Mark 6:1-6
Have
you ever traveled back to your hometown after being away for a long period of
time? Things change, people change, places change. You can’t really ever go
back to the old place, because the old place isn’t there anymore. Or perhaps
you went to visit someplace about which you had fond memories, but when you get
there it isn’t at all like you remember. Change happens.
Jesus
heads to his hometown. This is probably his second visit. The first time they
tried to stone him to death (Luke 4:16-30). Why would Jesus go back to his
hometown when He received such a poor reception the first time? Would you?
Jesus
goes home and brings along His disciples. He is getting them ready for
ministry. This is part of their training. He wants them to see Him in action in
a hostile environment, an environment where the message He brings is not fully
accepted. These are not the people who have heard what Jesus does and travel to
where He is. Those people want to come and find out more. Jesus hometown’s
people are just there.
Jesus
does as He usually does when He enters a town, He goes and pays a visit to the
synagogue. Remember, Jesus is a Jewish teacher with a following. It was
customary for visiting teachers to be given the opportunity to speak at the
local gathering. So the local “pastor” gives up the pulpit for the morning.
Jesus
has mixed results during His visit. Some here what He has to say and respond
with amazement. But this amazement doesn’t bring belief. It raises questions,
practical questions. They knew Jesus while He grew up. They know His family.
And they weren’t any special family. They were just ordinary folk. How could a
teacher like Jesus come from such ordinary stock? That was their question.
Do
you know someone who achieved so much more than you ever expected knowing the
family from whom they came? I think we all know people who wrecked their lives
by the choices they’ve made, but they were nothing like their families’.
Families don’t necessarily produce copies of themselves. People make choices,
positive and negative, that to some extent determine the outcome of their
lives. Jesus’ friends and family couldn’t believe they spawned Jesus.
So
if your kids turn out differently than you, don’t take all the credit or all
the blame.