Rejection at Nazareth - a Bridge Between Sections
Rejection at Nazareth
This newsletter explores Mark’s account of Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth (Mark 6:1-6), examining the role it plays within Mark’s narrative, explaining how it signifies fulfilled prophecy, and explicating the strategy Mark seems to have used in composing the story. By way of personal application, we see how Mark sets fear and offense at God’s work in opposition to faith in Jesus.
Literary setting
The rejection of Jesus at Nazareth signals an important transition in Mark’s account from the section about “insiders” and “outsiders” in Jesus’ new community (Mark 3:7-6:6a) to the section highlighting growth in Jesus’ ministry (Mark 6:6b-8:30; cf. Strauss 2014, 151). The section about “insiders” and “outsiders” begins when Jesus calls twelve of His disciples to become “apostles.” Jesus calls the twelve “to be with Him” (Mark 3:14).
Mark paradoxically shows that proximity to Jesus’ teaching and power does not equate to participation in His community. Many of the people closest to Jesus are classified as “outsiders” in this section. Jesus’ family missed out because they thought He was “out of His mind” (Mark 3:21, 31-34). The Pharisees missed out because they thought He was demonized (Mark 3:22-30). While Jesus’ family members stood outside a packed house, attempting to restrain Him because they thought He was crazy, Jesus told everyone inside “whoever does the will of God is my brother and sister and mother” (Mark 3:35).
How do people do God’s will? The narrative in this section gives one resounding answer: by faith. Tossed by a stormy sea, fearing for their lives, Jesus’ disciples openly questioned His care for them while begging for help. In response, Jesus calmed the storm and chastised them for not having faith. Later, the woman with an issue of blood was healed (lit. ‘saved’) by faith (Mark 5:25-34); immediately thereafter Jesus threw out people in Jairus’ household who did not believe Him before resurrecting Jairus’ daughter (Mark 5:35-43).
The narrative also presents two responses that block belief in Jesus: offense and fear. Offense bookends this section, with Jesus’ family, the Pharisees, and Jesus’ hometown failing to trust Jesus out of offense. The Pharisees were offended by His actions because He did not conform to the traditions they valued above God’s commands (Mark 3:1-6; cf. 7:1-20). Jesus’ family and hometown were offended because they couldn’t imagine God working such powerful miracles through someone they (thought) they knew so well (Mark 6:1-6).
Fear also blocks people from trust in Jesus. Jesus’ disciples questioned His care for them as a life-threatening storm pummeled their boat. In response, Jesus stopped the storm and questioned why the disciples were afraid and still lacked faith (Mark 4:35-41). Just after that, Jesus cast out a notorious demon from a man who had terrorized the region of the Gerasenes. When the local townspeople heard about it, the news so terrified them that they begged Him to leave (Mark 5:1-20). Finally, while Jesus was on the way to heal a man’s daughter, the man received news that she had died. Jesus ignored the message and told him, “Do not fear, only believe.” He then resurrected the girl (Mark 5:35-43). Faith brings people inside of fellowship with Jesus; fear and offense leave them outside.
The major themes of this section converge in Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth (Mark 6:1-6 NET):
6:1 Now Jesus left that place and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. 6:2 When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue. Many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did he get these ideas? And what is this wisdom that has been given to him? What are these miracles that are done through his hands? 6:3 Isn’t this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And aren’t his sisters here with us?”
And so they took offense at him. 6:4 Then Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, and among his relatives, and in his own house.”
6:5 He was not able to do a miracle there, except to lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6:6 And he was amazed because of their unbelief. Then he went around among the villages and taught.
Fulfillment of Prophecy
While Jesus read about the Servant of the Lord’s mandate from Isaiah 61 (cf. Luke 4:16-30), His hometown unknowingly fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah 53:1-3 (NET)—people would not recognize Him and thus reject Him:
Who would have believed what we just heard? When was the LORD’s power revealed through him? He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him. He was despised and rejected by people, one who experienced pain and was acquainted with illness; people hid their faces from him; he was despised, and we considered him insignificant.
As Jesus indicated while teaching in parables (Mark 4:1-34), their rejection of Him merely confirmed His mission as a prophet.
Breaking the Script
The rejection at Nazareth also reverses the normal miracle script. Compare Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth (Mark 6) with a prototypical miracle story (Mark 1):
| Mark 1:21-28 | Mark 6:1-6 |
|---|---|
| 1:21 Jesus enters a synagogue | 6:1 Jesus enters a synagogue |
| 1:22 People were amazed at Jesus’ teaching | 6:2 Many who heard him were astonished |
| 1:23-24 An unclean spirit makes a ruckus | 6:3 Offended crowd members make a ruckus |
| 1:25-26 Jesus rebukes the spirit, who then miraculously leaves | 6:4 Jesus corrects the crowd, and cannot perform (many) miracles there |
| 1:27 They were all amazed at Jesus’ teaching and authority | 6:5 Jesus “was amazed because of their unbelief” |
| 1:28 “So the news about Him spread quickly throughout all the region around Galilee” | 6:6b “Then he went around among the villages and taught” |
Mark 1:21-28 represents a host of other stories, including Mark 1:40-45, 2:1-12, 5:35-43, and 7:31-37. In the teaching and miracle story genre, the Nazareth rejection sticks out like a sore, smashed thumb. It has all the same parts, but half of them are broken. Instead of crowds of people from his hometown spreading the news because of their amazement and seeds of belief in Him, Jesus is amazed at their unbelief and spreads the message of the kingdom Himself. This is one of the few stories in the Gospel that ends with Jesus being amazed, and, in this case, it’s not a good thing.
How the story speaks to our world
As highlighted in the previous section, sometimes people don’t see how God is moving through someone they know because they have them (and God) fit into a neat box in their minds. We are all vulnerable to this mistake. We should also note that God may do less in areas where people have unbelief.
This is a great story to remember, share, and meditate on when someone you or other people “know” feels called to something unusual.
Resource for deeper study:
- A podcast on Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth in Luke
Challenge
- Read the passages for yourself.
- Look at ways that ways people are “with Jesus” or “outside.”
- Reflect on ways that you may be offended by God’s approach or fearful of His work; ask Him to give you faith instead.
TL;DR (Too Long; Didn’t Read)
- In Mark’s Gospel account, Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth serves as a bridge between the “insider/outsider” section (3:7-6:6a) and the “expanding ministry” section (6:6b-8:30).
- In the “insider/outsider” section, Mark indicates that faith makes people “insiders” while fear and offense at God’s work leaves them “outside.”
- Jesus’ rejection at Nazareth partially fulfills the rejection of the Servant of the Lord, prophesied in Isaiah 53.
- Mark crafted the rejection at Nazareth like other miracle stories, playing with the story-script elements to highlight how wrong the event was.
- We are still liable to miss when God is working through other people because of over-familiarity with them.
References
- Biblical Studies Press. The NET Bible. Biblical Studies Press, 2005.
- Strauss, Mark L. Mark. Edited by Clinton E. Arnold. Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2014.