Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. – Mark 6:4-6 (NIV)
When I go back home to visit, my drive takes me on a popular stretch of highway that bears the name of my hometown high school’s star quarterback from back in the 1990’s. Tim would go on to break just about every state high school football record while he was there, and would even go on to become the top NFL draft pick in 1999. He was the talk of the town, Hyden, Kentucky’s native son! This little dot on the map had suddenly become known for something other than its poverty-stricken existence in rural Appalachia.
When I hear people talk about him today, I hear things like, “If only he would’ve had the right coach” or “If he hadn’t struggled with those nagging injuries.” Tim’s professional career would look nothing like his high school and college careers. Whether it was the inability to adjust or perhaps the enormous pressure that comes with being the top player picked in the NFL draft, his career was largely disappointing.
Many years have passed since then, but that guy’s still a rockstar back in my hometown. Despite his unremarkable NFL career, that highway will always bear his name.
When I think about Nazareth’s utter rejection of Jesus, I can’t help but wonder how a hometown of people could so easily rally behind a young man who was known for something as trivial as his ability to throw a football, and then compare that to another hometown of people thousands of years earlier that wanted to kill another young man whose entire life was devoted to serving His Father and loving, healing, and caring for others.
“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 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?” (Mark 6:2-3).
“What makes you so special, Jesus? You were born in a barn. You didn’t come from money. Your father was a woodworker, and you’re nothing more than a carpenter yourself. And you think you can come here and perform some magic tricks and recite text from the Torah and somehow you’re this great authority, this Messiah? Get over yourself!
Pride: the most talked about sin in all the Bible. Their pride had blinded them from seeing the truth. And they were so jealous. They didn’t want to name a road after him. They wanted to throw him over a cliff.
“And they took offense to him” (Mark 6:3).
Because of their pride, jealousy, and unbelief, the people in his hometown prevented others in their community from getting the healing they desperately needed.
Jesus stayed away from there. He didn’t go where he wasn’t welcomed.
There’s a lesson there for us, too. Do we welcome Jesus and invite him into hearts? Or do we allow the unbelief of others to keep him away?
Former Blackout Artist 