Missing Out On Christ’s Mighty Works – Mark 6
“And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. And he marvelled because of their unbelief….” — Mark 6:5–6
Almost everywhere Jesus went, He did amazing things. But when He came to His hometown, Nazareth, He could not do a mighty work. Only a few sick people were healed. Why was that?
Well, the answer is clear from the text – the people in Nazareth did not believe Him. Actually, instead of believing on Him because of His powerful teaching and the mighty works that He has done everywhere else (v.2), they begin to question and to doubt.
They cannot get past certain questions and familiarities with Jesus, His family, and His upbringing. They totally dismiss the powerful things that prove Jesus is more than a man, and they focus on His questionable birth, His ordinary occupation, and His family situation (v.3).
How convicting this is to me! I’d like to think I don’t make the same mistake, but I am afraid I often do. Instead of believing Jesus can do anything and expecting great things from Him, I focus on certain, pathetic obstacles. I allow human, skeptical thinking to cloud my heart and mind. I see things only through the lens of the earthly, physical, and human. I completely ignore the obvious power of God.
Just like those from Nazareth, we will not experience a mighty work of Christ if we do not believe. If we treat Him without honour and without faith, we will find that He cannot and will not do a mighty work for us. Without faith, it is impossible to please Him. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin, and God has chosen to not bless those who do not believe.
May God help us to see who Jesus really is, to believe Him for ourselves, and to watch Him do great and mighty things for us as well.