Mark 6:1-6

Mark 6:1-6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 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! 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. Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith.

Sometimes your testimony to your unsaved friends and relatives is rejected for they resent you presumptuously talking about "God." Aren't you just one of them? Why do you think you are so special that you can instruct them about God? This idea was prevalent in Jesus' hometown, even though Jesus seemed entitled to talk about God, for He possessed great wisdom and performed many miracles. Nevertheless, He still was gauged as a hometown boy; therefore, He was considered to be just like them, a Galilean. I am sure they thought of him being quite uppity in a religious sense. So much so that only a "few" townspeople came to him. Only a few sought him out to help them, and probably those few were the most desperate in the community. They were similar to the ones in today's society whose homes are crashing, whose children are straying, who are sick beyond a cure, or who are finding that they cannot make it another day. They truly needed deliverance in their lives. They needed the Christ in their lives, and they needed him now. They were not going to consider where He came from; they were only going to consider what He could do. However, most of the people in Jesus' community avoided him. Most stayed as far away as they could away from the "carpenter." They gossiped about him: Jesus was the talk of the town. "Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” But they weren't going to accept him as the Christ. To them He still was the familiar carpenter who worked among them. He still was the man that they conversed with while going about their daily routines. He was definitely not perceived by them as the Christ, as the Son of God, or even as a man who was filled with the Spirit of God at the Jordan River. Therefore, few took advantage of the reality that the Son of God was in their presence. Few received their healing. Few were delivered from demons. Few heard the message that would deliver them from the grip of Satan and the world.

Today, that is also true. Men see Christians just as they are, but with a different belief system. But the Bible indicates that there is one great distinction between Christians and anyone else, and that is that we are filled with the Holy Spirit. God abides in us through the Holy Spirit's presence. Therefore, we do bring light to a dark world. We do bring the living water to a thirsty land. We espouse the Word of God that heals mind, soul and spirit. We are known in heaven as God's servants. As Christians when we look at each other, we just don't see a "carpenter," a housewife, a professional, a neighbor, a friend, a mother, a father, a son, a daughter, we see someone that God saved and adopted into his family, someone He is now using. We see someone we can go to for prayer, counseling, and help--someone who has the Spirit of God operating in his or her life. Yes, the world might not recognize who we are, but we should recognized each other as part of the family of God with the same spirit that is within God himself. Jesus was amazed at their lack of faith. Jesus was amazed that so few sought him out. We as children of God should seek each other out when we need help. At my home church, Evergreen Four Square, our giving is down, and our pastors may not receive a salary this month. What does God want us to do about that? We should also still seek to help the lost whether they recognize we have something for them or not, for that is our mission. We are his instruments not only to each other but to the world.