If you will, turn with me to
Mark chapter 6. In the final verse of chapter
5, our Lord gave a charge to those who witnessed the raising
of Jairus' daughter, a little 12-year-old girl. He said, don't
tell anybody what you've just seen. That's an odd charge, isn't
it? They saw what a handful of people
had seen in their lifetime, and he said, don't tell anybody. And this he did not because he
did something wrong or that there would be something
wrong in them telling what they saw or that telling what they
saw wouldn't glorify God or compromise His character. The reason He
told them not to tell anybody is because it would lead folks
to seek Him for the wrong reason. People who heard what He did,
if you read carefully in the Scripture, you'll see they brought
out everybody they knew. This man could do what no other
man could do, and they brought out everybody. I mean, anybody
and everybody with any kind of an ailment, they brought them
out so much so that he couldn't even stand on the shore of Galilee. He had to get in a boat and shove
off to keep from being thrown by the people. The crowds were
just pushing and people trying to get to him and get an audience
with him. And so he tells them for that
sake not to tell anybody. The day after feeding the 5,000,
that multitude was going to take him and make him king by force.
And he slipped away from them into a quiet place. And you know
the story of the crossing of the sea and everything. And then
the next day, on the other side, that same multitude found him.
And here he came and they came greeting him and he said, you
didn't, you're not come here because of what you heard. You
come here because you ate of the loaves and were filled. You're
coming here for the benefits. So that's the reason I say what
I said about his charge. You seek me not because you saw
the miracles but because you did eat of the loaves and were
filled, you sought me for the fleshly benefits that you might
receive. And I can just imagine the crowds
that gathered around him hoping in some way to receive a fleshly
benefit from him. And thousands today do the same
thing. They come into churches hoping
to receive some physical benefit, some monetary benefit. Now our
lesson today is in the first six verses of Mark chapter six. And my subject is this, an ungodly
astonishment. I just have so many letters to
put in a title. I would love to have included
the other amazement or astonishment. Our Lord said He marveled at
their unbelief. But they were astonished at Him
with an ungodly astonishment. In verse 1, let's read through
these verses. And he went out from thence,
that is from the house of Jairus, where he raised his daughter.
And he came into his own country, into Nazareth. And his disciples
followed him. And when the Sabbath day was
come, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing him
were astonished. This is where he was raised. Nazareth. And many were astonished
when they heard him speak, saying, From whence hath this man these
things? And what wisdom is this which
is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought
by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the
son of Mary, the brother of Jannes, and Joses, and of Judah, and
Simon, are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended
at him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet
is not without honor, but in his own country, and among his
own kin, and in his own house. And he could there do no mighty
work. said that he laid his hands upon
a few sick folk and healed them. And he marveled because of their
unbelief. And he went round about the villages
teaching. And I hope in these few verses
that I've selected five things for you to look at and hopefully
have some impact on how we live and minister to our own families. It's a subject I don't deal with
very often, but it's one I think that is the heart of this account
given by our Lord and I want to try to deal with it a little
bit. The first thing is this, he went to his own country. He didn't stay away, he went. I've had experiences with my
own family, and it's kept me apart from some of those experiences. So I take encouragement in this.
He went. Now, I went suspecting on how
they might react. He went knowing how they would
react. He knew all that. He knew exactly
how they were going to treat him before he ever went there.
And he told his disciples about it many times. But here it said
he went to his own country. And he knew what to expect, yet
it did not prevent his going to them. He went. And it's a big encouragement
to me. All the times that I've tried
to minister to my relatives, I've been snapped at like trying
to pet a rabid dog when you go to talk to them about their soul
and talk to them about the things of God, or pitied like a mentally
handicapped child who's been cruelly sold a bill of goods. That's my experience with my
relatives. We know you. We know you. Yeah, I do too. I do too. I know what I'm capable of. I
know what I've done. And I realized the restraining
hand of God that kept me from going far beyond that. But their knowing me as I was
as a child prevents them from hearing what the Lord's taught
me and what the Lord's called me to do. They knew him. Now, he didn't do anything wrong.
He lived a perfect life among them. I can't imagine. I worked
as a carpenter most of my life, and believe me, he was no stair
builder and he didn't build furniture. When they called him a carpenter,
they weren't trying to hold him up on a pedestal achieving something
that only a handful can achieve. He built barns and stables and
mangers and gates and that type of thing. Very rough carpentry. How did I know that? Because
his family was poor. They were poor. After my family reacted the way
they did in my youth, I just quit going to their reunions,
and I quit. I'll go to their funerals, and
I'll go to things like that. Or if I'm invited to go to a
birthday party or something, I'll go. But if I try to attend
their reunions and things, it's been a bad experience for
me my whole life. But I'm finding some encouragement
here to go regardless, just as the Lord did, and maybe
help a few. He could there do no mighty works
because of their unbelief, but he did lay his hands on a few
sick folk. He did do some good. He did go
about their villages and their little communities teaching.
He was permitted to do that, and maybe that's all that'll
come from it. Maybe I'll be able to put a word in the ear of one
of my nieces or nephews or something. So I find encouragement in this.
He went to his own country. He went. And secondly, I want
you to see this. His disciples follow him. They
went too. They went too. Now a disciple
is a follower, and it's not so much my willingness or even some
hope of success as it is his example as an encouragement to
me. He went, and because he went,
his disciples followed him. It's His encouragement and His
instruction. And without hesitation, they
followed their Lord to Nazareth. Those who would serve the Lord,
follow Him. They follow Him. They follow
not only His instruction, but they follow His examples. Nobody
example faith like the Lord Jesus Christ. Nobody. Nobody example
love and kindness a merciful, gracious spirit like our Lord
Jesus Christ. And those who would serve the
Lord must study him and take note where he goes and what he
says and how others reacted to him. And hidden from the natural eye,
hidden, altogether hidden from the natural eye is a pattern
of life for every true believer. Where did he go? He went where
providence led him. He went where opportunity was
manifested. He went where his heart commanded
him to go. All right, thirdly, let's look
at how he was received. They looked down their noses
at him and said, in an ungodly astonishment from whence hath
this man these things." What things? He just kind of leaves that hanging
in the air, don't he? These things. What things? When he'd left Nazareth, he was
the son of a carpenter. worked around on their homes
or their barns and stables. And now he was standing before
the people as an accomplished speaker, one who has taken the
place of a rabbi, one they called Master, Doctor of Divinity in their religion. and this man standing in their
place. He was in a place that demanded
some honor, some acknowledgement, some submission, and they wanted
to know who appointed these things to him. He wasn't wearing the
Pharisees' broad phylacteries. He wasn't carrying a diploma
from their school. He wasn't even dressed like a
rabbi would dress. He had on a common robe. He was dressed more like the
people he was speaking to than like those who would be doing
the speaking. Whose school did he go to? I've had that said many times.
Where'd he go, Scooby? Who ordained him? How come this learned rabbi to
give this man this opportunity? The Pharisees didn't own him. From whence hath this man these
things? Now you might be in here this
morning looking at me asking yourself the same question. From whence hath he these things?
How come him to be up here talking to me? Whose he think he is? Who ordained
him to that station? Where did he acquire this skill
to understand and teach the scriptures? Never a man spake like this man. Where did he acquire this doctrine,
this strange doctrine that he preached? By whose authority is he here? And the power that he's supposed
to have to heal the sick and raise the dead and cleanse the
lepers, where did that come from? Well, I think it came from the
disciples that followed him. and the crowd that followed him
and the stories and his reputation that preceded him. But they looked
down their noses at him and they called him, in contempt, the
carpenter. The carpenter. Now, I got thinking
about this. Never a man's fake is this man.
You think about this. Even the winds and the waves
obeyed his voice. When he told Jairus' daughter
to arise, she arose. When he told Lazarus to come
out of that tomb, Lazarus came out of that tomb. How did he
get out there? He was bound head to toe. He
came out by the power of God. That's how he came out. He might
have floated out. I don't know. It doesn't say
how he came out. It just says he came out. He looked at that man been laying
there at that pool of Bethesda forever and he said, take up
your bed and walk. He took up his bed and walked. He was a walking fulfillment
of the prophecies of Christ, including his being raised in
Nazareth. And the very people in Nazareth
where he was raised, was totally ignorant of who he was. All he
was to them is a carpenter. A carpenter. They would have
gladly received him as the son of Mary. They readily owned him
as the son of Mary and Joseph, the brother of Janice and Joseph
and Judah. They'd have received him as the
son of Mary. That's kind of how the Catholics
receive him, isn't it? He's the son of Mary. They don't elevate Christ, they
elevate Mary. Without Mary, he wouldn't have
any reputation at all among them, from what I can read. But they're not going to own
him as a preacher or a teacher. He said, you call me master.
Rabbi, you call me master. He said, and you do well, for
so I am. They're not going to own him
as the master, as the preacher, or as a prophet. Here in this
text, he calls himself a prophet. He said a prophet is not without
honor. saving his own country. I'm gonna tell you something
about my family. I can't speak about yours, but
I'm gonna tell you about mine. They gladly received me as a
drunk because I was and they did. They gladly received me as a
rebel and a troublemaker I was and they did. But not as an ambassador of God. Any other position, anything,
whatever it is, but not that. Not that. They would not recognize our
Lord as a representative of God and a minister of the gospel
or in any association with these things. From whence hath this
man these things? Who gave him the idea that he's
an ambassador from God? Who gave him the idea that
God set him apart to speak for him? Where did he come up with
this idea? You see what they're saying? And you may wonder why I talk
about preaching so much in this church. That's why. I want you
to know why and how. Not one time in all his life
had Jesus ever transgressed the law of God. Not one time. He was tempted, the scripture
said, in all points like as we are yet without sin. His character
was immaculate. He loved as no other. He was
kind above all his fellows. He was honest. He was godly. He was holy. And he alone was
good. He was good. They were all aware
of his character and attitude. But it all meant nothing concerning
his position as a preacher. Now let me tell you something
while we're on this subject. It's no different for any man
who would stand as a minister of God and by his presence claim
the authority that only God can give him. Not a bit of difference. Our Lord said, if they hated
me, they'll hate you. and they'll hate you for the
same reasons. Our Lord said to his ministers,
a man's foes shall be they of his own household, Matthew 10,
verse 36. It's a very real and divine miracle
that any man or any woman might look on a minister of Christ
and recognize him as a minister of Christ. That's a miracle. That's a miracle. You can't do
that. Natural man can't, he can't scrape
that up. It's not in him. It has to be
given to him. Paul said, I know your election
of God, because my gospel came not in word only, it came in
power and in a Holy Ghost, and listen to this next statement.
You become followers of us and the Lord. My soul, you think
that's not a divine work? It's a mark of your election.
Only his elect will do that. All went so far as to give their
submission as evidence of their election. Now I've got some ordination
papers at home. I guess I could hang them up
here, y'all could look at them. Signed by some reputable men. I'm pastor of a well-known church,
but it don't carry much weight in the world. and especially in my own country
and in my own house, it requires the power of God's Spirit to
cause men to acknowledge your calling and your representative
being a representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then fourthly,
the Scriptures clearly says in verse 5, he could there do no
mighty work. Now his arm was not shortened,
that he could not save, His power was not limited by their unbelief
and rejection, but it was a matter of judgment
upon them for their reaction to Him. It had nothing to do
with the Lord's ability. It had everything to do with
how they reacted. I don't know, in our generation,
people somehow have gotten the idea that you can just take it
or leave it. You can hear what's being said
and there's no repercussion. There's no, nothing's gonna happen
one way or the other if I receive it or if I don't. That's what
they thought. As far as I can tell, no writer
I ever read, I couldn't find it anywhere in the scripture
where the Lord ever went back to Nazareth and preached again. Beloved God has ordained certain
means, and the God of the Bible is not going to change or compromise
the way He saves sinners. God hath from the beginning,
He said, chosen you to salvation through sanctification of the
Spirit and belief of the truth. Whereunto He called you by our
gospel. You reckon God's going to change
His mind? You reckon because men have rejected him, especially
in his own house, now he's gonna compromise that and do something
else? No, every good gift, every perfect
gift. The ministry is the gift of God,
isn't it? He gave some pastor, some evangelist,
some prophet, some apostle. How'd they get them? He gave
them. Well, every good gift and every perfect gift cometh down
from the Father of lights. Now listen, with whom is no variableness,
not even a shadow of turning. Not even a shadow of turning. Our Lord said to the Pharisees
who with a wholesale rejection, altogether rejected him and began
to murmur. He said, don't murmur. Don't
murmur. No man can come to me except
the Father which has sent me draw him and I'll raise him up
at the last day. It's written in the prophets,
they shall all be taught of God. And this drawing has to do with
the gifts given to men to speak on God's behalf. We are ambassadors
as though God did beseech you by us. Isn't that what Paul said? And when these gifts are not
received, he said, he that heareth you, heareth me. And he that
despiseth you, despiseth him that sent me. I'm sending you, and he that
hears you hears me. And he that despiseth you, he
despiseth me, and he despiseth him who sent me. When these gifts are not received,
not acknowledged, not obeyed, there's going to be consequences.
Actually, the scripture's a little less unforgiving than the statement
I just made. It said, he that believeth not
shall be damned. Boy, that's pretty stringent,
isn't it? Scripture says, because they would not receive the love
of the truth, that they might be saved. For this cause God
sent them strong delusion, to believe a lie and be damned. When they said these things,
they didn't hinder our Lord from fulfilling his calling, but they
manifested his calling by their rejection and unbelief. Paul
warned the church there where he was preaching about that.
He told them exactly what Isaiah said. He said, you better be
careful. You better be careful. God's judgment fell upon them
and he showed it by not allowing his son to do many mighty works
in that place. I'm gonna tell you something,
don't be too quick to judge a man's ministry by men's rejection of
him. Our Lord was rejected by far
more than received him. And it's true the same of all
his disciples and apostles. Could be that God is confirming
his hand upon him by his hearer's rejection of him. Could be. All right, fifth place. It says,
our Lord marveled because of their unbelief. There's no greater
sin than the sin of unbelief. That's the greatest of sins.
Why? Because there's no reason for
it. Give me a reason right now. You're sitting here, you're listening
to me talk. You've read some in the Bible.
Most of you've read quite a bit. Give me one reason for unbelief. Give me one thing in Christ not
to be trusted. Point out one flaw in the gospel
of God's sovereign grace. There's no reason for unbelief
except for a wicked heart. There's no reason. That's why
it's one of the greatest sins. The whole of the Old Testament
scriptures concerning the coming of the Redeemer were fulfilled
by Him, even His very words on the cross. His birth, His life, His death,
His resurrection, His intercession and glory. Most of these things
were witnessed by men who lived far past the resurrection of
Christ. even the very words that he spoke.
And to reject him as the Christ is to reject the whole of the
Word of God. That's another reason why it's
such a great sin. Unbelief is the worst of sins
because it calls God a liar. Everything is in order exactly
as God has said, and unbelief casts it aside saying it's a
lie. Unbelief is the granddaddy of
all sins because it puts a question mark on the character of God. It finds flaws. A man told me one time, he said
even Christ sinned because he got angry. He didn't get angry
without a just cause. It's doubts. It doubts his wisdom and love
and mercy. It doubts his sovereignty, sufficiency
and grace. And unbelief is the greatest
of sins because it judges God by its own inability, its own
wisdom and understanding. He said, you thought I was altogether
such one as yourself. That's your thoughts of me. Oh
my soul, he marveled. He marveled. How much more confirmation
could a man have than Christ had on this earth? He just raised
a dead girl. Just before he got there. He
just commanded the winds and the waves to cease before he
reached the other side. And yet men would not believe. And that's what he told them
in John chapter six. He said, you have seen me and
yet you do not believe. Lord bless you.