Misunderstood, disrespected, unloved, written off (Mark 6:1-13)

We want to be seen – to be really understood. We want to be valued, without conditions, without hesitations. No “ifs” and no “buts”. We don’t want to be left with the idea that people are thinking “I like you but you’re kind of selfish and annoying” or “I would respect you more if you were closer to my idea of godly”. We want to be accepted by the people around us as we are. Sure, we all have rough edges and sinful areas that we need to be working on, but generally we would like people to accept us, love us and walk with us.

At the root of this is a difference in how people see you and how you understand yourself. People seem to understand us based on their understanding of the facts, or their judgement of the truth, or how they would have react in life, or working to a set of expectations that are theirs but not yours.

See the pattern? People are self-centric. They primarily see the world from their own point of view. This is natural and normal. The problem occurs when this is all they can see. It means that you can be misunderstood and then treated without value, without respect, without love and eventually, just written off.

This is a horrible feeling. What averts this is empathy, kindness and humility. We can all do better imagining where the other person is at and treating them with grace instead of judgement.

Now imagine the person who is lacking understanding, respect and love is Jesus – actual God. In Mark 6:1 Jesus and his disciples head to Jesus’ hometown. Remember, they have just come from healing massive amounts of people and even raising them from the dead. He starts to teach in the synagogue and “many who heard him were amazed” (6:2). The Greek word here for “amazed” is exeplēssonto is utter astonishment, even with a little hint of panic. They ask a rapid fire of six questions – the first three and the second three are starkly different:

• First set of three:
  • Where did this man get these things?
  • What’s this wisdom that has been given him?
  • What are these remarkable miracles he is performing?
• Second set of three:
  • Isn’t this the carpenter?
  • Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? 
  • Aren’t his sisters here with us?

The questions end with “And they took offense at him.” So amazement has turned to offense. What has happened here? “Offense” is eskandalizonto and relates to seeing in someone else something you disapprove of and which stops you from accepting them or what they say – its more than just being offended. These people are self-centric. That initial sense of fear-underpinned amazement turns to attack. Isn’t he a nobody?

Jesus notes that “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town” (verse 4). It’s interesting Jesus identifies himself as a prophet – in this gospel he usually self identifies with more Messianic terms. But here, he is saying they are rejecting him and the message he bears. We also know from Old Testament prophets what happens when God’s message is rejected. Judgement comes. This is a strong connection for Jesus to make.

They misunderstand and write off the man but concurrently that means a rejection of the message. The man and the message are the same thing. Rejecting either is a rejection of both – and will lead to judgement.

Is Jesus angry with them? Strangely not. He wonders as their unbelief. In some translations, this is rendered as “amazed” as well but the original Greek is a different word and gives a sense of confusion – a sad scratch your head moment, rather than deep astonishment.

And does Jesus give up? Of course not. He goes on teaching from village to village. And he sends out his disciples in twos (two witnesses are required to substantiate a testimony). And he instructs them: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra shirt. Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town. And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, leave that place and shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.” (vv8-11)

His instructions reveal two things: First, he instructs them to rely on God. They are to take nothing. Second, it instructs them to do what Jesus evidently did in response to the people in his hometown – he left that place. It doesn’t describe his feelings about it. If it was me I can imagine my feelings being rather petty “Screw you guys then….grumble grumble grumble….”

But what we do see here is the humanity of Jesus. He experienced something that we know well. He was written off by people who made assumptions about him. He was disrespected by them. They looked down on him. He was de-valued not because of anything he had done but on the basis of what people assumed about him, his message and his motivations.

Oh yes, we know this. What this means is that Jesus has experienced what we face. It means he understands our struggle, understands our fear, understands our pain.

He knows us. Not only can we learn from him and follow him, our Lord and saviour and treasure, we can have faith in him and his ability to know us down to our very deepest thoughts.

 

This blog is a stand alone piece but it is also part of a weekly online bible study. If you have missed any or would like to reference back to the beginning, the links are below:

1. Week 1: “Who do you say I am”. Introduction to the gospel
2. Week 2: The Beginning. Mark 1:1-20
3. Week 3: The Who, the what and the why. Mark 1:21-45
4. Week 4: Jesus didn’t come for the super-religious. He came for you. Mark 2:1-17
5. Week 5: There is nothing you can do to start – or stop – God’s plan. Mark 2:18-28
6. Week 6: Jesus wasn’t the man they wanted him to be. Mark 3:1-12
7. Week 7: Jesus made us a new family – does church really feel like that? Mark 3:13-35
8. Week 8: Is fruitfulness something we do or something we are to be? (Mark 4:1-20)
9. Week 9: What will the kingdom of God be like? (Mark 4:21-34)
10. Week 10: Jesus goes out of his way to specifically find you (Mark 4:35-5:20)
11. Week 11: The only person who could save her was him (Mark 5:21-43)