He Wondered At Their Unbelief

In Mark 6, Jesus goes back to his home town. By this time, his fame was at an all-time high. The crowds were swamping him. When Jesus spoke in his home synagogue they 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?”

Yet, the text tells us they took offense at him. Why?

It was because they knew him. Maybe better said they were used to him. They had seen him grow up. They knew his brother and sisters. His father had done carpentry work for them. He was too ordinary to be something so special.

Familiarity breeds contempt.

I am always amazed at how things can get overlooked when we get used to them. A bad paint job, a junky entryway, a stain on the carpet would be balked in a new environment but we get used to it in our own place. We don’t see what we should see because we’ve just gotten used to it.

And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief.

Mark 6:5-6

I might be amazed by it, but for Jesus, it was puzzling. How could these people who should know him best not see what he could do for them?

As a result, Jesus didn’t do much for them.

It should make us think. Have we become so used to things we can’t see what Jesus has in store for us? Is our monotonous routine caused us to reject what we should embrace? Do we need to shake our heads clear and look at things for what they are and not what we have perceived them to be?

Is Jesus not working for in our lives because we have gotten too used to him?

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