Greetings everyone and thanks for joining me for this edition of our Sunday School preview. This Sunday’s lesson is entitled “The Wisdom of Jesus” and is found in Mark 6:1-6. Today’s lesson is the account of a rather strange encounter upon Jesus returning to His hometown of Nazareth.
Earlier at the beginning of His ministry, He had been run out of town. Jesus had gone to the synagogue before and declared the Spirit was upon Him and had anointed Him to preach the gospel. Upon His announcements those assembled in the synagogue were offended that the son of Joseph the carpenter was proclaiming to be a prophet. They led him out of town and was going to throw Him off a cliff, but He managed to escape.
Now, some time has passed and He returns to Nazareth along with His disciples. He enters the synagogue again and begins teaching. This time those in attendance were amazed and astonished at what Jesus was saying and what He had done. They begin to question how was this possible. They thought it unlikely that someone raised among them could attain to such wisdom and statue. They looked at Jesus as a common carpenter and part of a common family.
So there shouldn’t have been an issue, but they made His identity an issue. It wasn’t that what He was doing and saying was a problem with them, it was who was doing and saying what was being said and done. Sometime people have a problem with the messenger. They can’t receive the message because of who the messenger is.
People already have a problem with authority and they have an increased problem when that authority is placed in someone they feel shouldn’t be in authority over them. Things like this happen all the time. Someone may have a good plan or idea, but some will reject it simply because of who proposed or submitted it.
While we must always be sensitive to the motives someone has for doing what they are doing, we must be careful to judge what they are doing and saying on the merits, truth and benefits of what is being said or done.
The people in Nazareth failed to do this and Jesus was only able to heal a few sick people there. All they were able to focus on was Jesus’s identity and the fact that someone they thought they knew could be so much wiser and greater than themselves.
This led Jesus to remark that a prophet is not honored among His own country or people and family. There are several family members named in this passage. It appears Jesus was part of an extended family that may have included offspring of Mary and/or Joseph. This is not the only place where Jesus’s extended family is mentioned in the gospel.
The main take away from this lesson is that those who think they know us, may not always accept or receive what we would like to do or say because of something they think about us. What they think about us overshadows what we may be doing or saying so that they can not receive or accept what we are offering just like those in Jesus’s hometown. We too must be careful that we focus so much on the messenger that we overlook and ignore the message.
Well, I hope you will be able to attend SS this coming Sunday and share your thoughts with your class. If you cannot attend your own Sunday School, you are invited to join us online at 9:00 am live and interactive at our website. If you have any comments or questions, be sure to place them in the comment section of this preview. So, until next time remember to fear God and keep His commandments.
Pastor Jordan
