7/5/26 Mark 6:1-13 “A Pair of Docks!”

27 Jun 7/5/26 Mark 6:1-13 “A Pair of Docks!”

7/5/26   Mark 6:1-13       “A Pair of Docks!”

Today is a milestone for Sharon and me.  We have just completed 20 years in ministry and are starting on our 21^st year.  I don’t know how much longer we can keep going but we will take it year by year because that’s what we do.  Anyway, we have many fond memories from all the churches where we have served.  I can honestly say that every church we have been at has been the best we have ever served.  We see many faces that are still around and we also have many faces that are new.  We have seen babies grow to great children.  We have seen great children grow into great adults.  We have seen many of our church family and friends go home to Jesus.  We have seen good times and bad times. I’m sure we can think of many more good times.  One of the best things for Sharon and me has been all the great friends we have made.  We lived in Kindred for 10 years and have served in several small towns since then.  It seems that just about any of our small towns we could almost call them our home town.  I think that speaks loudly about North Dakota.  And speaking of home towns, that is what part of our Scripture is about today.  Isn’t it funny how that worked in?  Let’s see what Jesus is talking about and how can we be sure to be able to work in our home town and other places.

This is a true story but I am a little fuzzy on the details.  It happened down south someplace.  There was an older woman named Billy who was an outstanding cook.  Everything Billy made was absolutely mouthwatering.  People would come from miles around to eat some of her cooking.  The food magazines, Bon Appetit and Gourmet, sent people out to do articles on her and get some recipes.  This woman, Billy, was becoming world famous for her cooking.  A new pastor in town heard about this and dropped by to check this out for himself.  He had one of her cookies and he all but went into a swoon over how good they were.

Almost every week, there would be strange cars from faraway places in front of Billy’s house.  Just about everyone in her small home town had tasted her cooking and they knew how good she was.  But the funny thing about her neighbors is that no matter how famous she became, she was still just Billy to her neighbors.  They treated her like anyone else.  She was one of theirs.

In today’s reading we begin with Jesus coming back to His hometown.  Once again, we have 2 separate stories and I could preach on each one until next week but once again I won’t.  But these two stories fit together because they are a paradox.  A paradox is a something that seems to be in contradiction but contains some elements of truth.  A statement that is a paradox is ‘Make haste slowly.’  Strictly speaking, this statement doesn’t make much sense.  How can you go fast at something slowly?  Maybe another way of putting this would be to say, ‘Be quick about it but be careful.’

Another paradoxical statement from the Bible comes from Paul in 2 Corinthians 12:9.  It says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” How can a person have power when he or she is weak? According to our human standards, this is a paradox.  There are many paradoxes in the Bible and there are many unexplained mysteries.  In a few minutes we will be talking about the mystery of faith.  So there are many things that are hard to explain when we are talking about God.

In the first part of this paradox, Jesus returns to His hometown of Nazareth.   He brings the disciples with so that they can learn.  Some of these lessons could be a pretty hard.  He does as He usually did and started to teach at the local synagogue.  Jesus was Jewish so it makes sense that this would be where He starts.  There were many who heard Him.  They were astonished by what they heard.  I would guess that they had never heard of anyone talking with such authority.  When Jesus spoke, people listened, even in Nazareth.  Jesus was a little famous by this time.

I don’t know if you have ever had someone from the rural area around here that went on to be famous.  I don’t know if we have had anyone from St. Vincent, my home town, who went on to be famous.  But I have heard of other places where the hometown boy or girl became famous for something.  Most of the time the hometown people are astonished by the knowledge or talent that came from someone they knew.  So far, so good.

I really don’t think Jesus means to tell us that preachers cannot go to their home town to preach.  I think it can be done and it has been done rather successfully.  However, in some instances where I have seen this, the person has been away from their home town for quite a while.  I wouldn’t advise anyone to go back to their home town right after graduation from seminary.  It would be hard to do.  But I suppose that too could be done.  It would depend on the circumstances.

But it’s hard because these hometown people know you and all your faults.  They know that you did this and this.  They know that you used to hang out with so and so.  The list goes on and on because like it or not, home towns will gossip about you and just about anyone else.  Jesus is showing us in this little part that even He cannot go back to his hometown to preach.  In other words, He would advise anyone not to go back to their hometown.

However, Jesus did a little more than preach.  He claimed to be the long awaited Messiah.  He did this in the synagogue.  It was ok for Him to stand in front of the church and tell of God and what He had done.  The elders and others marveled at what Jesus had to say. Other Gospel writers also talk about this in a little more detail than Mark.  Mark omits the fact that Jesus claimed to be the fulfillment of prophecy.  He just tells us that Jesus spoke to the church.  At first they were very impressed.  After all, they had known this young man as He grew up.  They had helped Him along the road.  But wait a minute, now the tide will change.  How in the world did Jesus get to be so smart?  How did He get to know the Scriptures so well? How in the world does He have the right to call himself a prophet?

Jesus says that He has no honor in His hometown and His family.  He could do no miracles there except for a very few.  I always tell you that Jesus can do anything because He is God.  I still say He can.  But Jesus is the type of God who will not force Himself upon you.  You have to make that first step that we talked about last week.  Very few people in His hometown were willing to make this first step so the only way Jesus could be successful in Nazareth is to force His ways upon them and of course Jesus doesn’t work that way.  Jesus is thwarted but once again, He does not give up.

That’s the first part of the paradox and here comes the second.  Jesus calls His disciples together and sends them out into the countryside in pairs.  He gave them the authority over unclean spirits.  In other words He gave them the authority to go into the countryside close to Nazareth and spread the word of Christ and making new disciples.  He also tells them to bring nothing with and that they were supposed to rely on the charity of those to whom they were ministering.  Among other things, He was showing us how to go into the world as missionaries.  He is showing them how to have His power even though they are only human.

Now you may think that this is not really the way of the world today.  We do not go out in twos.  We do not rely on charity.  We have big organizations behind us to help with costs and other things.  But I think the most successful missionaries are the ones who do these things the way that Jesus tells His disciples.  Even Sharon and I relied on Jesus when we sold our houses in West Fargo and Moorhead and moved out to Kindred.  Then we relied on the folks out there to accept us.  They took a chance on a man who had never preached two Sundays in a row.  Now I’m going on my 21^st year.  Only Jesus Christ could have worked this miracle.

These disciples went out and they were highly successful.  They healed people.  They got people to repent.  They were able to cast out demons.  They could do it all.  They could do all the things that Jesus couldn’t do when He was in Nazareth, hence the paradox.

Jesus has been very clever here.  He knew He could do very little when He was in Nazareth.  He knew that the disciples could do much more when He sent them out.  They could probably have done even more in Nazareth but that is just speculation on my part.  Jesus is showing them that there will be places where they will not be able to penetrate the armor of the enemy.  There will be places where the devil is just too strong.  Then we can only plant the seeds and pray for the best.  There will be places where this wonderful message will not be heard.  However, there will also be places where this word is welcomed beyond all imagination.  As much as we are failing in Christianity in this country, it is more than flourishing in China and Africa.  God will not be defeated.  I have read the book and do you know what happens?  He wins in the end.  So whose side do you want to be on?

Here’s the deal.  Even Jesus cannot win everyone.  Sometimes the enemy is just too entrenched to move out.  Jesus tells the disciples when this happens shake the dust off your feet and move on to the next person or place.  This will be testimony against those who refuse to listen and believe.  We have been ordered to tell the whole world about Jesus Christ.  We have not been ordered to wait until everyone is converted because it won’t happen.  We are to move on.  All we are is the messengers.  The Holy Spirit is the worker.  Get out of the way and let Him do what He is very good at.

It was not too long ago that I read an article that mentioned a famous atheist but I don’t remember his name.  You all know what proselytizing is, don’t you?  This is the act of trying to convince someone to join a religion or group or something similar.  I proselytize often as I want people to join with Jesus Christ in life.  The secular world uses this word in a bad context.  They don’t want us proselytizing because they feel we are infringing on their rights whatever that means.  They do not feel right because they are convicted by the Holy Spirit.  They don’t realize that we are commanded to do this.  Anyway, this atheist says that he would never trust someone who does not proselytize.  He feels that if a person doesn’t have enough convictions about what he is doing to proselytize about it, then why bother listening at all.

People, that is what we should be doing in every church in the country.  We are to do a lot of proselytizing.  I know what I’m preaching is the truth and all others are false.  You can take that to the bank.  And that is what I want all of you to do also.  You weren’t all made to stand up here and be preachers.  But you were all gifted in different ways.  Whatever your gift is, go out and use it in the name of Jesus Christ.  If you just go out and use it, it does not do much good unless it is for the glory of God.  Let’s begin a new chapter in our churches where everything we do is in the name of Jesus Christ.  If we do, great things will happen.

Just remember that you cannot win them all.  The people who turn you down are the ones who will remember that conversation for eternity.  Move on to the next person.  Jesus tells us that the road to hell is wide and it is full.  All we can do is keep trying to win people as best we can.  If we keep doing this then someday Jesus may say to you, “Well, done my good and faithful servant.”  I don’t think there can ever be a higher form of praise.  Jesus came to make this world a better place.  He gave you gifts to make this world a better place.  When you use them in the name of Jesus, great things will follow.  Jesus loves you more than your wildest dreams.  Thank you, Jesus, for first loving us.  Let’s pray.