Belief and Barriers – Mark 6:1-13

A text – Mark 6:1-13

6:1 He left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him.
6:2 On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. They said, “Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands!
6:3 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.
6:4 Then Jesus said to them, “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house.”
6:5 And he could do no deed of power there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them.
6:6 And he was amazed at their unbelief. Then he went about among the villages teaching.
6:7 He called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
6:8 He ordered them to take nothing for their journey except a staff; no bread, no bag, no money in their belts;
6:9 but to wear sandals and not to put on two tunics.
6:10 He said to them, “Wherever you enter a house, stay there until you leave the place.
6:11 If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.”
6:12 So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent.
6:13 They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them.

A reflection:

In this set of 13 verses, two stories play out. Jesus was doing his earthly ministry, traveling with his chosen students, teaching about God’s kingdom and healing the sick, speaking in the local synagogues. He came to his own hometown synagogue, but when his old neighbors heard him, they simply could not believe in him as a teacher. They knew him only as the son of Joseph and Mary. As he spoke, they took offense at his words instead of listening openly, trying the teaching on, and learning. They took offense – almost as if they chose to be offended. As a result, Jesus had no power there.

Where did Jesus’s power come from? It was God’s gift to him, for sure, and he still had that gift. But when he taught, his old neighbors would not listen, would not consider his words. And when he tried to heal, except in a few cases, the people just did not believe he could do miracles, so he couldn’t. In most of scripture’s miracle stories, Jesus tells the healed person, “Your faith has made you well.” If people did not believe he could heal them, then they had no faith in his power, and there was no healing. Healing was a two-way action. It required belief on one side and Jesus’s power on the other. It must have been difficult to know he was not able to minister in his own town. Jesus’s group went to other towns, and he was once again able to teach and to heal.

Then the second story unfolded. He sent his students out, two by two, giving them power to heal and to cast out demons. He gave them strict instructions to go without any money, extra clothing, or food, completely dependent on the host family they found, and then to stay there and preach and heal. The relationships they formed where they stayed were crucial for the belief people would need. Jesus also gave them instructions for what to do in towns where they were NOT welcomed: shake the dust from their feet and move on. The students were successful in this teaching and healing assignment, much to their amazement. What did they learn? What can we learn? Some people and places are their own barrier to faith, to experiencing God’s kingdom, but where there is belief and trust, miracles happen and folks see the kingdom of God coming near. We all know people who put up barriers to believing and seeing. Who are the open ones who are looking for the kingdom of God?

A prayer:

Lord God, Thank you for loving us. Thank you for the stories of Jesus, even the ones when he could not do his work.  Thank you for all the people who believed in him during his ministry, especially for his students who followed him in his work even though they were quite ordinary people. Hep us to know that Jesus calls us to this work too.  Amen.