Mark 6:1-6
Find a way to separate yourself from whatever’s going on around you so you can fully enter into today’s passage. if you haven’t read the introduction to Mark’s Gospel, read it here.
When you are ready, read Mark 6:1-6 noticing the various emotional reactions identified in the story.
It’s one thing to be rejected by people who don’t know you and who think and act differently than you. Jesus experienced that kind of rejection in the Genesares on the other side of the lake (Mark 5:1-20). But now here he is in his own hometown, and the people who should know him best react with offense and dismissal. The people of Nazareth miss out on the hope and power of the kingdom of God because they have already made up their minds about who Jesus is.
Stop for a moment to consider your ideas about Jesus. Before you go on, ask him to help you see him for who he really is.
Read Mark 6:1-6 again focusing in on Jesus’ last statement.
Our image of God has a direct effect on our ability to hear and know God. If our image of God is of an angry, punitive authority figure, we will be limited in our ability to love and trust God. If our image of God is of a benign grandfatherly figure, we will probably not have much respect for God. But if we look to Jesus to see who God really is, we will find the true God and find our true selves in the process.
Are you ready today to start fresh with Jesus and allow him, through his Holy Spirit, to reveal God to you? Talk to Jesus about this for a moment.
Jesus was often amazed by a person’s faith, but in this passage he’s amazed by unbelief. Ask Jesus to grow your faith in him so that it becomes amazing. Ask him to help you overcome any unbelief that still remains.
Now believe that Jesus will answer these prayers and thank him in advance. And if there is anything you sense Jesus inviting you to do, make a plan for following through.
If these meditations are helpful to you, please forward them to couple of friends.
Interested in going deeper? Check out The Everyday Jesus Follower’s Guide and blog.
