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This next
part of Mark’s book gives us various responses
that groups of people have to Yeshua. It is faith
versus unbelief that makes the difference between
receiving something good, and something bad.
6:1-6
Faith Rejected Limits the Blessings God Gives
We go
from the area along the shore of the Kinneret,
farther west in the Galilee, to Nazareth. 6:1
Yeshua went out from there and came into His
hometown; and His disciples followed Him. Yeshua
was a real human being, and He had a hometown
- Nazareth. And He had a people - the Jews. And
He had a country - Israel. He is the Savior of
the world, and belongs to the world, but that
does not negate that He has a special relationship
to His country, His people, His hometown, His
family.
Ah, His
hometown. The hometown usually loves the young
man who makes good. It makes them look good. And,
in spite of the opposition of many of the religious
and political leaders, Yeshua was making good
and was extremely popular with much of the nation.
He should get an outstanding reception from His
friends and relatives who grew up with Him, right?
Let’s find out.
When
the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue.
As was His custom, Yeshua went to the local assembly
on the Sabbath, to pray to His Father, and read
the Word of God, and hear it taught, and teach
it to others, and meet with and encourage His
fellow Believers. Keeping the Sabbath and going
to Synagogue were part of Yeshua’s regularly weekly
routine - as it should be for all who want to
please the Lord. There was a large crowd at the
synagogue in Nazareth that Sabbath. And the
many listeners were astonished, saying, "Where
did this man get these things, and what is this
wisdom given to Him, and such miracles as these
performed by His hands? Is not this the carpenter,
the son of Mary, and brother of James (Ya’akov)
and Yosi and Judah and Simon? Are not His sisters
here with us?" And they took offense at Him.
Yeshua
had been making a tremendous impact on all of
Israel. His name, His teaching, His insight, His
miracles were being talked about everywhere. But,
instead of rejoicing with Him, and being proud
of Him, most of the people of Nazareth resented
Him. “He has wisdom, but we are not impressed
by it. We’ve heard that He is doing miracles,
but we are not impressed by them. We know Him,
and we know He is just a carpenter. He is just
the son of Mary, whom we know. We know His four
brothers and His sisters. We resent the fame of
this One who shouldn’t be elevated above us.”
People generally don’t like those who rise too
much higher than they are. They don’t like their
peers becoming a great success. It arouses envy
and resentment. If you know someone who has succeeded,
rejoice them, won’t you?
The King
understood their resentment, and made the following
observation: Yeshua said to them, "A prophet
is not without honor except in his hometown and
among his own relatives and in his own household."
A prophet should receive honor, shouldn’t he?
They are very special men, specially chosen by
God to speak for the Creator to us. What a great
thing, worthy of our respect! And, there have
been few prophets in the history of the world.
And, Yeshua is the greatest of the prophets, and
deserves the greatest honor. Tens of thousands
of people throughout Israel believed the young
Rabbi from Nazareth was a prophet, and worthy
of honor, but not the people from Nazareth!
Why? Because,
familiarity breeds contempt. The better people
know us, and they closer we are to them, often
the less regard they hold us in. They see us being
very human, and engaging in our foibles, and that
causes us to be lessened in their estimation.
Expect a lack of respect from those who know you
the best, but carry on your work for the Lord
anyway. Don’t be discouraged if those who grew
up with you, and know you well, don’t honor you
in your service for the Lord, and don’t appreciate
the man or woman of God He has made you to be.
Press on and don’t be discouraged.
Since
a prophet is without honor among family and friends,
and familiarity breeds contempt, those who grew
up around Yeshua - raised in a Christian family,
or have come to faith in Him and have been around
Him for some time, need to be careful to continue
to give Him the honor that He deserves. Don’t
dishonor Him because He has been always been part
of your environment. If you start feeling that
He is no longer Someone very special, and worthy
of your respect, your time, attention and devotion,
then you need to reconsider your thinking about
Him. May you always be impressed with who He is,
and the great things He has accomplished and continues
to do for us - creation, salvation, revelation,
sustaining us, rewarding us, and eternally interceding
for us.
Let me
make an observation about Yeshua being a carpenter.
Yeshua worked as a carpenter. It was a blue collar
kind of job. He worked with His hands. It is good,
honest, hard work. By working as an ordinary worker,
Yeshua blessed and made all good, honest hard
work holy. You don’t have to be in full-time ministry
to be doing something holy for the Lord. All good,
hard, honest work is holy, productive and useful.
We must not lead an inactive, unproductive life.
We should work, and work hard.
Let me
make a few observations about Yeshua’s family
life at this point in time. Notice that Yeshua’s
stepfather Joseph is not mentioned, which probably
means that he was dead at this point. Joseph isn’t
mentioned, but Mary is. And, not only Mary, but
Yeshua’s brothers and sisters are specifically
mentioned. There is no good linguistic reason
to believe that these are anything other than
Yeshua’s brothers and sisters through Joseph and
Mary.* That means that Joseph and Mary had other
children after Yeshua, which means that they had
a normal marital life together - contrary to what
some erroneously teach about the perpetual virginity
of Mary, and the unnatural state that would have
created for this married couple.
The attitude
of most of the people in Nazareth toward Yeshua
was one of unbelief - lack of faith in Him. And,
there are consequences for that unbelief. It limits
the amount of good things that God can do for
us. And He could do no miracle there except
that He laid His hands on a few sick people and
healed them. John Cassian writes: “the bounty
of God is actually curtailed temporarily according
to the receptivity of our faith. So it is said
to one: ‘According to your faith may it be to
you,’ and to another: ‘Go your way, and as you
have believed so let it be done to you,’ and to
another: ‘Your faith is great. Let it be to you
according as you will,’ and again to another,
‘Your faith has made you whole’” (Ancient Christian
Commentary On Mark, page 80).
At Capernaum,
the whole city came to Yeshua, and He healed many
who were ill. But that was not the case in Nazareth.
What made the difference between the many miraculous
healings at Capernaum, and the very few at Nazareth?
Faith. Belief in Yeshua, that God sent Him to
help and heal us.
And
He wondered at their unbelief. Yeshua understood
humanity, and the dark core within man, and yet
the unbelief - the lack of trust in God and in
Himself, amazed Him. It is irrational. It is unproductive.
It is foolish. It is destructive. It keeps people
far from God, who is the Source of goodness, life
and blessing. It prevents the blessings of God
from flowing as fully to us as they could. It
prevents people from attaining eternal life. It
leads to unhappiness and death.
Do you
have faith in Yeshua, that He is the One that
God sent into this world? Do you have confidence
that He will save you from sin, Satan and death,
and Hell? Do you believe that He will raise you
from the dead, and enable you to live forever
in the New Jerusalem? Or, do you not believe these
things? May it be done to you according to your
faith.
But the
King didn’t give up when He encountered a lack
of faith. He went to other places, to declare
the truth, and call to people to repentance, and
help and heal. And He was going around the
villages teaching. He didn’t give up, and
neither should we. If we encounter a chilly reception
from someone, we don’t quit. We move on to the
next person who God may be preparing to receive
our witness.
* Technical
note from Rabbi Glenn: The specific Greek words
in 6:3 are (respectively) adelfoi and adelfai
(brothers ... sisters). If "cousins" or some such
construction were intended, there would not be
a need to make the gender distinction. Furthermore,
given that the crowd speaks of knowing Yeshua's
occupation and the names of His mother and siblings,
it would be very artificial to suggest that anything
other than his earthly family members are being
spoken of. Those who argue that He is speaking
of "spiritual" brothers and sisters would be hard-pressed
to explain why also listed as present at the synagogue
were hoi matheitai autou (His disciples). Wouldn't
the disciples have been the ones described as
"brothers"? Yet his "brothers" and "sisters" are
listed as distinct from His disciples. There is
a Greek word for "cousin" and it is found in Col.
4:10 Aristarchus, my fellow prisoner, sends you
his greetings; and also Barnabas' cousin (anepsios)
Mark..., but that is not the word used in Mark
6:3. There is a Greek word for "relative" and
it is (soongenis), but that is not the word used
in Mark 6:3. Grammatically, the plain reading
is the right reading Mark 6 is talking about Yeshua's
mother, brothers and sisters, in the context of
his hometown (where everyone knew Him and His
family).
In this
next section, 6:7-13, the Twelve Apostles
are sent out. The lesson is that faith is not
satisfied to remain within. Faith goes out to
seek the lost. Faith brings the message of salvation
to others. Faith does what it can to help free
those who are captives of the Kingdom
of Darkness. Faith is used to bring
the blessings of God to others.
And
He summoned the twelve. They had been with
the Lord for a while. They were committed disciples.
They had been observing Him, and learning from
Him. They saw His relationship to God, and the
way He prayed. They heard the things that He taught,
and saw the way He dealt with individuals and
with the crowds. They had been serving Him, and
learning from Him. Now it was time for them to
be sent on their first mission. And what was their
mission? It was the same as the Messiah’s mission.
They were to do the same things they saw Him do,
and proclaim the same message they heard Him declare.
And
began to send them out in pairs (He sent them
out in pairs for safety and for mutual encouragement),
and gave them authority over the unclean spirits.
He had authority over demons, and He was able
to delegate His authority to those who were trustworthy.
And He instructed them that they should take nothing
for their journey, except a mere staff - no bread,
no bag, no money in their belt - but to wear sandals;
and He added, "Do not put on two tunics." They
were to travel extremely light. They were to rely
on God to provide as they served on this mission.
The ones that God calls, He provides for. The
way that God would provide for the ones He called
was through the righteous people who shared a
common Faith.
All are
not commanded not to have two sets of clothes,
nor food in their possession, or money in their
belt. Are all commanded to sell all that they
possess and give it to the poor? Of course not.
This is for those called to this apostolic ministry.
To whom much is given, much is required. They
were given much spiritual authority, but they
were to give up all aspiration to worldly wealth.
This is the opposite of what the corrupt and vile
prosperity teachers in our day teach.
Even though
this is for these apostles, there is a general
principle that apply to all of us. Faith isn’t
materialistic. Faith isn’t greedy. Every faithful
servant must be willing to travel light in this
world if called upon. He must not be greedy. He
must place the good of the mission above his own
wealth or interests.
And
He said to them, "Wherever you enter a house,
stay there until you leave town. Don’t go
from house to house looking for nicer accommodations.
Any place that does not receive you or listen
to you, as you go out from there, shake the dust
off the soles of your feet for a testimony against
them." Why shake off the dust? It did several
things. First, it was a public and visible demonstration
that they had been rejected. Second, it showed
that those apostle-rejecters, who were sent by
Yeshua, who was sent by God the Father, were in
big trouble. Judgment was coming. To reject the
messenger is to reject the Message. This is a
very serious thing. Third, it showed that the
apostles had fulfilled their duty, and they would
not be judged. The removal of dust from their
feet showed that they were free of any judgment
that would come. They would not be caught up in
the judgment that was coming. We are not responsible
to make people believe. We are not responsible
for making them respond the right way. We are
responsible to declare the Good News. We are responsible
to go, and to seek, and try and help. We are responsible
to make the issues clear, and clearly warn of
judgment that will surely come if the Message
is rejected.
They
went out and preached that men should repent
- the same thing that Yeshua had been telling
the people - that they should turn to God, and
turn away from their sins, and from their own
selfish ways, and turn to God and His ways. Anything
that interfered with coming closer to God was
to be rejected. And they were casting out many
demons as Yeshua had. And were anointing
with oil many sick people and healing them.
There is no indication that Yeshua had been healing
people using oil - but the apostles did. Anointing
with oil is a symbolic prayer that God would pour
out the Holy Spirit, who brings the presence of
God, and goodness and blessing and healing with
Him. We may not be empowered to cast out many
demons, or miraculously heal the sick, but we
should do what has been given to us to do, according
to the gifts and abilities given to us, to preach
the same message, and to help and heal and bless.
Faith
Rejected - Herod 6:14-29
And
King Herod heard of it, for His name had become
well known. King Herod was one of the main
political leaders. He was the son of Herod the
Great. When his father died, he became the ruler
of Galilee and Perea. He was a rich and powerful
man. Again, Mark tells us that Yeshua, and now
His disciples, were making an impact on all of
Israel, from the multitudes to the religious and
political leaders. He was giving powerful messages,
and doing many great miracles, and there had not
been a prophet who did miracles in Israel for
hundreds of years. Yeshua was causing quite a
stir, and the people had various opinions about
Him. And people were saying, "John the Baptist
has risen from the dead, and that is why these
miraculous powers are at work in Him." This
is not a good opinion. John too was the first
prophet in Israel in hundreds of years, but he
did no miracles, and he has not risen from the
dead, and his spirit was not transferred to Yeshua.
But others were saying, "He is Elijah." Elijah
was a mighty prophet, and did miracles, and never
died, and will return to Israel one day, to prepare
the people for Messiah’s Return - but Yeshua was
not Elijah. He was far greater than Elijah. And
others were saying, "He is a prophet, like one
of the prophets of old." This is the best
opinion. Yeshua was a prophet, like one of the
true prophets of old. He was speaking for God.
God was speaking through Him. This explanation
is the best, but not true enough, since Yeshua
was far more than a prophet.
Word about
the miracle-working Galalean also reached the
attention of the most powerful man in Galilee,
who also had an opinion about Yeshua, an opinion
formed by a guilty conscience, and Mark tells
us why: But when Herod heard of it, he kept
saying, "John, whom I beheaded, has risen!" For
Herod himself had sent and had John arrested and
bound in prison on account of Herodias, the wife
of his brother Philip, because he had married
her. For John had been saying to Herod, "It is
not lawful for you to have your brother's wife."
John had
rebuked the king for marrying his brother's wife.
You know, it isn't easy being a true prophet.
He has a duty to speak the God’s truth to those
around him. A true prophet stands up to sin. A
true prophet calls the powerful to account. I
wonder how many people who call themselves prophets
today have the kind of backbone that John displayed?
It seems to me that most of today’s so-called
prophets mostly have backbone to manipulate and
defraud God’s flock.
Although
I am not a prophet, let me speak as I think a
prophet would if here were alive this week. Here
are some newspaper headlines. “History’s Largest
Funeral.” “Millions Bid Farewell To Pope.” “World
Joins Catholics To Remember Pope.” One article
stated: “The funeral of the Pope on Friday will
draw the biggest gathering of the powerful and
the humble in modern times. Four kings, five queens,
at least 70 presidents and prime ministers and
more than 14 leaders of other religions will attend
alongside what the Vatican expects will be two
million faithful” (Reuters, April 7, 2005). So,
we have the millions of people from around the
world, and the rich and the powerful from around
the world, and religious leaders, all assembling
in “the eternal city,” the city of Seven Hills,
to honor the death of the head of the Roman Catholic
Church. In the past week, 35,000 articles have
been written in praise of him. Am I the only one
who hears the Lord’s words in my mind, “Woe to
you when all men speak well of you, for their
fathers used to treat the false prophets in the
same way.”
Billy
Graham, regarded by many as one of the leaders
of the Evangelical Protestant Church, in February
praised the pope as “the greatest Christian witness
of the second half of the 20th century.” Last
week Billy Graham issued a statement praising
the Pope’s “strong Catholic faith” and noted that
the Pope “saw himself as an evangelist” who traveled
more than any other Pope “to rally the faithful
and call non-believers to commitment.” Commitment?
Commitment to what? To the purity of Scripture?
To the Faith once and for all delivered to the
Saints? Commitment to who? Did you know that this
man committed his life and ministry - not to God
the Father or the Lord Jesus, but to one who is
dead - to Mary? That there was a letter “M” on
his casket in honor of Mary? That the cult of
Mary grew tremendously under this man’s influence?
Am I the
only one who sees the connection between the honor
given to this man by the kings of the Earth, and
the multitudes of humanity, and the honor enjoyed
by the Great Whore, the Supreme Prostitute, the
false religious system, of Revelation 17-18?
She (this
false religious system) is powerful and prominent
in the Last Days.
She (this
false religious system) sits on many waters, the
waters being peoples and multitudes and nations
and languages.
She (this
false religious system) has great world-wide political
influence.
She (this
false religious system) is centered in a city
that has controlled the kings and nations of the
Earth.
She (this
false religious system) is outwardly rich.
She (this
false religious system) is full of abominations
and immorality, religiously corrupt, unfaithful,
displeasing to God.
She (this
false religious system) opposes and persecutes
the true Christians - which still happens in countries
where the Roman Catholic Church is powerful.
Only one
religious system fits this description - the Roman
Catholic Church.
So, let
me summarize: It is a religious system that is
connected to a great city that exercises political
control over kings and nations. It is full of
abominations and immorality, outwardly rich, politically
powerful, having exercised great political control
over many governments. It is a persecutor of the
real saints, and religiously corrupt. It will
be extremely powerful in the Last Days. Only one
religious system fits this description - the Roman
Catholic.
The Gospel
it offers is “a different Gospel” (see Galatians
1:6-9). The pure Gospel Message has been perverted,
and consequently will not save its adherents.
It has added to the Word of God by acknowledging
the Apocrypha as part of the Holy Scriptures,
and therefore is under a curse. It has added to
the Word of God by elevating Catholic traditions,
laws and decrees to the same status as the Word
of God, and is therefore under a curse! It has
arrogantly declared the bishop of Rome to be the
infallible leader of the entire Church. It invented
the doctrine of a non-existent place called Purgatory.
It has come up with traditions and practices that
are against the Holy Scriptures, such as the sacrifice
of the mass, transubstantiation, prayers and masses
for the dead, selling indulgences to reduce time
in Purgatory, the worship of Mary, prayers to
the saints, adoring a piece of bread, the use
of icons in worship, holy water, rosary beads
and scapulars, a Roman Catholic priesthood, the
demand of celibacy from these priests and nuns,
and confession to priests to obtain the forgiveness
of sins. This is an abomination!
Don’t
tell me that he was a man of peace, or morality,
a man who brought the world together in unity.
Those things do not replace fidelity to God, and
adherence to the Faith that was once and for all
delivered to the saints, and the proclamation
of the Pure Gospel, that salvation is by faith
alone, and by grace alone. This man failed in
his most important task - being faithful to God
and teaching the pure truth of God’s Holy Scriptures.
This man was a false teacher, a false shepherd,
a perverter of the Gospel. Shame on Billy Graham!
I call him corrupt.
Don’t
tell me not to criticize the pope or the Catholic
Church. Don’t tell me that I am motivated by hate.
That is a lie. I am motivated by love and by the
truth, and concern for a billion Catholics who
are not born-again, and who are headed to Hell.
It is the false teachers and false prophets who
only say what is nice, who tickle your ears. The
true prophets, like John, tell you the truth -
the good and the bad.
Herodias
had a grudge against him and wanted to put him
to death and could not do so; for Herod was afraid
of John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy
man, and he kept him safe. And when he heard him,
he was very perplexed; but he used to enjoy listening
to him (he had many opportunities to come
to faith). A strategic day came when Herod
on his birthday gave a banquet for his lords and
military commanders and the leading men of Galilee;
and when the daughter of Herodias herself came
in and danced, she pleased Herod and his dinner
guests; and the king said to the girl, "Ask me
for whatever you want and I will give it to you."
And he swore to her, "Whatever you ask of me,
I will give it to you; up to half of my kingdom."
And she went out and said to her mother, "What
shall I ask for?" And she said, "The head of John
the Baptist." Immediately she came in a hurry
to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to
give me at once the head of John the Baptist on
a platter." And although the king was very sorry,
yet because of his oaths and because of his dinner
guests, he was unwilling to refuse her. Immediately
the king sent an executioner and commanded him
to bring back his head. And he went and had him
beheaded in the prison, and brought his head on
a platter, and gave it to the girl; and the girl
gave it to her mother.
Herod
knew that John was a righteous and holy man, and
he should have continued to keep him safe. That
was his duty. But he did not do his duty. He made
a foolish vow, and was manipulated by a vengeful
wife, and because of his pride, he was unwilling
to back down and lose face in front of his powerful
guests. And so he murdered one of the very greatest
men who ever lived. What an amazing lack of faith!
A human life is more important than keeping a
foolish vow. Not murdering takes precedent over
keeping a foolish vow. Being embarrassed is better
than committing murder. After John’s murder, Herod’s
conscience reminded him of these things.
Ray Stedman
observes that “It's remarkable that Herod thought
that Yeshua was John the Baptist raised from the
dead, because the Scriptures tell us specifically
that John did no miracles! Yet when Herod hears
of all these miracles he says, "This is John,
back from the dead." Herod, immediately starts
thinking of the way he had mistreated and killed
John. This testifies to the power of a guilty
conscience at work in this man. When you have
a guilty conscience, every little thing reminds
you of what you did wrong. Maybe you have a guilty
conscience. Maybe you have done some things that
are bothering you. Little things happen that remind
you of something that you haven't dealt properly
with. Your conscience is working. God is dealing
with you. Listen to your conscience. Deal with
the problems. Don't put them off. Don't ignore
them and hope that they will go away. Turn to
God, ask for forgiveness, His grace to make restitution,
and be at peace. It's a wonderful thing to have
a clean, quiet conscience.”
Notice
that sin leads to other sins. Herod married a
woman who in God’s sight was still married to
another man - his brother. Herod made a foolish
vow. The sin of adultery, and the sin of making
foolish promises, led to the great sin of murder.
Keep yourself from sin, so that one sin does not
lead to other and greater sins.
Sin can
build upon itself. One sin can build on another.
Herod committed adultery. Herodias was full of
hatred for a holy man. The daughter of Herodias
danced - probably lewdly and erotically. Herod
was yielded to eroticism. He took a foolish oath
in the midst of a luxurious feast. All these sins
combined and built on each other and formed the
murder of a holy prophet, and one of the very
greatest men who ever lived (based on Augustine).
Keep yourself from sin, so that your sins do not
build on each other and form something even more
deadly.
Mark concludes
this account with the details of John’s burial.
When his disciples heard about this, they came
and took away his body and laid it in a tomb.
John, this magnificent and holy prophet, may have
been dishonored by the powerful people of this
world, but he was honored by his disciples in
his death, and will be eternally honored by the
God who knows how to reward the righteous and
courageous and the faithful.
Thank
You Lord that first came John, who did no miracles.
Then came his cousin Yeshua, who did many miracles.
Then came the Twelve who started doing miracles
all over the Land! Thank You that millions of
others have followed, who have done what they
could according to the grace given to them. Thank
You that when someone raises opposition to the
truth and multiply it elsewhere. Help us to be
encouraged and faithful and courageous.
Let us
not be like the people of Nazareth, most of whom
had no faith, which inhibited the bestowal of
Your blessings, or like Herod, who had no faith.
Help each one of us to be like John, who courageously
spoke the truth to everyone. Help us to be like
the faithful apostles. Let us be men and women
of full of faith, with a pure faith, with a faith
that is not satisfied to remain in, with a vigorous
Faith that goes out to seek the lost, that brings
the message of salvation to others, with Faith
that does what it can to help free those who are
captives of the Kingdom of Darkness, a faith that
is used to bring the blessings of God to others!
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