Walking With Christ

Mark 6:5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.(ESV)

I recently heard a sermon from New York City pastor Jon Tyson (from Australia). In this sermon he gave a comparison between the Jewish cities of Nazareth and Bethany. He said that one (Nazareth) had a culture of rejection, while the other had a culture of faith. The rejection of Jesus by Nazareth enabled gentiles to receive salvation. Bethany saw a great many miracles including the resurrection of Lazarus and the ascension of Jesus into heaven. What enabled Bethany to witness miracles while Nazareth could not? What was it about Nazareth and the life of Jesus there that caused them to reject Jesus as messiah?

Bethany is located not too far from Jerusalem. It’s on the eastern slope of the Mount of Olives. It’s close enough that word of miracles in or around that area would quickly spread. Bethany was also the home of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. The first recorded miracle that Jesus performed at Bethany was the resurrection of Lazarus.

Nazareth was a small town in the northern part of Israel. The town was a bit isolated from the rest of the world. This isolation could be a part of the reason the town was spiritually skeptical and resistant to change. Jesus was not born here, but His family did live here for a good portion of His youth and early adult life. Jesus grew up here and learned His trade here. Many of the people in the town probably knew of or had personal experience with His craftsmanship. Some of them watched Jesus grow up. Others may have played with Jesus as children. When Jesus went back to His home town to teach and spread the word, He was met with skepticism and doubt. He could not perform major miracles there because of their lack of faith. He healed a few people before He saw the hardness of their hearts. I’m sure He knew what the outcome was going to be before He set out for home, but He had to do the work. Jesus was like the seed cast onto the well-worn pathway. The soil (people of the town) would not let His words take root.

Here’s the interesting thing about the two towns. Jesus could not perform major miracles at Nazareth because of the lack of faith, but Bethany did not have that much faith in Him either. In John 11:37 we read that some of the town knew about other miracles He had performed but still had doubts.

John 11:37 But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have kept this man from dying?”(ESV)

Martha had faith but it was limited by tradition. Mary’s response was similar to what Martha said, but her posture was completely different. Her falling at His feet showed trust and surrender. Her relationship with Jesus focused on intimacy rather than tradition. There was still a tiny seed of faith in Bethany. That seed was forced to bloom because of the resurrection of Lazarus. There were a lot of people who had mourned over Lazarus. There were even more who consoled the two sisters.

Townsperson: “Lazarus? I thought you died?”
Lazarus: “Oh, I got better.”

That kind of conversation is going to spark some questions. The answers to those questions will feed the faith of the people who hear them.

Nazareth didn’t have a Lazarus. Or Mary and Martha.

Mark 6:6 And he marveled because of their unbelief.(ESV)

I’ve heard it said that the failing of Nazareth was familiarity. They were too familiar with Jesus. Their hearts were already hardened so they were unable to see the miracles. I think the problem goes deeper than that. The reputation of Nazareth had become a part of their identity. The fact that they knew or had known Jesus as a young person meant that He was just one of them as far as they were concerned. They were bad. He had to be bad. He was claiming to be good. Part of it may have been pride and preconceived notions because of what they thought they knew about Jesus. Part of it may have been that what Jesus was preaching threatened their identity which made it even harder for them to change. The idea that this challenge came from one of their own made the idea laughable to them. Perhaps their hardened hearts came from envy towards His authority and power since they viewed Him as one of them meaning that they were His equals. The fact that Jesus claimed divinity and they believed themselves His equal created such a strong cognitive dissonance that they couldn’t help but to take offense. Perhaps it was the fact that Nazareth was so far removed from the spiritual seat of the nation of Israel that they had simply lost their spiritual hunger and had totally accepted a life of doing without.

Or perhaps they were like so many believers today who simply do not want to believe without a personal signed invitation from God on High. They sought signs and wonders because their faith was dead. They wanted to see spectacle and shows of power. They refused to believe that Jesus had been given true authority until He performed for them.

It’s a dangerous path to test ones faith according to signs and wonders. If the signs and wonders stop then the faith shrivels. Faith that is only fed by signs and wonders will soon find itself cut off from the vine.