The Rejection of ’ Authority Why is Jesus Rejected? :1-6 1 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the . And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" So they were offended at Him. 4 But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house." 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching. NKJV Lesson Aim: To boldly share the message of with a family member or friend. What an awesome goal for a person to have, to share the message of Jesus Christ with his family and friends. There is nothing greater you can do for a family member or a friend than share the message of Christ or the message of salvation. Jesus’ message was a message of “salvation”. Matt 4:17, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. KJV

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Without being long winded today, I will just say what Jesus said to the lawyer who asked him about salvation. (Luke 10:25- 28) And behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested Him, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" 26 He said to him, "What is written in the law? What is your reading of it?" 27 So he answered and said, "'You shall love your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.'" 28 And He said to him, "You have answered rightly; do this and you will live." NKJV Jesus essentially tells him if you love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and strength; and love your neighbor as yourself, in have followed all the law and the commandments, and “salvation” is yours. The message to our family and friends is no different. Love God and love your neighbor and heaven is in your future.

Verse 1 of the text today says, “Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him”. Jesus is on the move again. Jesus taught parables by the seaside, crossed over the sea to Gadarene, crossed back over the sea to , and now Jesus comes back to His own hometown, Nazareth.

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(:16-30***) Previously Jesus had been rejected by His own people and run out of town. Jesus taught in the synagogue on the Sabbath day and His teaching was so powerful and His claim to be the Messiah that the people ran Him out of town. In verse 24 Jesus makes the statement, Verily I say unto you, No prophet is accepted in his own country. KJV What could make someone reject Jesus? Why would someone reject the “Son of God”? Why would someone not accept salvation? Mark tells us some of the reasons why Jesus was rejected in verses 2-3 of the text. Verse two of the text says, “And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands”? Jesus didn’t allow being rejected and talked about keep Him from coming back to church. Mark tells us that when the Sabbath day came, Jesus went back into the synagogue and began to teach. What a great example Jesus set for us today. Don’t stop coming to church because someone said something about you, or purposely misused you. Jesus teaches His believers in the “”, (Matt 5:11-12) "Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and

3 be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. NKJV Why did Jesus’ own country men, His own kinfolk, His own family members reject Him? There were two basic reasons, envy and jealousy. Mark tells us in verse two the same as before when Jesus entered the synagogue, He began to teach. Just as before Jesus taught with authority, power, and wisdom, so that all that heard Him were astonished. The questions that they asked about Jesus is what reveals why they rejected Him. 1) “Where did this man get these things? Note, how they addressed Jesus, “this man”. The knowledge of scripture and the way Jesus taught it was not like them. Jesus taught the “Word” as if He was the “Word”. (John 1:1) Jesus was teaching Himself. They could not comprehend how a man who grew up with them, worked as a carpenter among them, and how could an uneducated man could know these things. Because of Jesus’ background, He could not be the awaited Messiah. 2) “What wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed be His hands? The hometown folks couldn’t deny what they heard Him teach. They couldn’t deny the powerful miracles they had seen Him perform. So, they questioned from where the source of His power came. There were only two sources God and Satan, and they refused to believe it was from God. These who rejected Him were both “hard hearted” and “stiff Necked”. (Ps 95:7-8)

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7 For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. Today if you will hear his voice, 8 Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: KJV 3) Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us? Despite Jesus’ impressive words and deeds, He was too ordinary for them. The derogatory question, “Isn't this the carpenter”, implied Jesus was a common laborer like the rest of them. All of Jesus’ immediate family, mother, brothers, and sisters were known by the townspeople, and they were ordinary people. The phrase, Mary's Son, was also derogatory since a man was not described as his mother's son in Jewish usage even if she was a widow, except by insult (Judg 11:1-2). Their words were calculated insults, also suggesting they knew there was something unusual about Jesus' birth. Mary was a virgin when the Holy Spirit caused her to be pregnant. Joseph was not her baby’s daddy, our Father which art in heaven was her baby’s daddy. Jesus was part of a “blended family. He had four brothers and more than one sister that were Joseph’s children with Mary after Jesus was born. His brothers, James who later wrote the epistle of James. Judas who is Jude, wrote the epistle of Jude. Joses and Simon were the names of His other two brothers.

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Most of Jesus’ neighbors could never accept Him because they had known Him all His life. They thought they knew who His mother and father were. Jesus was claiming to be the Messiah, and Yahweh His father, and they just could not comprehend this. The most severe critics of a man’s life and work are, of course, those who have known Him. Since the hometown people could not explain Jesus, they took offense at Him, finding no reason to believe He was God's Anointed One. Mark 6:4, Jesus responded to their rejection with the proverb that a prophet is not appreciated at home. ("A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.") Jesus was like an Old Testament prophet whose words were often rejected and who was dishonored most by those who knew them best. Jesus was setting a great example for His disciples how to react when someone didn’t receive the “Word of God”. Jesus showed them how to react when they were “rejected”. Jesus was about to send them out to spread the “Good News of the ”, and He knew the resistance they would face. Mark 6:11, And whosoever shall not receive you, nor hear you, when you depart thence, shake off the dust under your feet for a testimony against them. Verily I say unto you, It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrha in the day of judgment, than for that city. KJV

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Just as Jesus doesn’t make anyone accept Him, nor is it our job to make someone believe in Jesus Christ. It is a dangerous thing not to believe or accept Jesus Christ. Mark 6:5 says, because of such persistent unbelief, Jesus could not do any miracles there except to lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. There was no limitation on Jesus’ power. But His purpose was to perform miracles in the presence of faith. Only a few there had faith to come to Him to be healed. Just a few blocked God’s power for the whole country. As we saw in, “Gadarene”, a country where Gentiles or none believers lived, Jesus was not accepted, and demonic possession was prevalent. Nazareth was a town that was known for, “nothing good can come out of Nazareth”. Most of the people there would not believe that Jesus was the Messiah leaving only a few who did believe to come to Jesus for healing. Even Jesus was amazed, and astonished at their unbelief, at their unwillingness to believe that His wisdom and power were from God. So far as is known, He never returned to Nazareth. The people of Nazareth represent Israel's blindness. Their refusal to believe in Jesus pictured what His disciples would soon experience (cf. 6:7-13). The picture is no different today, people are still rejecting the authority and power of Jesus. I ask

7 the question today, “Is America’s healing Blocked by its’ Blindness”? “Fun Time” 1) What is the “message of Christ? ______2) What should a person’s response be who gets hurt in the church? ______3) What were the two basic reasons Jesus’ hometown folks rejected Him? ______4) How does Jesus tell us to respond when we’re rejected while spreading the gospel? ______5) What are some of the reasons we reject Jesus today? ______

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