On the sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astounded. (Mark 6:2a)

Sports teams on all levels prefer playing before friendly fans in their home stadiums to the challenge of facing hostile crowds on the road: it’s not unusual for college basketball teams to go undefeated at home while having a much worse record when they travel.

            Jesus had the opposite experience. He taught with authority, displayed many acts of power, and became immensely popular while preaching in the villages of Galilee, and even on the eastern side of the sea.

            At home in Nazareth, it was a different story.

A prophet without honor

(vv. 1-6)

All three synoptic gospels take note that the people who knew Jesus as a child and young man had difficulty accepting his role as the fulfillment of prophecy. In addition to Mark 6:1-6, Matthew 13:53-58 provides an expanded version of Jesus’ experience in Nazareth, and Luke 4:16-30 adds some of the content from Jesus’ sermon as well as asserting that the people of the town grew angry and sought unsuccessfully to throw Jesus from a cliff before he left the area. [DD] [DD]

Early in his ministry, Jesus had apparently adopted Capernaum as a base of operations while teaching, preaching, and healing people throughout Galilee. Mark does not say why Jesus decided to visit his hometown, only that his disciples followed him there (v. 1).

When Jesus showed up for the synagogue service, he was apparently invited to teach, but with mixed effects. The people were “astounded” at Jesus’ teaching, wondering “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!” (v. 3).

Instead of being proud of how accomplished Jesus had become, however, they appear to have thought Jesus had developed an over-inflated ego. “Is not this the carpenter?” they asked, “the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us?” Mark adds, “And they took offense at him” (v. 3). [DD]

The people’s reference to Jesus as the son of Mary rather than Joseph should probably read as an insult. It’s likely that Joseph was dead by this time, but under normal circumstances he would still have been named as the father.

            Even so, they were “astounded” at Jesus’ teaching: Mark uses a word that could also be translated as “amazed” (NIV11) or “astonished” (NET2). They recognized the wisdom in his words, and they had heard or seen evidence of the mighty works he could perform, and yet they still struggled to believe that a local carpenter of dubious birth could have become such a powerful man of God, however that was to be understood.

            Jesus did not seek to defend himself or win them over, citing what was likely a proverbial statement that “Prophets are not without honor, except in their hometown, and among their own kin, and in their own house” (v. 4). Though the hometown crowd is portrayed in a negative fashion, we can empathize with their difficulty in believing. “I knew you when” can be a powerful detractor when it comes to appreciating fully the accomplishments of others.

            The negativity of his hometown put a damper on Jesus’ ministry among the people. “He could do no deed of power there,” Mark wrote, “except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and cured them” (v. 5).

            Whether Mark contradicted himself is unclear. Perhaps he did not consider curing a few sick people to be a “deed of power” on the order of feeding thousands of people or commanding the sea to be still. The sense appears clear, however: Jesus would have been less inclined to do miraculous works among people who did not welcome his presence. Matthew softens the apparent contradiction. He does not say Jesus could not work deeds of power in Nazareth, but that “he did not do many deeds of power there, because of their unbelief” (Matt. 13:58).

            As the people of Nazareth had been “astounded” at Jesus’ teaching, he was equally amazed by their unbelief (v. 6). The word for “amazed” (NRSV, NET2, NIV11) could also mean “marvel” or “wonder.” “He marveled because of their unbelief” (ESV) might be a more apt translation.

            Jesus’ rejection by his own siblings and the neighbors who had known him through much of his life may be seen as a foreshadowing of his later rejection by the religious leaders of his own tradition. If we envision the cross as the end of a long road, a significant stop on that road was in Nazareth.

A mission with purpose

(vv. 7-13)

            Commentators often see Mark 6:7-13 as the beginning of a new section in Mark, but the lectionary combines the end of one section and the beginning of another for good reason: they both deal with rejection.

            The sending of the disciples on mission indicates a new stage in Jesus’ ministry, as he empowered his followers to carry on his work. Mark had indicated the missionary task of the disciples when he first related their selection: “And he appointed twelve, whom he also named apostles, to be with him, and to be sent out to proclaim the message, and to have authority to cast out demons” (Mark 3:14-15).

            The word “apostle” comes directly from the Greek apostolos, derived from the verb apostellō, meaning “to send out.” They were called to be sent, and the present text describes their first official mission. After leaving Nazareth and teaching in several other villages (v. 7), Jesus “called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over unclean spirits” (v. 7).

            Sending the disciples in pairs would make them accountable to one another as well as providing mutual support. Ministry can be a lonely affair: while most churches don’t have co-pastors, healthy churches understand that ministers need the support of fellow staff members and colleagues as well as that of church leaders.

While Mark mentions only that Jesus gave the disciples authority over unclean spirits, Matthew adds “and to cure every disease and every sickness” (Matt. 10:1). Luke expands their mission to say “he sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal” (Luke 9:2). The call to proclamation is implicit in Mark, which reports that “they went out and proclaimed that all should repent” before adding that “They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them” (vv. 12-13).

            What connects this text with the previous verses, however, is what comes in the middle, where Jesus offered instructions for the mission, including how they should respond to rejection.

As they traveled, the disciples were to rely entirely on the hospitality of others.

Few of us can imagine setting out for even a few days without adequate cash, credit cards, and a sizeable suitcase, but the disciples were to take nothing but a staff to aid in their walking or in defending themselves against wild animals. They were not to pack a lunch or take a bag or stuff any coins into their belts. Even an extra tunic was forbidden. Sandals they could wear, and the clothes on their backs, but that was it (vv. 8-9). [DD]

The disciples would need the humility to ask for lodging as they traveled. Furthermore, they were to remain at the first home that invited them in, rather than looking for better accommodations or finer food (v. 10).

They were not guaranteed any lodging at all, however. There might be villages where no one listened to their message, and no one invited them to dinner. Jesus wanted them to be prepared for that, too. “If any place will not welcome you and they refuse to hear you, as you leave shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them” (v. 11).

The act of shaking dust off one’s feet was to be “a testimony against them,” as if the dust itself was an unfriendly contaminant that should not be carried beyond the borders of the town.

Contemporary Christians often think of “mission” and “evangelism” as two different things, as doing social or relief ministry on the one hand or seeking to convert people on the other. The disciples learned that both were important, even when they were rejected. We might find social ministry to be easier because there is less fear of rejection, but sharing the gospel message of salvation through Christ is likewise important, whether others accept it or not.

Mark says nothing about the length of the journey or the number of towns that accepted the disciples versus those that rejected them. He notes only that the disciples followed Jesus with positive results: “So they went out and proclaimed that all should repent. They cast out many demons, and anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them” (vv. 12-13). [DD]

When we ponder the two stories in today’s text, we would do well to ask in what ways we believers—who claim to be the family of Christ—may also reject him. Do we really take his teachings seriously? Do we take offense at his claim on our lives, on his call to love others, to live without extravagance, and to give our lives in service to others?

If Jesus himself should show up in our churches with his radical call to sacrifice, would we repent of our selfishness, or show him the door?