I found out that the account of Jesus visiting Nazareth in Luke 4:16-30 took place one year before the account recorded in Mark 6:1-6.

Luke 4:16-30

16 He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. And he stood up to read.

17 The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. Unrolling it, he found the place where it is written:

18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed,

19 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

20 Then he rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the attendant and sat down. The eyes of everyone in the synagogue were fastened on him,

21 and he began by saying to them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

22 All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” they asked.

23 Jesus said to them, “Surely you will quote this proverb to me: ‘Physician, heal yourself! Do here in your hometown what we have heard that you did in Capernaum.'”

24 “I tell you the truth,” he continued, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.

25 I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.

26 Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.

27 And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed– only Naaman the Syrian.”

28 All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.

29 They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.

30 But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

One year later Jesus returns to Nazareth along with his disciples. Nazareth was a small town of about 500 people. Jesus spent his first 30 years in Nazareth and was known by the residents. On the Sabbath He went to the synagogue and began to teach. Those who heard him were amazed. To be amazed is to be astounded or filled with wonder. The hearers did not evict Jesus this time, but didn’t take him seriously.

They questioned where He had gotten his wisdom since they thought they knew him because his family was still there with them, and his family didn’t fully believe in him either until after his resurrection.

“Familiarity breeds contempt” is a well-known maxim that goes all the way back to Publius the Syrian, who lived in 2 BC. Philip Brooks, an American Episcopal clergyman and renowned preacher said it this way, “Familiarity breeds contempt, only with contemptible things or among contemptible people.” The contempt shown by the Nazarenes said nothing about Jesus Christ, but it said a great deal about them.”¹

“A carpenter was a respected artisan in that day, but nobody expected a carpenter to do miracles or teach profound truths in the synagogue. Where did He get all this power and wisdom? From God or from Satan? And why did his brothers and sisters not possess this same power and wisdom? Even more, why did his brothers and sisters not believe in Him? The people that called him the “the son of Mary” were actually insulting Him, because in that day you identified a man by calling him the son of his father, not the son of his mother.”²

It didn’t take long for the people that where amazed to become offended by the person of Jesus. In verse four of the text Jesus acknowledges to the people that in one’s hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor.”

We’ve talked about being an insider versus being an outsider when it comes to Jesus. At this particular time Jesus’ half brothers and sisters were outsiders. It is believed only James and possibly Jude came to faith after Jesus’s death and resurrection.

“Mark says openly that Jesus “could not do any miracles there. Mark is more willing to ascribe unapologetic humanness to Jesus than any other Gospel writer. Unlike the later gnostic Gospels, that kept Jesus untarnished by humanity, Mark’s Jesus walks the same road that peasants and tax-collectors walk, facing weariness, disappointment, ignorance, fear, and even the inability to influence his own family.”³

I wasn’t familiar with the gnostic Gospels, and you probably aren’t either. I found out that these Gospels were written by early “Christian” Gnostics. Gnostics believed in a supreme, unknowable God and a flawed material world created by a lesser deity, emphasizing that salvation comes through esoteric (something that is obscure, hidden, or intended for a select few) knowledge, and escaping the material realm. After the first century two divisions developed in the Christian church, the orthodox and the Gnostics. The orthodox believers hold to the books we now have in the Bible. Gnostic Christians, if they can truly be called Christians, held a distinctly different view of the Bible, of Jesus Christ, of salvation, and about every other major Christian doctrine. However, they did not have any writings by the Apostles to give legitimacy to their beliefs. These Gnostic Gospels are considered fraudulent. There are countless contradictions between the Gnostic gospels and the true Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

What is humanity’s problem when it comes to faith in God through Jesus Christ? “It’s not the failure of God to act but the unwillingness of the human heart to accept the God who condescends to us in only a carpenter, the son of Mary.”⁴

Jesus had success and drew crowds wherever He went, except in Nazareth. He departed from Nazareth and proceeded to provide ministry services throughout various villages. Jesus knew his time on earth was coming to an end, but the church He founded would continue through the service of the 12. As He poured into their lives, the time came for Him to send them out, so as to expose them to what was still to come.

Mark 6:7-13

7 Calling the Twelve to him, he sent them out two by two and gave them authority over evil spirits.

8 These were his instructions: “Take nothing for the journey except a staff– no bread, no bag, no money in your belts.

9 Wear sandals but not an extra tunic.

10 Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you leave that town.

11 And if any place will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave, as a testimony against them.”

12 They went out and preached that people should repent.

13 They drove out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.

On several occasions, the disciples prior to being sent out, showed a lack of faith and weren’t even sure who Jesus was at times. Jesus, on the other hand knew Pentecost was coming. With the coming of the Holy Spirit, the lives of this group of men would be transformed. These 12 men minus 1 would start a church that is still alive pointing people to Jesus over two thousand years later.

Jesus sent out six groups of two disciples each. Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10 says, “Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

They were given authority over evil spirits. We’re not told how long they would be out on their journey, but we are told what they could take on the journey. “Take nothing for the journey except a staff– no bread, no bag, no money in your belts. Wear sandals but not an extra tunic.”

When you go on vacation, from my perspective, we pack way too many clothes. Instead of washing dirty clothes during the vacation, we bring suitcases full of dirty clothes home. When I’ve gone on a mission trip, I am more selective about what I take with the expectation of not bringing back everything I took. (Work boots, gloves, hat, and certain other items that could be washed and given away).

Hospitality was a major part of the Jewish culture. You welcomed travelers. To welcome a guest was honoring the divine image within each person, creating a warm, welcoming space for everyone. An example of this can be found in Judges 19:12-21

12 His master replied, “No. We won’t go into an alien city, whose people are not Israelites. We will go on to Gibeah.”

13 He added, “Come, let’s try to reach Gibeah or Ramah and spend the night in one of those places.”

14 So they went on, and the sun set as they neared Gibeah in Benjamin.

15 There they stopped to spend the night. They went and sat in the city square, but no one took them into his home for the night.

16 That evening an old man from the hill country of Ephraim, who was living in Gibeah (the men of the place were Benjamites), came in from his work in the fields.

17 When he looked and saw the traveler in the city square, the old man asked, “Where are you going? Where did you come from?”

18 He answered, “We are on our way from Bethlehem in Judah to a remote area in the hill country of Ephraim where I live. I have been to Bethlehem in Judah and now I am going to the house of the LORD. No one has taken me into his house.

19 We have both straw and fodder for our donkeys and bread and wine for ourselves your servants– me, your maidservant, and the young man with us. We don’t need anything.”

20 “You are welcome at my house,” the old man said. “Let me supply whatever you need. Only don’t spend the night in the square.”

21 So he took him into his house and fed his donkeys. After they had washed their feet, they had something to eat and drink.

The twelve were sent to the Jews, not to Gentiles. For the traveler, there was a dependence on God to provide for your needs along the way. So, it was for the disciples Jesus sent out. When they entered a home, they were to stay in that home until they were ready to move on to the next town. If in a town they were not welcomed, they were told to shake the dust off their feet when they left. “To shake the dust off your feet was a searing indictment since Jews traveling outside Palestine, were required to shake themselves free of dust when returning home lest they pollute the holy land. This commandment is tantamount to declaring a Jewish village heathen. It also eliminates the presumption of salvation on the basis of ethnicity, nation, or race. The purpose of the warning is not to damn but to induce repentance.”⁵

Their message was to repent of your sins. Having been given the ability to anoint the sick and heal them, and to cast out demons reinforced their message.

Just like the disciples, we are called to do ministry. “A genuine call to ministry always calls us to that for which we are not adequately prepared. It is only in awareness of such that the Christian experiences the presence and promise of Jesus Christ and learns to depend not on human capabilities but on the one who calls and in the power of the proclamation to authenticate itself.”⁶

Study Questions

1. Why were the people amazed at Jesus’ teaching, and why was Jesus amazed at the people?
2. What was the difference between Jesus’ first visit to Nazareth as recorded in Luke, and his second visit as recorded in Mark?
3. What was a key factor of the people’s unbelief of Jesus?
4. How does familiarity affect how you view people today?
5. What is a defining characteristic that separates the Gospel writings in the Bible, and Gnostic Gospels?
6. How does examining the shortcomings of the Apostles inform your understanding of challenges in your areas of ministry?
7. Who is your partner in the ministry?
8. Can Jesus send you out right now to do ministry, or do you have a long list of reasons why you can’t go?
9. How hospitable are you to people that are in need?
10. Are you ever fully prepared to do ministry?