May the words of my mouth and the meditation of our hearts be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, our Rock and our Redeemer. Amen.

Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. "Where did this man get these things?" they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, "Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honor." He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their lack of faith. Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village. (Mark 6:1-8)

In Christ's name and to his glory: Sometimes we imagine that while Jesus lived and worked here on earth his ministry was one day of success after another. True, there were 1000's of success stories. We know them-Zacchaeus, Nicodemus, Mary Magdalene, scores of people healed who looked to Jesus for more than just earthly relief but for forgiveness and eternal life. Still there were even more 1000's who rejected him. We hear of some of them today. They lived in Nazareth, Jesus' hometown. God would have us learn from their mistakes today. We have as our central thought: DON'T LET ANYTHING STAND IN THE WAY OF JESUS' BLESSINGS! May the Lord give us listening ears.

The people of Nazareth let things get between them and Jesus' blessings. The Bible calls Nazareth Jesus' hometown. He was born in Bethlehem, raised in Nazareth (in central Galilee), and worked out of Capernaum (on the shores of the Sea of Galilee). You would have to say that Nazareth was the most blessed of towns for Jesus, God made flesh, lived visibly there for some 30 years! Sadly, this town that he blessed with his visible presence the most rejected him in unbelief for the most part!

The Gospel writers seem to condense the accounts of Jesus preaching in his hometown. You can find accounts in Luke 4 and Matthew 13 as well as here in Mark 6. It seems that, at first, the people welcomed Jesus. All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words from his lips, it says in Luke 4. He spoke of God's kingdom like the teachers of the law did, but there was a difference that the hearts of people caught. It was not so much Jesus' style as it was his content. He had "gracious" words. The kingdom was about God's grace to individual sinners, not political power or mere earthly, outward advances of Christian ideals the way we hear our present day media speak of Christianity. It was grace-more about what God gives us than about what God demands of us. He comforted souls who were frightened at the prospect of what would happen to them when they died and stood before their Judge.

But then feelings about Jesus began to turn. Luke says that one time the people of Nazareth pulled Jesus to the edge of a cliff to throw him off, but Jesus miraculously escaped and walked away from them. And here in Mark we hear that the people said, "Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?" And they took offense at him. The Bible shows that the people rejected Jesus out of jealous envy-they were jealous that Jesus did not do more miracles in Nazareth as he did in Capernaum (Luke 4:23). They rejected Jesus because he was too "familiar". His parents and half-brothers & sisters (children of Mary and Joseph) were known. Perhaps people in this small town were jealous of the family that had this wonder-man Jesus in their midst. No one who grew up among them could be the promised Messiah as Jesus claimed, so they thought.

The sad result was that their petty jealously, pride, and familiarity-contempt robbed them of the blessings they might have otherwise had. Jesus did few miracles there. How could he when they were trying to kill him? People were too proud to go to the carpenter's son for help, and so they had not "because they asked not" (James 4:2). But most sadly, they rejected their only way to heaven.

They certainly had no excuse, only their own sinful reasons by which they justified their actions. But such reasons would not hold up on the last day. God had not withheld his grace from Nazareth. Nazareth had let silly, sinful things get in the way of Jesus' blessings. What tragedy! What an example to warn us that Jesus can be so near yet sin can keep him so far away!

Don't let anything stand in the way of Jesus' blessings to you. The people of Nazareth were blessed to have Jesus, but he has not withheld those same blessings to anyone in any generation. We know exactly where to find him. The voice of the Gospel has gone out into all the world (Romans 10:18) and Jesus promises that the Gospel will be preached at all times and in all places (Matthew 24:14). Jesus has come to our generation as he has in every single one in the past and has preached peace to those far and near (Ephesians 2:17). It just never was or will be that God does not want people to know of him. Most importantly, he has not hidden himself from us.

So then why all the doubts and unbelief? These are for one reason, and one reason alone-sinful people let things get in the way of Jesus' blessing. And let us not think that we are immune or Satan will have caught us too. Things haven't changed. Still sinful man builds the same old obstacles that hold back God's grace and blessing. There is pride, just as in Nazareth. As baptized and confirmed Lutherans are we sometimes offended if it is implied that there is still room for study and growth in both faith and Christian living? Does the American spirit with its rugged individualism keep us from crying out to God for help? Does our own pride ever stand in the way so that it is true of us too-we do not have because we do not ask of God--? (James 4:2) There is jealous envy, just as in Nazareth. Do we ever compare our blessing to others and feel like the people of Nazareth-Hey, God, what about me? We are discontented with him and worship is less than enthusiastic. We don't like listening anymore, and cut ourselves off from God's blessings. There is familiarity-contempt, just as in Nazareth. Do we ever say: I don't like the pastor...somebody said something that offended me one time...I didn't agree with the numskulls at the last meeting who couldn't see that I was right...I don't like this or that...so I stopped going to church or stopped enjoying worship the way I used to. Wow, Satan sure is a master at getting people to cut their noses to spite their faces! How sad!