Text: Mark 6: 1-6
Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him.
4 Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And he was amazed at their lack of faith.
My dad and I used to go camping with a friend and his dad. One time we were hiking along a trail and my friend’s dad asked us a question. What’s the first rule of the woods? He had asked it before and so I knew the answer. I looked up and said: Watch where you put your feet. And just as I said it I stumbled over a rock and down I went. For years my friend’s dad loved to remind me of that.
But it’s no joke. Watch where you put your feet. When we get older and our balance is not so good and our bones not so strong that footing is especially important. We can stumble and fall if we’re not careful. The same goes for our faith.
That brings us to these people here in the synagogue long ago, in church with Jesus. In fact, Mark uses a word that means much the same. They let something trip them up. They lost their spiritual footing and so they met Jesus with rejection and unbelief. That’s why we say:
Keep Your Spiritual Feet
I. As Jesus comes to you.
II. As you have opportunity to come to Him
III. As you live out your life of faith
It’s a homecoming of sorts. Kind of like when a new pastor goes back to his home church after a time to preach. Jesus had been away from Nazareth for a year or so. He had gathered his disciples. He was preaching and teaching. The news of his miracles had no doubt reached them. A man with rotting leprous flesh, healed. A man blind since birth now seeing. A dead girl raised back to life. The news had no doubt come to the people of Nazareth that Jesus had grown up with.
The Sabbath came. That day of rest that God had commanded his Old Testament people to observe. It was a time to gather. It was a time to rest from the week’s work and find rest for the soul in God’s Word. And little did they know, this day was a very special Sabbath. For the One God had promised in his Word. The One who would bring rest to our souls, had come. He came among them. This one who would one day hang on a cross for us all and rise again. The one who offers forgiveness to guilty sinners. The one who offers hope to dying sinners. The Sabbath now came and now Jesus, our true source of Sabbath rest stood among them.
He began to teach. If this is the same occasion that Luke describes, someone handed him a scroll from the prophet Isaiah. He opened it to the place where it said: 18“The Spirit of the Lord is on me,
because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.
He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, 19to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” (Lk 4:18,19) That was God’s promise to send the Christ, the Messiah who they were expecting. Then came this dramatic moment when Jesus sat down to teach. For what did he say? Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. In other words, I am that One. And he went on to teach them.
Many were amazed. Amazed at his wisdom, already amazed at the news of his miracles all evidence that showed Jesus to be the One God promised, the One we all need.
But then something happened. They stumbled. They tripped over something. They lost their spiritual footing. 3 Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” In other words, how can he be the Messiah? We know him. We know his family. He’s got calluses on his hands like us. We saw him grow up. And so instead of believing in Him, rejoicing that he had come, they stumbled.
Well so can we as Jesus comes to us. What do I mean? Think about it. One way that Jesus comes to us is through people that bring us his Word. Starting with our parents. They share their faith with us. But then there comes that time when we can lose our spiritual footing. That time when our parents seem so uncool. If that’s now, keep your spiritual feet. Don’t turn away from Jesus because your parents follow him and your friends don’t.
The same thing can happen with your pastor. After a time his warts and weaknesses become more obvious. We know how easy it is to focus on that sort of thing. He’s too old. He’s too young. He’s too serious. He’s never serious. Keep your spiritual feet. Your pastor, your Bible teacher may have warts that are distracting. But Jesus uses him to come to you. He uses him to forgive you and give you hope.
There’s one more place I need to mention. His Supper. Can you remember the first time you received it? I do. It was so special. But what can happen as the years go by, as we come again and again. Like these people in church with Jesus, we can lose our spiritual footing. I see it too often. Something so special as Jesus coming with his true body and blood to forgive you becomes not very special, not very important.
So keep you spiritual feet as Jesus comes to you. But also keep them as you have opportunity to come to him.
Jesus had spent many days ministering to large crowds. He taught them and people brought the sick and demon possessed, the blind and the lame and Jesus set them free. So many came to Jesus that by the end of the day he and his disciples would be exhausted.
So now Jesus has come home. You might expect even greater things would happen there. But what are we told: 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. Why? Only a few believed. Only a few came or were brought. Only a few asked in faith.
What about us? What about the opportunity we have to come to our Lord? Prayer. Call upon me in the day of trouble…Ask and you will receive, knock and the door will be opened… Do we believe that? Does our prayer life show we do? If Mark was writing about our prayer life instead of people coming to be healed, would he say only a few prayers were offered, only a few prayers were heard by the Lord? Keep your spiritual feet. Keep praying and don’t give up. It’s a throne of grace you are approaching. He will hear. He will answer.
I wonder what the twelve were thinking as they made their way to Nazareth. Many had come out to hear him. Many put their faith in him. They probably expected at least that by the hometown folks. This is going to be great. But Jesus knew better. It would be the very opposite.
Jesus’ disciples were about to learn an important lesson. They were about to meet people who were neighbors of Joseph and Mary. They watched Jesus grow up. They would meet Jesus’ brothers and hear about his sisters. But they would also meet their rejection of the One they followed.
Jesus’ disciples needed to see this. For they had families. They had friends. And what would they find as they lived out their faith, as they shared the gospel of Jesus Christ. Something that might have knocked them off their feet. A father or mother, a child, a brother, , maybe all of them, would reject Jesus too.
That lesson is also for us. It prepares us to live out our faith. For the time will come if it hasn’t already when someone close to you will reject Jesus. Or worse yet, all those around you. It is a burden we must be prepared to deal with.
Yet what else did they see here. Even though the Son of God knew they would reject them, he came to them. He reached out to them and one day he would die for them.
That’s what helps us to keep our spiritual feet as live out our faith. For the them was once you and me. You and came into this world stumbling in unbelief. But Jesus came to us. He reached out to us ….and one day he died for us. How blessed we are! Amen.