Posts
Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And 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! 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?" So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house." Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts - but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!" So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them.
- Mark 6:1-13
Yesterday we read that when Jesus had crossed over again by boat to His ministry's "home territory" after being in the country of the Gadarenes, a great multitude gathered to Him; and He was by the sea. And behold, one of the rulers of the synagogue came, Jairus by name. And when he saw Him, he fell at His feet and begged Him earnestly, saying, "My little daughter lies at the point of death. Come and lay Your hands on her, that she may be healed, and she will live." So Jesus went with him, and a great multitude followed Him and thronged Him. Now a certain woman had a flow of blood for twelve years, and had suffered many things from many physicians. She had spent all that she had and was no better, but rather grew worse. When she heard about Jesus, she came behind Him in the crowd and touched His garment. For she said, "If only I may touch His clothes, I shall be made well." Immediately the fountain of her blood was dried up, and she felt in her body that she was healed of the affliction. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched My clothes?" But His disciples said to Him, "You see the multitude thronging You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?'" And He looked around to see her who had done this thing. But the woman, fearing and trembling, knowing what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace, and be healed of your affliction." While He was still speaking, some came from the ruler of the synagogue's house who said, "Your daughter is dead. Why trouble the Teacher any further?" As soon as Jesus heard the word that was spoken, He said to the ruler of the synagogue, "Do not be afraid; only believe." And He permitted no one to follow Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James. Then He came to the house of the ruler of the synagogue, and saw a tumult and those who wept and wailed loudly. When He came in, He said to them, "Why make this commotion and weep? The child is not dead, but sleeping." And they ridiculed Him. But when He had put them all outside, He took the father and the mother of the child, and those who were with Him, and entered where the child was lying. Then He took the child by the hand, and said to her, "Talitha, cumi," which is translated, "Little girl, I say to you, arise." Immediately the girl arose and walked, for she was twelve years of age. And they were overcome with great amazement. But He commanded them strictly that no one should know it, and said that something should be given for her to eat.
Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And 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! 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?" So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house." Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. My study bible points out that the double response of being both astonished and offended occurs frequently with those who encounter Christ. Many times we don't encounter the understanding that the Gospels teach us about the rejection of prophets among "their own," or particularly the kinds of rejection suffered by Jesus in this sort of social setting. And yet, this is so central to the Gospels that all four Gospels report Jesus' teaching that "a prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house." (See John 4:44, Matthew 13:57, Luke 4:24, Mark 6:4.) It's interesting that we are to understand the social realities of what is happening here. These fellow villages who have known Him all of His life are offended that somehow these divine words of great authority are coming from Him. Who does He think He is? And where did He get this? We note that Jesus can do no great works here, without faith that makes the connection to His power (see especially yesterday's reading above, and the touch of the faithful woman with the bloodflow). We don't always see the Lord "marveling" or wondering, awestruck at a response to His ministry, but that's what we read here.
And He called the twelve to Himself, and began to send them out two by two, and gave them power over unclean spirits. He commanded them to take nothing for the journey except a staff -- no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts - but to wear sandals, and not to put on two tunics. Also He said to them, "In whatever place you enter a house, stay there till you depart from that place. And whoever will not receive you nor hear you, when you depart from there, shake off the dust under your feet as a testimony against them. Assuredly, I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for that city!" So they went out and preached that people should repent. And they cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick, and healed them. Jesus' responses are always interesting at new turning points in His ministry. Just after rejection in His hometown, among "His own," Jesus sends out the disciples. They are now apostles. Disciple means "learner," while apostle is "one who is sent out." We note the great humility involved in this mission: no bag, no bread, no copper in their money belts. They are to wear sandals, and one tunic. To stay in one place until they depart means not to "trade up" for better accommodations, but to respect those who first welcome them. Although they are sent out with power -- over unclean spirits, and to heal the sick. The first thing they do, however, is to preach repentance. But to those who reject them they are simply to shake off the dust under their feet as testimony against them. Testimony, witnessing is important and central to the mission of Christ; it is a reflection of the Judgment in His return at the end of the age -- and our faith in His justice.
It's interesting and important to tie in Christ's Return to His mission. Everything is preparation and prelude for that. Judgment plays an important role right from the beginning. Everything is all about how people respond to Christ and His gospel message, the gospel of the Kingdom. In that context, we can examine human responses here within the social contexts presented to us in the Gospels. One case in point is just this visit to His hometown of Nazareth, and how He's responded to there. The fact that it's mentioned in each of the Gospels that a prophet is not without honor except in His own town, His own country, His own people, makes it a very significant pronouncement, something we can't afford to ignore. It seems to teach us a lot about what we are used to, the conditions we accept as normal. If we look at the Old Testament, we see that the prophets played this role of speaking out in the midst of the status quo, shaking people out of complacency with the certainties they knew or understood, and business as usual -- particularly when it comes to power, practices that are forms of corruption. These come, in the Old Testament, on religious and spiritual terms as well as material, and Christ, although Messiah, plays a prophetic role in His ministry as well. What we observe is the work of God, always opening up new grounds for us, re-establishing God's truths, and expanding them, in the same sense in which Christ is not the abolisher but rather the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 5:17). What God does is to continually expand and challenge us. Repentance is a process of breaking us out of our complacency with what we think we know, how we've "always done it," what we have accepted without questioning ourselves. That is why it is so central to this ministry, to the preaching of the apostles on their first mission. Jesus' criticisms of the religious establishment will come not against the Law itself, but rather against the traditions that have been built up around the Law, those human institutions that wind up obstructing the purpose of the Law in the first place, God's intentions. In that context, we can also see the "human institution" of the society in Jesus' hometown: they know who He is, they know who His family is, and He's breaking up their understanding of what's what, the social order, the way things have always been done. Revelation works like that; it asks us for repentance (or "change of mind" as the word literally means) so that we come closer to God. It shakes us out of our fixed ways of thinking and doing things. This is the way repentance must always work. But God's work -- the work of Father, Son, and Spirit -- comes in support of something. The ministry of Christ comes to prepare us for His Return and His Judgment. It initiates the "end times," and if we truly understand the whole history of the Church, we have to understand that this is the time we've been in since His ministry, since He promised His Return and Judgment. In that sense, repentance becomes central. It's all about how we receive His message, and if we're capable of opening up to the change that might be necessary to become closer to Him. His power does not work by coercion; these are peaceful apostles, not warriors who work vengeance. Everything is left to the Judgment and offered with open hands, in great humility, and from God's love. The question is, do we have ears to hear this message, and hearts to receive it and take it seriously?
