Mark 6:1-13 - Two things that ruin any ministry.

Do you know any celebrities? I mean do you really know them? Most of us don’t. Most of us can only read about their weird lives in magazines (and if you do, you should find better things to read) or tell stories about bumping into them here or there.

I’ve silently shared meals with the former Vice President and knew a few minor political figures. I once got to hang out with the actor Corbin Bernsen for a few minutes at a soap box derby, but beyond that, I have no cool celebrity stories.

I’ve met some people who grew up with celebrities. My stepdad was childhood friends with Hall of Fame pitcher Tom Glavine. Adam Sandler went to the same high school as my stepmother. That’s about all I have.

What do you think it’s like when a celebrity comes home for Thanksgiving dinner? Do you think it’s awkward? I imagine it’s just really, really weird. Bob’s a plumber, his brother Joe is the night manager at Walmart, his sister Susie is a stay-at-home mom, and their other brother, Jimmy, is the starting quarterback for the 49ers. I imagine that makes for some strange dinner conversation.

In this story, Jesus, who at this point is a major celebrity and who has a major reputation around Israel and beyond, goes home. He goes to His home synagogue, and He preaches there.

It’s the same message that has caused multitudes to believe over and over in the gospel. It’s the same power that’s healed people and cast out demons all over Israel. There is nothing wrong with Jesus. He’s still as powerful and persuasive as ever. Yet, it just doesn’t work in His hometown.

Let’s read verses 1-6…

”1 And he went out from thence, and came into his own country; and his disciples follow him. 2 And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him. 4 But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house. 5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.”. (Mar 6:1-6 KJV)

Now let’s talk about what went on here. Jesus had preached at His home synagogue before. The first time they got mad and tried to throw Him off a cliff, so there was that.

Then a couple chapters ago, His family had come to stage a kind of intervention and try to make Him come home, thinking He was crazy, so there was that.

So why did Jesus go home to Nazareth at all?

We don’t know. We can only speculate. Maybe it was the success He had calming the sea and healing the demoniac of Gadara. Maybe it was just homesickness and longing to see familar faces. I don’t know. Jesus is God and Jesus has perfect knowledge, but He was also fully man and I know he cared for His family.

I love Mattoon. I really do. This is home now. This is my kids’ home, but there is still something special that happens every time I drive through Hudson, New Hampshire, when I see the Dunkin Donuts where I worked in high school and the Papa Gino’s where I went on my first date. There is something special about driving down Pheasant Street and up my parents’ driveway and standing in my mom’s kitchen. Some days I really want to go to my brother Tim’s house and play Horse with him in the basketball hoop in his driveway. You get that.

Maybe it was that kind of thing that brought Jesus home. At any rate, Jesus was careful this time. The first time Jesus went to Nazareth to preach, He preached alone, but this time He brought the disciples. Jesus waited until the sabbath. It seems like Jesus was trying not to ruffle any feathers.

And Jesus stood up and preached in the synagogue, and He preached the same message He always preached; just as powerful; just as persuasive. But this time, His reception was different.

The Bible says, ”and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.”

Let’s break that down:

First thing they asked was: Where is this coming from? Where did this guy get this wisdom and this power? They weren’t doubting Jesus’ wisdom or power; they were just baffled about its source. They knew Jesus.

The second question they asked is, ”Is not this the carpenter?” Apparently, Jesus worked as a carpenter in Nazareth. They didn’t know Him as Jesus the preacher; they knew Him as Jesus the guy down the street to go to when you needed your window repaired or your wagon wheel mended. Being a carpenter is an honorable profession. I come from a long line of carpenters. I’m proud of that, but this wasn’t a compliment. Carpenters aren’t philosophers. Carpenters aren’t usually world changers.

The next thing they asked is, ”(is not this) the son of Mary?”. Again, this wasn’t a compliment. This was probably an underhanded slur. You didn’t call people by their mother’s name in Israel. They would have normally said, “The son of Joseph.” By saying, “The son of Mary,” they were probably hinting at Jesus being an illegitimate son. They were probably throwing shade here.

Then they mentioned Jesus’ brothers—four of them—and His sisters, about whom we know nothing.

They were offended at Jesus. They couldn’t deny that Jesus had power. They couldn’t deny that Jesus had done great things, but they couldn’t handle it either.

And what was the result of this? Look at verse 5:

”And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.”

Jesus’ ministry was hindered big time. Demons, sickness, powerful forces of evil, leprosy, and even death are no match for Jesus, but His ministry was hindered in this town—in His own town—by the people he preached to.

Now I want to talk this morning for a few minutes about two things that hinder ministry—two things that hinder the work of God. They aren’t the only two things, but they are two things we see in this story.

I don’t know about you, but I want God to work in me and through me. I want to see God do something awesome in and through our church. I’ve got big dreams for our church.

• We had 110 attendees last week. I’d love to see a day when it’s regularly 300.
• We are baptizing three folks this week. Praise the Lord. Wouldn’t it be awesome to see that every week or even every month?
• By God’s grace, we had our first teen youth night this week and we had 8 teenagers show up. That’s awesome, but wouldn’t it be great to have twenty or thirty?
• We see this missionaries and church planters come through here looking for support. I’ve always wanted to pastor the kind of church where young people from that church are surrendering to the mission field.
• We’ve seen some folks get saved this year. Wouldn’t it wonderful to see that often—to have people regularly give testimony that the grace of the gospel changed their lives and that God used Bible Baptist to do it?

Now those might seem like huge goals, but they are really not. God does that kind of thing all over the place. There are hundreds of churches in towns like this where that kind of thing is happening, and I think even that is just scratching at the surface of what God can do.

What do you want God to do in your family? What do you want God to do in your life? What do you think He can do?

Listen: I want God to work here, but this passage us teaches us that there are two things—again, they aren’t the only two things—that hinder the work of God.

• It isn’t a lack of money or a down economy.
• It isn’t a lack of talent.
• It isn’t persecution.
• It isn’t a hostile government.
• It isn’t a crowd of enemies.

None of those things have ever slowed down the work of God, but these two things can.

What are they? They are envy and unbelief.

Let’s look at those two things:

1. Envy can slow down God’s work.

Notice that Jesus didn’t have trouble finding acceptance anywhere else besides His hometown. When He preached there, they couldn’t deny His power, and they couldn’t deny His wisdom. Here is what I think happened. I think the little green monster of envy crept out, and they just couldn’t stand the thought that someone they knew—someone they grew up with—was doing so much better than they were.

That’s envy. Envy is a destructive force in churches. It’s like a wrecking ball.

James 3:14-16 says this about envy in the church:

”But if ye have bitter envying and strife in your hearts, glory not, and lie not against the truth. This wisdom descendeth not from above, but is earthly, sensual, devilish. For where envying and strife is, there is confusion and every evil work.”

Envy will destroy your church. It will destroy your family, and it will hinder your own personal walk with God. Jealousy will hinder God’s work in your life.

When you stop counting your blessings and start counting other people’s and complaining, you are in trouble. When you start muttering to yourself, “Why does He get to do that? I’m just as good as Him,” or “Why do they get that? We work just as hard as them,” you are hindering God’s work in your own life. You are stopping your own blessings.

When you start pointing your fingers at your brothers and sisters in Christ and letting envy grow in your heart at their position, their success, their ministry, their whatever, you are inviting confusion and every evil work, and you are scuttling God’s work.

Refuse to be envious. It will hinder God’s work.

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But envy isn’t the main thing that hinders God’s work in this story. It’s definitely there, but it’s secondary.

Verse 6 in our text says:

”And he marvelled because of their unbelief.”

It’s interesting. There are only two things in all of the gospels that make Jesus marvel: Faith and unbelief. Jesus didn’t marvel at nature. Jesus didn’t marvel at the Roman government. Jesus didn’t marvel at the architecture of the temple. The only things He marveled at were people’s faith or people’s unbelief. There were times when Jesus saw the faith of a Gentile and He “marveled at their faith.” Here Jesus “marveled because of their unbelief.”

Think about this. These people knew Jesus. They knew God incarnate! I mean He was their second cousin; He was their go-to carpenter; His brothers were on their football team.

And they saw Jesus’ miracles. They saw the changing of water into wine. They saw the demons cast out and the sick healed.

They heard the very words of God out of His mouth. Yet, they still didn’t believe.

Why? They didn’t want to.

Oh, let this be a warning to you, folks. It’s possible to see God’s work firsthand—to see God totally change people and see God work miracles in people’s lives—and just write it off as something else and refuse to believe.

Unbelief.

Listen: Envy can hinder God’s work and...

2. Unbelief can slow down God’s work.

God works in our life through faith. It is through faith that we believe the gospel and are saved. It is through faith that we live the Christian life and grow in Christ. It is through faith that we share the gospel and see God work through us in others. It is through faith that we defeat the world, the flesh, and the devil.

• Romans 1:17 says, ”The just shall live by faith.”
• 2 Cor. 5:7 says, ”For we walk by faith, not by sight:”
• Heb. 11:6 says, ”But without faith it is impossible to please him:”
• 1 John 5:5 says, ”And this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.”

If we refuse to believe, God’s not going to be able to work in us and through us.