Why Did the People of Nazareth Scorn Jesus?
Meister der Kahriye-Cami-Kirche, Nazareth as depicted on a Byzantine mosaic; image from Wikimedia Commons.
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There is a sentiment going around nowadays with increasing frequency, which can be summed up as, “That offends me!” People seem to get offended at the drop of a hat as though there is no greater sin than to offend someone. If you offend someone, then you have deep moral failings and phobias that need to be acknowledged and fixed. The offender is always in the wrong, while the offended one is blameless and beyond reproach.
If someone is so easily offended, maybe the issue isn’t with others but with them. At times, it is surely wrong to be offensive, but what if there are times that it is equally problematic to be offended? And it is this line of reasoning that our Lord sets before us as he takes the weekend to visit his hometown:
[Jesus] went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands?Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. (Mark 6:1-6)
Our Lord just raised the daughter of Jairus from the dead. A mom and dad got to hold the warm flesh of their girl, who was just moments before a cold corpse. The power of our Savior shattered the grip of death, and it tenderly hands a daughter back to her dad. Yet, Jesus is not one to let the grass grow underneath his feet. The Father sent him to be a traveling preacher, so he must continue his journey. And Mark places him next in his hometown. The approximately thirty-mile walk from the Sea of Galilee to his family estate is glossed over without event.
Nazareth was the family residence for the clan of Jesus.
We know from chapter 1 that Jesus is from Nazareth. An impure spirit even called him Jesus of Nazareth. Mark, though, is not interested in the name of this village, but he underscores that this is the fatherland of our Lord. This is where Jesus grew up, went to school, and found a job. Despite any connections his family had with Bethlehem, Nazareth is the family residence for the clan of Jesus.
Estimates put the population of Nazareth maybe as high as 1,600 in the first century, not very big, and family extended beyond just your immediate household to include cousins, aunts, and grand-parents. In a small village like this, it was not uncommon to be related to half the town. Yet, your hometown was not just about the address of where you went to elementary school. Rather, in the ancient world, your origin forecasted your destiny. Heroes hailed from prestigious locations. Insignificant hamlets gave birth to people of little consequence. Your fatherland determined your station and lot in life.
And if you attempted to advance beyond your station, it was looked upon with suspicion and contempt. A warm welcome is by no means guaranteed for our Lord. Though, as is his habit, Jesus heads to the synagogue on the Sabbath to do some teaching, and the elders are happy to let Jesus fill the pulpit for the day.
The Nazarene congregation’s response to the teaching of Jesus takes a sour turn.
The people hear Jesus’ teaching, and they are amazed and astonished. This is not a happy surprise; rather, it is disturbing and overwhelming. They are impressed—but not in a good way. Where did this man get these things?
The people of Nazareth are bothered by a gross mismatch. On the one hand, these teachings are impressive and excellent. They admit Jesus’ instruction is full of wisdom; it is astute, profound, and relayed with the confidence of an expert. Yet, how can such big words come from such a small man? Note they won’t even name Jesus. They point to him as this man and basically charge Jesus with plagiarism, with stealing intellectual property. Where did this guy get such teaching? Who gave him such wisdom? It sure couldn’t come from him!
By this question, the people actually testify against themselves. To give or grant wisdom is a biblical idiom; it is found throughout the Old Testament and the New Testament. And everywhere it appears, the clear and unambiguous answer is God. God alone is the true source and giver of wisdom. They recognize wisdom in Jesus, but they consider it unthinkable. They question not just the possibility of it, but the suitability of it. And they think the same about his mighty works. How can this guy do miracles? It just feels wrong to them.
The people think teaching is for rabbis and intellectuals, not for illiterate carpenters like Jesus.
The people of Nazareth make this clear by answering their own questions: Where did this guy get such excellent instruction? Is he not a carpenter? There is no way a carpenter should be able to teach like this. Teaching is for rabbis and intellectuals, not for illiterate carpenters. Now, the word here for carpenter is the more general word meaning smith.
The word smith refers to a craftsman, who can work with a variety of materials. In Greek sources, this word does more often refer to a craftsman of wood and lumber, a carpenter. Yet, in the Old Testament it is used for those who work with wood, stone, bronze, or iron. Jesus could be a blacksmith, a stone-mason, or a carpenter. We don’t know his preferred material.
Either way, the point of mentioning Jesus’ profession is about class; namely, the contrast between the class of smiths and that of the intellectuals. A smith would generally be illiterate, except for business dealings, while the skill of wise instruction comes from those who were wealthy and could afford fancy private schools or tutors.
The Nazarenes are affronted that Jesus exceeds and overreaches beyond his station.
Being a smith was not necessarily a shameful thing; in fact, skilled craftsmen were an important part of human capital for a city. Yet, the educated elite did look down on them, as being below them. The sophisticated nobility were too good for such labor as working with their hands, to get sweaty and a tan.
More so, if a blacksmith attempted to be a scholar, to rub shoulders with nobles, then it was dishonorable. The smith was exalting himself above his station; he was doing things not proper for him. Thus, the people are affronted that Jesus exceeds and overreaches beyond his station. He is a smith; how dare he play the rabbi!
Jesus is trained in swinging a hammer, not in eloquent teaching. This hometown boy, who had a fifteen-year career in smithing, should not be so wise with words. This is offensive. And the people don’t merely disparage Jesus, but they also lump in his family.
It’s interesting that the people only mention Mary as Jesus’ parent.
In the first century your family heritage determined your character and capacities. Where did Jesus get such wisdom? Well, it cannot be his mother. He is the son of Mary, who is just a plain-Jane lady. Now, it’s interesting that they only mention Mary because the typical way to identify a person was by the father. The son of Joseph is basically Jesus’ last name. Yet, the people ignore Joseph and name him the son of Mary. Why this is the case is not entirely clear. Though, given the insulting tone, this is likely disparaging because they know Jesus was a shot-gun baby.
The math is simple. Nine months before Jesus was born, Mary was not yet married to Joseph. She got pregnant before she was rightfully betrothed to Joseph. Maybe Joseph is the father; maybe he is not. This son of Mary is an illegitimate child. Mary is a simpleton peasant and immoral in their eyes. Jesus was the product of an impure union. Wise teachers ought to have aristocratic and upright origins, and Jesus fails on both accounts. And they lump in his brothers as further evidence. They list off all four of his nothing-special and well-known brothers: James, Joses, Judas and Simon. Furthermore, they even point at Jesus’ sisters, who seem to be present in the synagogue.
Look, there are his sisters. The brothers and sisters that the townsfolk have known their whole lives further disqualify Jesus from being a wise intellectual and miracle worker. Of course, this is a fascinating window into the family of our Lord and the most information we are given about the household of Joseph and Mary in Scripture.
Jesus is most likely in his thirties, which puts Mary into her mid-to-late forties. And in addition to Jesus, Mary bore another four sons and at least two daughters. Mary is at least the mother of seven. This verse has been offensive not just to the Nazarenes, but to much of church history.
The idea that Mary was a perpetual virgin has no Scriptural support.
In the first few centuries of the early church, there arose a doctrine, which became increasing popular, about the perpetual virginity of Mary. This teaching stated that Mary was a virgin when she bore Jesus and she was a virgin for the rest of her life. The taint of sex was too repellent to be applied to Mary. Thus, Jerome understood brothers here to mean cousins—these four boys were the children of Mary’s sister. Another view was that the brothers were Joseph’s children from a previous marriage. The problem with these interpretations is that they have no Scriptural support. The Bible never even insinuates that Mary was a permanent virgin. In fact, virginity is not a proper, full-rounded virtue in Scripture.
Before marriage, virginity is proper and right. Pre-marital sex is a sin against God. Yet, after marriage, virginity becomes a vice. The created purpose of marriage is to become one flesh. To get married and not to share yourself with your spouse is a sin; it would be legal grounds for a divorce (1 Cor. 7:1-5).
Ironically, the doctrine of Mary’s perpetual virginity, which claims to increase the holiness of Mary, actually makes her a worse sinner. Moreover, to be offended by the truth that Mary had other children puts you in the same place as the Nazarenes here, which is not a good spot to be in, as we are about to see.
The Nazarenes are scandalized by Jesus touching the holy teaching of the synagogue.
The proper reading is that these are true siblings of our Lord, and Mary conceived and bore at least six more children by Joseph. And the congregants within the synagogue categorize Mary’s family as too plain, mundane, and uneducated to be the source of Jesus’ wisdom and power. Therefore, Mark registers that they are offended by Jesus. The moral alarm of their conscience sounds as they deem Jesus as unworthy, revolting, and doing what should not be done.
Their taking offense also means the people caused themselves to sin. Their feelings of repugnance at Jesus are a stumbling block for them into sin. They are offended out of a sense of justice, from a position of superiority, but the offended ones are the ones in the wrong.
Thus, Jesus notes a proverb that was just proven true. A prophet has no dishonor, except in his hometown. When a prophet goes on tour, he is applauded and respected as God’s authoritative emissary, but he comes home and gets no respect. And Jesus extends this proverb to include his relatives and his own household. This implies that his mother and siblings are not supportive of Jesus. They are ashamed of him and judge him as taboo. Our Lord forms this proverb based on the Old Testament. He claims for himself the office of prophet, and he resembles the prophets of old.
Nearly all the prophets were dishonored and treated with contempt by the people of their homeland.
The clearest example we have of this is the prophet Jeremiah, who was from the city of Anathoth. The men of Anathoth attempted to murder Jeremiah, and there are numerous similar examples. Moses was rejected by his fellow Hebrews in Exodus 2, and David was scorned by his brothers in 1 Samuel 17.
In fact, nearly all the prophets were dishonored and treated with contempt by the people of their homeland, and what did all this disrespect have in common? It arose out of a sense of justice. People were offended by what they considered to be unjust, improper, and unworthy. Moses had no office to be their judge; thus, he had no right.
David was the runt of the family—how dare he show up his older brothers. Jeremiah preached judgment against his hometown—what a failure of loyalty. Indeed, by this proverb, Jesus alludes to Isaiah 53:3, where it says, he was dishonored and rejected by men. Jesus acknowledges that he is the suffering servant.
Yet, disrespect and dishonor are shown to those considered unworthy. You dishonor the one who is morally unacceptable, socially inferior, or whose character is deeply flawed. So, the Nazarenes are offended because Jesus is not good enough. Additionally, what is the fruit of their being offended?
The product of the people’s dishonor of Jesus is unbelief. Thus, Jesus was unable to do miracles in Nazareth. Besides a few healed sick people, Jesus couldn’t perform wonders in his hometown. The problem is not with Jesus’ power; rather, our Lord administers his wonders through faith. As Jesus said to the bleeding woman, “‘Daughter, your faith has made you well’” (Mark 5:34).
So, by the faith of Jairus, Jesus raised his daughter from the dead. In contrast to these great examples of faith, the Nazarenes have no faith. And without faith, our Lord will not unleash his powerful grace to heal, to save. These people know Jesus the best, but their familiarity only fuels their unbelief. As it says, Jesus marveled because of their unbelief.
Being offended makes us feel like the innocent victim, while feeling comfortable in our own moral superiority.
Jesus is astounded that they are offended unto disbelief. Their being scandalized rules out any faith in Jesus. And what a sober warning is this for us! For, we live in a time where offense is a growing trend. It is so cool to be offended; there is a competition to see who can be the most offended. For being offended makes us feel like the innocent victim; it allows us to demonize the other, while feeling comfortable in our own moral superiority. And the offense of Christ has not diminished.
Sure, as Paul tells us, we should put no stumbling block to faith, except Christ and him crucified. We are called to labor to remove all offense except the gospel of Jesus. Yet, in a world where the social gospel is so prized, the offense of Christ increases. One side is scandalized that Jesus is not woke enough. The other side is offended that he isn’t right-wing enough.
We must be on our guard not to be offended by Christ.
Theocrats on both ends of the spectrum are indignant with Jesus unless they twist him to fit their particular agenda. In the Middle Ages, for Mary to lose her virginity was scandalous. Heaven forbid you believe in a Savior whose mother slept with her husband, and our modern sensibilities that are offended by Jesus are no less trite and shallow.
We must be on our guard not to be offended by Christ. As Jesus said, “blessed is the one who is not offended by me” (Matt. 11:6). To be offended by Christ is poison to faith. Being scandalized by Jesus Christ strangles true faith and eventually gives birth to marvelous unbelief. To be offended by Christ is not a problem with Jesus, but it means we have a problem.
Dear saints, guard your faith from the unbelieving offense of the world. When we feel the urge to be scandalized by Jesus, may we repent and trust in him. May we let go of our moral superiority, since in truth we have none, and in faith may we cast ourselves upon Jesus Christ.
May we take comfort in the fact that a Nazarene smith was the wisdom of God for our salvation. A marginal Jewish carpenter died and rose for your justification. A Galilean stonemason is your only comfort in life and in death, for he was the Suffering Servant who was dishonored upon the cross for your eternal glory.
All your sins are washed away and heaven is given to you as a gift of grace and through faith alone in Jesus Christ, the smith from Nazareth, who became the Lamb of God. Praise the Lord for his infinite grace and the wisdom of Christ that is both folly to the world and the power of God for our resurrected redemption. Blessed is the one who is not offended by Christ.
This article is adapted from the Rev. Zach Keele’s sermon on Mark 6:1-6, preached on November 28, 2021, and was was originally published at Beautiful Christian Life on September 1, 2022.
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