By Staff
God is sovereign and all powerful. He can do whatever He wants to do whenever He wants to do it. Yet, in the gospel of Mark, chapter 6, verses 5-6, we read, "He could do no mighty work there . . . and He marveled because of their unbelief."
The fact that unbelief on our part can limit the work of God is mirrored in Psalm 78 where the psalmist is listing the mighty works of God and the resultant lack of faith and obedience in the people. Psalms, chapter 78, verse 41, declares, "Yes, again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy One of Israel." It seems that God limits the work He would do for us to our amount of faith.
The unbelief exhibited in the synagogue at Nazareth was among people who knew Jesus well. He had been ministering in other places and came home to Nazareth. On the Sabbath, He taught in the local gathering at the synagogue. The initial response of the people is recorded in Mark, chapter 6, verse 2: "Many hearing Him were astonished, saying, 'Where did this man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands!"
There was no doubt about the power and the content of the message, but the people began to dissect the encounter and ended up rejecting what Jesus had said.
In Mark, chapter 6, verse 3, the people asked, "Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us."
Familiarity with the messenger led to closing their minds and hearts to the message. It even went further than that as indicated in the last phrase in Mark, chapter 6, verse 3: "They were offended at Him."
Before we judge the people of Nazareth too quickly, we must consider whether our lives are characterized by belief or unbelief.
The people of Nazareth had their hearts warmed by the message of Jesus. Their minds were stretched and challenged by His words, but there was no resulting action other than being offended by the preaching.
The unbelief demonstrated by the people of Nazareth stands in stark contrast to the belief of two people mentioned in Mark, chapter 5.
The first was Jairus. He was a ruler of the synagogue, a religious official. His daughter was sick and near death. When Jairus heard that Jesus was in town, he went to Jesus in the midst of a crowd, publicly fell at the feet of Jesus and begged Him to come lay hands on the girl and heal her (Mark 5:22-23).
The belief of Jairus was evident in that he was humble and urgent. He did not care who was around or who saw him begging earnestly for the health of his daughter. Jesus immediately went with him.
While Jesus was on the way to the house of Jairus, a woman who had been sick for years, and who could find no cure, fought her way through the crowd with absolute belief that if she could just get close enough to even touch the clothes of Jesus, she would be healed (Mark 5:25-28).
The woman did reach Jesus and touch His clothes. When she did, she was healed immediately.
Unbelief is cynical and apathetic, and does not allow truth to penetrate. Belief is urgent, risky, humble, and expectant. We must be sure that in practicing our religion, we continually exercise true belief. Jarius, a stranger to Jesus, did better than the people who knew Jesus.