Rejection at Nazareth

July 8, 2018

Gospel Lesson: Mark 6:1–13 ~”Gospel” = “Good News”
[Jesus] went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 2And 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? 3Is 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. 4And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6And he marveled because of their unbelief.
And he went about among the villages teaching.
7And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.
P: This is the Gospel of our Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.

St. Mark is a good story-teller. The Holy Spirit gave him the gift to make the Story of Jesus come alive for us. We today are spoken to. We today receive guidance from the Holy Spirit.

I want to separate today’s Gospel reading into two parts, let’s call them “A” and “B.” A is about Jesus, B is about the Disciples. A is in Nazareth, the hometown of Jesus, B is in the various villages of Galilee. Both Jesus and the disciples have authority over the unclean spirits to heal them. Jesus was rejected, and he warned the disciples that they would be too. But after Nazareth, Jesus went on to teach in other villages. The disciples too moved on if not accepted in a town.

What are we to learn from this Bible passage?

1. That as modern day disciples, we too are sent out to spread the Gospel message. This is the work of the church. We may do it in our hometown or to family or maybe we are sent elsewhere, to another town or even another country. Unlike the disciples, today maybe we should take money and supplies. Maybe we should pack our suitcases. I think our needs will be provided, perhaps by the church that sends us. As the disciples were provided by the people they met, the church today also provides for the missionaries and pastors and teachers that carry the message of Salvation.

2. The disciples were sent out in teams of two. I think you can understand how important it is to work and pray and plan together for the mission.

3. Don’t give up. Evangelism is not hard, because it is the Holy Spirit who does the work of creating faith. But it can be slow and depressing sometimes when we do not see results, or when we are rejected or ignored. Jesus experienced that in his hometown. He told his disciples that they too would experience it. Don’t give up, just move to the next town or the next person or the next evangelism event. Of course sometimes it takes ten years for a person to finally become a Christian. So we have to use common sense and prayer, with a lot of patience.



When I read this passage to prepare for this sermon, I was wondering why people did not accept Jesus or the disciples. The folks of Nazareth knew this hometown boy and so did not respect him. But I think it was more than that. I think they did not like his message. Maybe the answer is in verse 12, “So they [the disciples] went out and proclaimed that people should repent.” Rather than repentance, if they had proclaimed good times and prosperity and health and wealth, people would surely have liked their message. If Jesus was going to bring business and financial gain and fame to Nazareth, they would have given him an ear. But he probably spoke to them his usual message,

Mark 1:15 “The time has come. The kingdom of God is near. Repent and believe the good news!” Repent? They knew the family of Jesus and they thought of Jesus as a common sinner as themselves. “Don’t tell us what to do!”

Surely the disciples met with the same response to their message. “Repent? Don’t tell us what to do.”

And that is how people respond to the message of the church today, too. “Repent? Don’t tell us what to do.” But then again, that is how I personally react whenever someone wants to correct me. “Repent? Don’t tell me what to do.” When the Holy Spirit confronts me with my sin, my response is often, “Repent? Yes, I am sorry, but please let me do what I want to do.” It is hard to repent, it is hard to change.

When we look at our society today, our country, our community, we see evil and greed and hate and murder etc. etc., but no one wants to repent or change. And so the church’s message is rejected. Jesus is rejected. If he came again today, Jesus would be crucified again. But as for the crucifixion of Jesus, one time was enough to take upon himself the sin of the world. His resurrection was enough to bring forgiveness and new life to the world. His death and resurrection are proof that he did not reject the world that rejected him. Rather he loves this world. He loves us and comes to us in our hometown, or wherever that may be now.

And so, we carry on the work of the disciples.

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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