The Scandal of Christ Among “Believers” | Mark 6:1–3
He went away from
there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2 And on the Sabbath he
began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished,
saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him?
How are such mighty works done by his hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and
brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here
with us?” And they took offense at him.
It’s difficult to imagine that the Christian sitting in the
pew next to us is, well, not a Christian.
It’s even more difficult to imagine that you might not be the believer
that you claim to be. Even so, we see a repeated
theme in the gospels—members of the God-believing covenant community coming to
Christ, having good initial reactions to Him, but ultimately rejecting Him in
their own lives. In this passage, as well
as the following verses, we not only see believer who prove themselves to be
unbelievers, but we see it among those closest to Christ.
Jesus travels about twenty miles southwest from Capernaum to
where He grew up—Nazareth. The local man
who was gaining national fame returned with His twelve disciples (v. 7). Unlike some depictions of Jesus, He did not perform miracles as a child; He grew
up normally with His brothers and sisters, learning a trade. Even so, now in the synagogue for the Sabbath
service, He teaches with a level of wisdom they had never seen before, performs
miracles, and they are amazed.
However, their amazement turned their hearts to scandal, not worship. The word for “offence” in v. 3 is the same
word used in 4:17 of the seed that took root in the stony ground—the plant
grew, but immediately “fell away” at the first sign of tribulation. Here, they know a man without intensive religious
training—He worked in their community not long ago with His hands. Perhaps they assume God doesn’t use the
mundane or ordinary to accomplish His purposes, though He does (1 Cor 1:18–31). Perhaps they’re a bit of jealous. Whatever the case, familiarity breeds
contempt and their hearts grow hard.
Having a good first
impression of Jesus, even awe, is no evidence of conversion. Someone may talk about the truth in His
teaching and the wonders that He works and still reject what He commands of
their own lives. The scandal of Jesus is
that He brings the truth too near, too
personal, so those merely masquerading
as believers will never have Him.
