Did you know that in ancient times it was offensive to call a male child the “son of his mother” rather than “son of his father”? Joseph most likely was dead at this time, but even so, this was a snub towards Jesus. Jesus’ little town of around 200 people did not think He was worthy of any respect. The King of the universe gains no esteem from those who knew about Him the most.
What is the significance that Jesus is mentioned as the “son of Mary”? A Carpenter?
If Jesus handles rejection, what does it give to our ability to handle rejection? How do I answer this question with a Gospel answer rather than a “moralism” answer?
A common answer to the question 2 might be, “I want to be like Jesus, so I try hard to handle rejection”. The Gospel says, “I can face rejection because my sense of worth is not dependent on someone else’s acceptance and opinion of me. It is founded firstly and surely on Christ’s acceptance of me.” God becomes the centrifuge of life and we begin to find meaning and identity in Him. This shows the world that God is greater than anything or anyone around us, and so God is glorified in the handling of rejection.
This does not mean we do not feel sad, hurt, or grieved by the actions or words of others…. or that we are to push down our emotions. It does mean we have the privilege and opportunity to experience rejection and hurt with our Heavenly Father….knowing He is our comfort, and that He grieves with us. He readily extends grace and mercy to us in our time of need. We no longer trust in our own power, strength, or rightness. We trust in the Lord with all our heart and acknowledge Him in all our ways. The power of the cross sets us free from performance and self.
3) How can I encourage and remind myself and others of the freedom and identity we have in Christ?
4) Verse 5 is troubling. How do you make sense of this? Wrestle with this, what does it say about Jesus?
C.F. Cranfield wrote: “It was not that Jesus was powerless apart from men’s faith, but that in the absence of faith he could not work miracles in accordance with the purpose of his ministry.”
From previous chapters, we know Jesus did not lack the power to perform miracles but lacked the proper context for his purpose in miracles. Jesus’ miracles were not “magic tricks” designed to prove how powerful He was, but “signs of the kingdom” to show how his redemptive power operates. His miracles always healed and restored and delivered people in ways that revealed how we are to find him by faith and have our lives transformed by him.
5) Look at 6:7-13 What important things should we notice about how Jesus sets up ministry?
-Jesus sends out in pairs. Ministry is lonely and community is important to Jesus. Also, there is accountability in both purpose and moral fortitude.
-They take Jesus’ authority. It is not on their own strength that they minister.
-They are to trust Jesus for His provision and not rely on their own forethought and preparedness.
- Their message was one of repentance alongside good works. One was not without the other. There was not a primary, then secondary level of their ministry to the poor, hungry, sick and dead hearted. It went together.
6)Look at 6:14-29 Mark includes a lengthy section on the murder of John the Baptist.
Speculate as to why he includes this here (remember the purpose of Mark’s gospel from the outset)?
During the time of writing by Mark (A.D. 60’s), conflict and pressure were growing around Jesus. The emperor Nero was almost mad and had a diabolical plot against the Christians to be carried out just around the corner. Mark reminds all of us that no plans, even by government officials, can thwart the plans of God.