April 14, 2025; Mark 6:1-13

Daily Dose of Hope

April 14, 2025

Day 1 of Week 3

 

Scripture - Mark 6:1-13

 

Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, We give you glory for the beginning of Holy Week.  Prepare our hearts as we move toward Easter Sunday.  Lord, right now, help us put aside the distractions of our lives and focus on you.  In these next few moments of silence, help us gather our scattered thoughts and remember to be still and know that you are God...Come Holy Spirit, and speak to us today.  We love you, Amen.

 

Welcome to the Daily Dose of Hope, a Deep Dive into the Gospels and Acts.  Today, we start Mark 6 where we will discuss Jesus’ lack of miracles in Nazareth and the sending out of the disciples.

 

Let’s start with what happened in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth.  It starts out well enough.  He teaches in the synagogue and the people were amazed.  It makes me think of Mark 1 when the people were surprised at how Jesus taught with authority, unlike the teachers of the law.  But then these hometown residents begin to ask questions: Isn’t this Jesus who lives around the corner?  Isn’t he a carpenter?  Isn’t this Mary’s son, whose sisters are here with us?  Basically, who does he think he is?  We know his background.  We know he isn’t anything special.

 

Jesus makes the statement that a prophet is not without honor except in his hometown.  Notice the double negative; I’m not sure why it is worded this way but I am sure Jesus has a reason; he is making a point.  A prophet is honored except where he is known well.  All over the region people were hearing and believing Jesus’ message.  He was doing all kinds of miracles.  But when he begins to do the same in Nazareth, he is met with contempt.  This means that Jesus’ extended family, his family friends, and those who knew him best refused to believe in him.  I would imagine how this must have been heart-breaking for Jesus. 

 

Because of their lack of faith, the Scripture states he was only able to do a few miracles.  Let’s touch briefly on the connection between miracles and faith.  As we read through the Gospels, we see that Jesus’ healing authority is strongly connected to the faith of the individual being healed.  Last week, we read about the woman who had been bleeding for twelve years and Jesus said her faith had made her well.  In Mark 10, we will read about blind man in Jericho who asked Jesus to heal his sight, and Jesus specifically said to the man that his faith had healed him. 

 

At the same time, we kn