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Excerpts from:
'Our Walking Papers' Among his own people, in his hometown, Jesus encounters rejection and conflict. Mark suggests that they rejected him because they thought of him as an unimpressive "hometown boy." Interestingly, we are given no content of his teaching here, only a report that an encounter with Jesus provoked fierce resistance, even among those who were closest to him. The people of Nazareth praised and cursed Jesus in the same breath Mark links this story of rejection with the sending out of the disciples as if to say that the crisis which Jesus provoked will also afflict those who follow Jesus as he gives his disciples instruction on how to handle inevitable conflict. This wasn't a casual visit from a hometown son; it was a rabbi returning with his disciples to the synagogue. From this text we see a simple, straightforward, but sometimes overlooked insight: Jesus provoked controversy; his followers also provoked controversy. There was something about Jesus, something in his teaching or in his person, that turned away more people than he attracted. The third verse says, that, "they took offense at him." The word for offense in the Greek is 'eskandalizonto' where we get the phrase, 'to scandalize.' Jesus was an offense, they looked upon Jesus with disgrace, with shame-the church ladies were gossiping behind their hands, "Why, that's just Jesus, Mary's boy-the builder, you know the carpenter. Why look, isn't that his family over there in the fifth pew? If you'll read Mark 5, you'll follow Jesus all over the place, as he works in great 'dunamis'-in dynamic power, casting out demonic spirits, healing, and raising the dead to life. Mark records that, "Those witnessing his power, both Jew and Gentile were amazed." But here at home, friends and neighbors had never witnessed Jesus with power and wisdom. They had only witnessed him as a child. It was essentially their surface knowledge of Jesus that kept them from really knowing and benefiting from Him. Could this be a warning to all people who think that they know all about Jesus, but, in fact, may misunderstand and reject the real person of Christ? Do we allow things to stand in the way of knowing the real Jesus? Things like;
Traditional, caste snobbery is at work here, in Jesus' hometown. In the Greco-Roman world of Jesus there were simply two classes of people; upper and lower. The great divide was between those who had to work with their hands and those who did not. The word translated "carpenter" ("tekton") may be more properly translated "builder". A "tekton" was not limited to working with wood, but could use stone or even metal in building. Jesus was a carpenter, therefore, he, belonged to the Artisan class. That group pushed into the dangerous space between Peasants and Degradeds or Expendables. He was low on totem pole caste system. His common beginnings did not fit the assessment that he was now a prophet. The result was scandal and fear. In fact, those who should have known best turned out to be the most incapable of insight. So it seems that the refusal -- or inability -- of Jesus' neighbors to accept his new rabbi status confirms what the story has suggested thus far: the world's standards of judgment are in complete conflict of God's ways. Controversial. Jesus, it appears, was willing to suffer their rejection and to be misunderstood. Speaking in parables that often needed to be explained, separated the looky-loos who wanted to just experience hype, from those who truly wanted to learn. He was not so concerned with telling stories that were entertaining or appealing to the general audience. He was much more interested in quality than quantity. How are we any different from the looky-loos of Biblical days. Are we just looking at the surface of Christ's life and what he can do for us? Are we relying on childhood Bible stories and self-help books to feed our spirits? Do we have itching ears that want to hear only 'good and pretty' things regarding the Christian life? Or are our hearts listening to the call to walk with Him, desiring HIS deeper 'dunamis'-in dynamic power, walk..... where true transformation takes place. Are you ready to accept your Walking Papers? |