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They Took Offense - Mark 6
They Took Offense - Mark 6
Mark records that Jesus came to his hometown of Nazareth. It is interesting to picture him entering the synagogue where he would have attended while growing up: the familiar scenes of the building and its contents along with all the people that he had known for so many years.
Now He comes not as a child but as a teacher. He is invited to teach and he does! Upon hearing this familiar son of Nazareth, they are astonished!
The familiar ‘child’ has now become the greatest teacher they have ever heard. Not only was he a great teacher, he was a doer of great works. WHO is THIS?
Yes, He is the son of Mary. He is ‘the carpenter’. He is the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon! His sisters still lived among them. Thus their question of ‘Who is this?’ becomes "Who does HE THINK HE IS?"
Preconceived ideas are indeed hard to overcome. We KNOW he is one of us so he CAN NOT be a teacher of this caliber nor can he do such works. This kind of reminds me of the silly country song that asked: “Who are you going to believe, me or your lying eyes?” Their eyes (and ears) told them one thing but they believed something else! They end up denying the obvious! Thus they are at first astonished but then they are offended and stumble over Him.
People still set out on a quest to find Jesus - but they are looking for a Jesus that they already ‘know’. They begin changing the story to suit their picture. They find a Jesus who didn’t do great works. They find a Jesus who taught wrong things. They begin to only see Jesus as they have pictured and not as what He presents himself. They, like these from Nazareth, are offended by what they see. The message though is clear: "Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name” (John 20:30–31).
How do you answer the question: “Who is this”? Hugh DeLong
