.880 If you come 00:37:15.880 --> 00:37:16.279 to me, 00:37:16.639 --> 00:37:17.619 I will not 00:37:17.619 --> 00:37:18.299 turn you away. 00:37:19.759 --> 00:37:20.559 And that's 00:37:20.559 --> 00:37:21.059 true for us 00:37:21.059 --> 00:37:21.619 today too. 00:37:22.900 --> 00:37:23.559 Believe in 00:37:23.559 --> 00:37:24.059 his name 00:37:24.059 --> 00:37:25.199 and you 00:37:25.199 --> 00:37:25.980 will be 00:37:25.980 --> 00:37:26.900 saved.