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.
In the above account, Jesus was amazed that the people He knew best and probably loved best would not accept the reality He had a resident power within him that would bring healing to their bodies, minds and souls. Of course, these people knew Jesus before his baptism, before his infilling of the Holy Spirit; they knew him only as a mere man, the carpenter who had lived in their community for more than thirty years. During that time, he probably provided a very important function for the community, but woodworking was not a divine ability. He might have been a very skilled carpenter, but in general, they knew him as a man living an average life among them. They had knowledge of his father and mother, Joseph and Mary; they knew his brothers and sisters. They knew how the family lived and functioned in this society. They knew where the men worked and the quality of their work; they knew how the women kept house. They knew what the family valued and whether or not they were good neighbors. They knew the integrity of Joseph, Mary and their children and understood their standing in the community. They knew everything about Jesus and his family. For them to accept their former carpenter as a miracle worker was an impossible task, beyond their grasp. Obviously, they were surprised at the wisdom Jesus so freely expressed in the synagogue. They may have wondered, “Where did this man get these things?” But wisdom can be acquired by sitting under the teachings of a sage: to perform miracles involved something else, power beyond their way of thinking. No, that was too hard to imagine, a bridge too far to cross for the minds of these folk who had watched Jesus grow from child to man, working alongside his father. The people had not realized that as Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men, it was the hand of his heavenly Father that had guided him to this point in his life, the point where Jesus would reveal the Father's love to a lost world through his miracles and finally his death on the cross
Christian friends, sometimes we become so familiar with Jesus that we view him merely as a good friend, a close companion who enlivens our lives, giving us wisdom, allowing us to endure because of his presence. We should see Jesus as the Lord of All, the miracle worker in our lives! Do you remember when you were first saved and prayed about everything? There was never a mountain too big for your prayers. There never was an illness or a problem that Jesus could not and would not solve because you believed his words, I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, "Move from here to there" and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you. (Matthew 17:20) Sometimes as we walk with Jesus, we stop praying about difficult things. We let history determine our prayers about the future. I prayed last time about the situation and nothing happened, so why pray again? We lack faith when we do not get the answer we want. Often, we accept a belief that Jesus just wants us to tolerate the sickness, the situation. In the above account, we see Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, full of power, concerned that the people would not believe in his ability to perform miracle works in their lives. These people were comfortable with the ideas they had about Jesus: what He could do and what He COULD NOT DO. For us Christians we might think we know what He will do and what He WON'T DO. They were satisfied with their assumptions. Are we satisfied with ours? They did not even ask Jesus to heal them, to deliver them, to change the difficult circumstances in their lives. Are we the same way? They literally stayed away. He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. Are we of the same mindset, are we staying away, not believing Jesus will enter the difficult, long-term situations in our lives? Oh yes, we might whisper an occasional perfunctory prayer about a situation, but are we tired of faithfully petitioning God for our needs, believing we can trust him for the answers. Have we decided to endure rather than to pray earnestly according to the Word
When Jesus instructs his disciples how to pray, he gives them what we normally call the Lord's Prayer. Sometimes we lose track of this important teaching where Jesus begins this prayer so simply: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:9-10) Jesus tells us first to ask for the will of God, not our own selfish desires. James developed this thought saying, You do not have, because you do not ask God. When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures. (James 4:2-3) But when we come in faith believing, praying as Christ told us to pray, God is ready and waiting to hear and answer prayer. He is ready to comfort us in our distress, to encourage us in our trials, to meet our needs. Immediately after giving his disciples the Lord's Prayer, Jesus gives an exposition on prayer. He tells about a person who needs three loaves of bread for a traveler who has stopped in at his house. To provide for the traveler, the person in need of bread goes to a friend who has bread at midnight and knocks on the door persistently until his friend gets up and gives him the three loaves. Jesus tells us this story so that we might understand that we also should be persistent in our prayers, even though we feel it is midnight, beyond the time prayers will be answered. Jesus is asking us to be persistent, faithful in prayer. He also goes on and tells us that God is a good Father. He does not give us a scorpion when we ask for an egg. He said, So I say to you: Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened. (Luke 11:9-10) So my friend, keep on knocking so that Jesus will not be amazed at your lack of faith. There are many doors in each of our lives that need to open. Christ Jesus stands at the door and knocks. By faith we must listen and obey: Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me. (Revelation 3:20)
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