Bible Passage: Mark 6:1-6

Pastor: Joel Jenswold

Sermon Date: July 7, 2024

Bulletin July 7, 2024

In the name of, and to the eternal glory of, Jesus,

It was Saturday in Nazareth.  The Sabbath Day.  And the faithful sons of Abraham gathered where they did every Sabbath.  They gathered at the synagogue.  They were in the right place!  Here in the synagogue the scrolls of the Old Testament, what they called the tanakh, were read and expounded.  Here they heard the Word of Jehovah.  In the synagogue they would hear the prophecies of the Messiah who was to come and bring salvation.  Indeed, they were in the right place!  Because of the Word of God present there the synagogue was the gate to heaven!

On this Sabbath, there will be a “guest preacher,” if you will.  In fact, he was a person they knew well.  “Yeshua ben Joseph” was back in town.  A homegrown teacher!  Jesus.  And when the time came for the sermon, Jesus was handed the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.  He unrolled it to Isaiah 61:1-2.  He read the writing from the scroll:  The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.  He rolled up the scroll, handed it to the attendant and sat down.  Every eye in the place was fixed on Jesus during this pregnant pause.  Then Jesus broke the silence by saying, Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing. (Luke 4:21)  Jesus just told them all that he is the Messiah!  He is their salvation!  He is their way to heaven!

And then something tragic happened.  Something happened to these synagogue-goers,  these people who diligently studied the Scriptures because they thought that by them they possessed eternal life (John 5:39).  What happened?  They tripped on Jesus.

Mark records their stunned reaction.  Where did this man learn these things?  What is this wisdom that has been given to this man?  How is it that miracles such as these are performed by his hands?  Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon?  And aren’t his sisters here with us? (v. 2-3)  Here’s what they can’t get past:  “We know this guy!  It’s just Jesus!  How’s he learn this stuff?  He never went to study with Rav Hillel or Rav Shammai!  And how can these hands do all these Messianic miracles?  These are the rough hands of a carpenter!  In fact, I still use one of the yokes he made on my oxen each time I plow my fields!  No, he’s not a Messiah.  He’s a carpenter, and a good one, too!”  They knew Jesus’ family.  “We know his mom.  We know his brothers.  His sisters live just over there!”

And next comes the key phrase.  And they took offense at him. (v. 3)  The verb in Greek is skandalidzo.  You can hear the English word “scandal” in it, can’t you?  This verse could be translated, “They were scandalized by Jesus.”  In Greek, a “skandalon” was something that trapped or tripped someone up, causing them to fall.  If you were running a race and I threw a banana peel out in front of you, causing you to slip and fall, that banana peel was a “skandalon.”  Jesus was the “skandalon” to these people.  They tripped over Jesus!

Jesus adds commentary to what was happening.  A prophet is not without honor…[which is a way of saying, “A prophet is honored!]…except in his hometown, and among his own relatives, and in his own house. (v. 4)  Jesus was not getting any honor in his hometown.  Hardly anyone came to him for a miracle.  We know from other parts of Scripture that at this point even his own siblings don’t believe his Messianic claims.  In English we have a saying that applies here.  “Familiarity breeds contempt.”  They were too familiar with Jesus.  He “underwhelmed” them.

We must always be on our guard that we do not become “too familiar” with Jesus.  We must fight against the feeling of being “underwhelmed” by Jesus.  Here are some telltale and concerning signs:  when coming to worship feels like a chore and not a delight.  When it is easy to miss two, three, four Sundays – or more – in a row and not sense at all that something is missing.  When we begin to rationalize our lukewarm spirit with thoughts of, “I have heard all that Jesus stuff before.  It’s not like I’m missing anything new.”  Guard yourself.  Check yourself to see whether you are, or are becoming, “underwhelmed” by Jesus.  Repent of that.  Weep for that.  Does anything expose my depravity more than being underwhelmed by my Savior?

The very things that underwhelmed them about Jesus are the things that are so spectacular!  Isn’t this the carpenter?  Yes!  Imagine, the Word of God was made flesh and made his dwelling among us!  In a carpenter shop, in Nazareth!  Isn’t this…the son of Mary?  Yes!  Imagine, the Son of God took on flesh in the womb of the virgin Mary!  They thought, “But Jesus has brothers and sisters.”  Yes!  Imagine, the Son of God was not ashamed to call James, and Joses, and Judas, and Simon his brothers!  And he is not ashamed to call you his brothers and sisters today!  Who could ever be underwhelmed by such a thought!

But the most overwhelming thing of all is what Yeshua ben Joseph did, not on a Sabbath in Nazareth, but what he did on a Friday in Jerusalem.  There he gave his life for people like you and me.  People who too often are too busy, too distracted, too completely underwhelmed by him!  Yet in love-overwhelming, he loved us to the fullest extent love can go.  He died in place of us that we might live in heaven.

It is this love of Jesus that is the antidote for today’s malady.  Because finally there is no magic wand or incantation that will keep you from being underwhelmed by Jesus.  There is only the display of his love on the cross.  Look upon it.  Often.  Beg your dear Savior, “On my heart imprint your image!”  Repent of lukewarmness.  Resolve with Spirit-given power, “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”

Amen.