Mark 6:1-6a (NRSV)
Read Mark 6:1-6a on biblegateway.com
Chapter 6He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. Verse 2On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, "Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! Verse 3Is 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. Verse 4Then Jesus said to them, "Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house." Verse 5And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them. Verse 6And he was amazed at their unbelief.
Then he went about among the villages teaching.
Devotion
Ezekiel was sent to a rebellious people. Jesus comes home to a people who know him—or at least they think they do.
It isn’t easy being a prophet. It isn’t easy to stand apart from people you know and love and deliver a “word from the Lord.” And if it is easy, it’s usually—at least in my experience—because we are angry. If so, then sometimes we may confuse what is coming from God and what is coming from our own hurt or “righteous” heart.
His hometown folk won’t receive Jesus because they know him. But we can just as easily dismiss a prophet because “they’re not from here” and as an “outsider” they have no right to speak. Maybe the issue isn’t so much who the speaker is, but that rebellious human hearts will find a way to reject a word from God—even when that word is love.
How might skepticism or prejudice be hampering my ability to experience God’s deeds of power?
Prayer
God of the prophets, open our eyes to see your presence in the ordinary; and open our ears to hear your voice calling, even in unexpected places. Amen.
Interested in digging deeper into today’s text?
Read more here.