“ Where did this man get all this? What is this wisdom that has been given to him? What deeds of power are being done by his hands! 3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary[a] and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense[b] at him." (Mark 6:2-3)
They are many persons who are not liked because they are not afraid to speak the truth. They also do not sugar coat it so it is easier to swallow. They are willing to call a spade a spade. We know that is who Jesus was. He was educating the people, telling them differently, removing the veil from their eyes, making them see life and God differently. Jesus disturbed the status quo and people paid attention.
Further those who looked on may have been jealous asking who does he think he is? How could he come here and try to be superior to us? He is only Mary’s son, a regular joe just like us. He should not be showing off on us
Things about the passage are relevant to us
Like Jesus, we are never just who people see and know us to be. There is much more to us than meets the eye. We are capable of so much more, especially when we recognize our calling from God and act on it. We shouldn’t limit ourselves by our circumstances and by what others think.
Nothing happens unless we do something about the nothing. Jesus had been teaching healing the sick and infirmed in other towns and came to do the same in his home town, but the resistance he met didn’t allow him to do much. The passage says Jesus was surprised that their faith was limited. The king James version says he marveled because of their unbelief. Many times God places people and opportunities in our lives and they are missed, because we do not trust the process, we do not truly believe that God has our backs. Our faith too is limited.
The fact that Jesus was unable to do much speaks to the fact that healing and miracles are not one sided. Change cannot occur if the persons who are to change do not believe and actively participate. Only then the change does occur. The miracles that Jesus performs do not happen by the wielding of a magic wand. If we look at them, many times the people had to do something. They had to believe and act on that belief. for example the man at the pool who was told to take up his mat and walk. We need to trust and seize the opportunities given, to make positive changes in our lives.
We must also recognize God’s gift to others and allow them to use their gift. We must support persons in their work especially when asked for help. Sometimes we see people doing things and all we look on and say they are doing well. We will see them struggling, but we do nothing. Many times we are like Jesus’ townfolk. We ask who does she think she is? Who does he think he is? They are just like us. They didn’t even grow up in this church, how come they have so much talk? When God calls others to move God’s kingdom forward, help them, guide them, but don’t stifle them. They are seeing what you have yet to see. Be open and participate. Verse 3 in the Amplified version says "they were deeply offended by Him and their disapproval blinded them to the fact that He was anointed by God as the Messiah’. Let us not fall into that trap and be blinded by the fact that God anoints us for different jobs. Some jobs nicer than others and some bring persons in the spotlight, while others are anointed to support.
One's mindset is important. How we view what we are doing is important. Our attitude towards situations is important in how we work towards a good outcome.
Friends let us all work together, supporting each other, recognizing we have different gifts which we should use as God guides. Let us not be put off by the attitude of others. Remember we are all ordinary people called to do things we never thought we could do, things beyond our understanding, extra ordinary things. Let’s use our gifts for a better world.