Sermon – July 11, 2021 – Pentecost 7
Printable PDF: 7-11-2021 Pentecost 07 Sermon
David R. Clark ~ Mark 6:1-6 ~ July 11, 2021 ~ Pentecost 7
WE SEE JESUS FOR WHO HE REALLY IS
1Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 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? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 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. 4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
This might seem like a silly question to some of you, but I’ll ask it any way. Who is Jesus really? I ask this question because I’m pretty certain that people who talk about Jesus don’t always know the answer. They often see Jesus for who they want him to be rather than who he really is. Jesus didn’t come to make you a better employee by laying down certain principles for you to do a better job. Jesus is not an ATM machine, come to make you wealthy if you only believe in him enough. Jesus is not a politician or the head of any political party even though both like to claim him at times. So how do we know who Jesus really is?
- As we recognize his authority. (1-3)
The short answer is we don’t have to guess. 1Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 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? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 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 was famous (or infamous). He was the hometown boy made good. You might expect that people would be excited when he came back to Nazareth. These people knew him when he was a child. They knew Mary and Joseph. They knew his siblings. They may have had furniture Jesus helped build as he was growing up. They were sure they knew who Jesus was.
And then he taught in the synagogue. But when he spoke, he didn’t speak like a carpenter’s son. He spoke with authority, in a way that was much different than what they were used to. Their reaction was: “who does he think he is?”
As nice as it is to have the hometown boy come and preach his first sermon, having him be your pastor is completely different. Think how difficult that would be. He has to correct you or when he shows you the Scriptures, say something you struggle with, what then? That would be hard for most people.
But this wasn’t any hometown boy. It’s Jesus.
Do you see Jesus as he is? For some we might say he is someone we grew up with. For others he is a fond memory from Sunday School or Christmas Eve. Others may say they rely on him, but only the way you rely on a plumber when you have a leak. Is that who Jesus is?
He is your Good Shepherd. He is also your judge. He is your loving brother but he is also commander of all the holy angels. He is the one person in this life you cannot do without, one from whose lips comes the only truth in all of creation. Here is that truth. He, and he alone, is your greatest need because you have rebelled against and ignored your God. He, and he alone, is the only one that can save you from that rebellion, that sin and the death sentence that comes with it. He is your Savior who is worthy of all glory, honor, and praise. He is the authority over truth and over morality. That is who Jesus is.
- As we respond to him. (4-6)
So what happens when people don’t see him as the authority? 4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 He was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.
Being in his hometown wasn’t the best. It was the worst. Because they didn’t see Jesus for who he really was, it was impossible for them to do the right thing. If the weird kid down the block became your doctor but all you could see was the weird kid down the block, it wouldn’t matter what medical advice you got from him. You probably won’t listen to it even if it’s absolutely correct.
That was the people of Nazareth. That’s the way they looked at Jesus. It wasn’t because they were confused or had a difference of opinion. Their real problem was they didn’t see Jesus for who he really was. We also call that a lack of faith. Jesus was never going to be their Savior as far as they were concerned. They were so familiar with Jesus that they couldn’t see him for who he was. So Jesus went where people listened.
There is an old saying: familiarity breeds contempt. We are all susceptible to this temptation of Satan. We can be so familiar with Jesus that we can stop listening with our ears. When we stop listening with our ears, we stop listening with our hearts. When we stop listening with our hearts, we stop responding. That’s what happens when people refuse to love Jesus and live for Jesus. It isn’t a perception problem. It’s a heart problem.
Brothers and sisters, let us repent of our clogged up spiritual ears. Clogged up ears lead to clogged up hearts which leads to clogged up lives. Let us repent of being so familiar with Jesus that we stop listening to him and putting into action what he says. Let us once more find in Jesus the words of eternal life as people thirsting for truth in a desert of lies. Jesus is our greatest need. Jesus is our Savior. We live for him as he lives in us. Amen.
