On this 7th Sunday after Pentecost on July 23, 2006, the three assigned readings are Ezekiel 2:1-5 (Sent to a rebellious nation); 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 (When weak, then strong) and Mark 6:1-6 (Rejected at Nazareth). Mark 6:5 is the verse chosen to apply in a sermon. It reads, “Now He could do no mighty work there…”
Eating at a restaurant recently, my friend John handed me on a piece of paper this passage from Mark 6:5 and asked whether it meant that Jesus was unable to do a miracle because He was weak in His state of humiliation. My response was that while it appears that Jesus was unable to do a miracle, one needs to read the context to understand the meaning of that statement.
First, it cannot mean that Jesus was unable to do a miracle of healing because the very next phrase reads, “except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.” Moreover, it is not true that Jesus was unable to do no mighty work there because He was weak in His state of humiliation. The real reason for not doing a mighty work there was verse 6, “And He marveled because of their unbelief.”
Yet how do we understand this? Is God limited in His works because of the unbelief of human beings? That doesn’t make any sense for then God would not be omnipotent. So what are these “mighty works” that were not accomplished by Jesus. Think about it. What is the greatest work that Jesus did? It was not the temporal miracle of healing. Rather, it was and is dispensing the gift of eternal salvation by forgiving our sins and dressing us in the robe of righteousness.
However, apart from faith in Jesus Christ such a mighty work was unable to be accomplished. It was not that Jesus was weak; rather, it was that the faith of many of the citizens was nonexistent. That understanding has an important application for those of us who have been given faith by the Holy Spirit. It means that God will respond as He promises to those who trust in Jesus with all the gracious and mighty works.
Name:Tom Baker