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| "Offended by Jesus" |
| ©David Kralik Ministries, Inc. 2003 Email: matthewfivesix@hotmail.com |
| 1. 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. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. 7. Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits. 8. These were his instructions: "Take nothing for the journey except a staff--no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. 9. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic. 10. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. 11. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them." 12. They went out and preached that people should repent. 13. They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them. Here’s someone who wasn’t wearing the robes of the priests or teachers of the law and he knew the Scriptures better and taught them in a way that the common people of his day could understand. He not only taught the way of God clearly but he also performed miracles of healing and raised people from the dead. “And they took offense at him.” Those whom he had grown up around took offense at the things that he was doing as though he was some kind of common criminal possessed by a demon. Our Lord's countrymen tried to prejudice the minds of people against him. They went around undermining all the good that Jesus was doing. And they were quite successful in prohibiting the Lord from doing all that he would have done for those that he knew and loved in his hometown. Jesus was even amazed at their lack of faith, and since he could do so little in his hometown, he set out going from village to village communicating the message of the Kingdom of God to those who would receive it. How much did these Nazarenes lose because of their obstinate prejudices against Jesus! Jesus gave the Twelve a commission and sent them out with authority over evil spirits. He also gave his disciples some specific guidelines that they were to order their own ministries around and we see in this text that the disciples were very successful in carrying out their ministries. They taught the Kingdom of God, healed the sick, cast out demons, and didn’t waste their time with people who didn’t have an appreciation for what they were doing. This devotional text raises a number of serious questions for our postmodern age filled with Christian complacency, self-sufficiency, hierarchies, and egotism. Why do we take offense at Christ? Why do we object to the directives and guidelines that he has given to the Church in the Word of God? What excuses do we make for not being obedient to our calling to fulfill the Great Commission in our lives? What will it take for us to stop arguing with the one who showed us the way and then conquered death, hell, and the grave to add even more strength to all that he had taught in his earthly ministry? These are important questions that deserve answers and those who desire to be close to the center of Christ’s will find these questions provoking and challenging rather than offensive. How much do we lose because of our own obstinate prejudices against Jesus? We are the real losers when we refuse to listen to Jesus and the losses are incalculable. What is the message that we find the disciples preaching that prefaced the occurrences of divine healing, including casting out demons, in their ministries? They preached a message that most in our age don’t want to hear. Their preface was the same as that of John the Baptist and of Jesus. “They went out and preached that people should repent.” And what were people to repent of? Their good deeds? Of course not. They were being called to repent of their misdeeds. They were being called to repent of their sins. They were being called to change their way of living and to return to God with their whole heart. How much more could God do through his agents living today if we were as focused on ministering in the power of Christ as were the disciples who yielded to his directions found here in Mark’s rendering of the Gospel? But, many of our generation will say, men and women can’t possibly survive in our world today and do fruitful ministry with such limited resources! Not so. The testimony of the ages stands as a stalwart reminder to our complacent technocratic age. Every denominational monument in our time owes its being to Spirit-led movements in earlier times begun by Spirit-led men and women who dared to believe God and refused lives of ease. Marvelous things happen when men and women refuse to be offended by Jesus and choose to simply obey him. |
| Mark 6:1-13 |
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