Mark 6 - The Day When Jesus Could Not Do Any Miracles?

A Prophet Without Honor

6 Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. 2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed.

“Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? 3 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?” And they took offense at him.

4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” 5 He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.6 He was amazed at their lack of faith.

To Read the Rest of Chapter 6 Click Here

In all three stories in chapter 5, the person Jesus healed or delivered had faith.  The Gerasene demoniac, Jairus' daughter and the bleeding woman all recognized Jesus' power and authority and this was key to what he could do for them.  In chapter 6 we see a different theme.

Jesus returns to his hometown of Nazareth and as he teaches in the synagogue, the people are amazed at his wisdom.  But instead of responding with positivity and openness, they mock him saying, "Isn't this a son of a carpenter?".  And, "Isn't Mary his mother".  These were not compliments.  This is confirmed when the passage says the people were offended by him.  And the passage concludes, "Jesus was amazed (marveled) at their lack of faith".  Simply put, Jesus could not believe the people in his own town so categorically rejected him despite the evidence they saw in his teaching and miracles.  

Importantly the text says, "And Jesus could not do any miracles there".  This is an interesting statement.  It implies that there is a correlation between Jesus' ability to do miracles and the environment and spiritual temperature of the people he was working with.  Here is how one person put this,

"This was in respect to God’s principle of partnership with man. God may work with no belief, but not with unbelief."

Unbelief is a refusal to believe.  It is an exercise of free will to decline the opportunity God gives to us. Another person put it this way,

"His work was limited in this climate of unbelief. In this sense, Jesus’ power was limited by the unbelief of His countrymen." (Guzik)

It also shows that no matter how much proof some people get of the divinity of Jesus, they will reject him. But on a positive side, it also shows how much Jesus can do in a climate of belief.  After all, he brought Jairus' daughter back to life.

In the Small Catechism Luther gives this explanation in the Lord's Prayer, "God's kingdom will surely come, the question is will it come through us?" This is a good lens from which to look at thihs passage.  Could Jesus do miracles whenever he wants? Yes.  But if someone refuses to believe, he can do nothing for that person.  Jesus had more luck with unbelievers who accepted him, than supposed believers who rejected him.  To the former, he could do great things. To the latter, he could only marvel at their lack of faith!