Chapter # 6 Paragraph # 1 Study # 7
July 20, 2021
Moss Bluff, Louisiana
(244)
1901 ASV
6:4 And Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.
6:5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them.
6:6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages teaching.
- I. The Reaction Of The "Many" In The Synagogue To The Teaching Of Jesus.
- A. The immediate impact of Jesus' teaching was a form of mental panic brought on by His teaching which was contrary to the teachings of the scribes.
- B. Then they, in reaction to their panic, made a silly excuse for not believing the words which He taught.
- C. Jesus' response to their antagonism.
- 1. Is recorded in terms of "lego" in the imperfect tense, indicative mood.
- a. This is "doctrinal truth" on Jesus' part. It reaches to the absolute foundation of Sin's existence.
- b. This is an "on-going" truth declared by Jesus. The use of the Imperfect Tense indicates Mark's desire that his readers "visualize Jesus as He is speaking these words".
- 2. Is a "truism" (proverb).
- a. A prophet.
- 1) This "identity" is an early focus in Mark 1:2 because Mark wanted to tie his entire record regarding Jesus to the "prophetic tradition" of both Isaiah and Malachi. Mark 6:4 is Mark's second reference. This is a key truth for the establishment of Truth. It is the apologetic of Isaiah in the setting of polytheism against which Judah stands. "Israel" was carried away into captivity by Assyria for its "idolatrous embrace of" other "gods" and Judah was in danger of the same end as the tendency to embrace the existence of other "gods" is endemic to human depravity. In fact, even Satan was deceived by the siren call to be "another Elohim" in competition with Yahweh.
- a) Jesus declares His own identity as a "prophet" by the use of this proverb.
- b) Mark refers to this "self-identification" as a kind of "prophetic" hint as the outcome of Jesus' words and works are the basis for His own rejection.
- 2) The core essence of a "prophet" is "a mouthpiece of Yahweh" whose words are directly from Him and are "immutable and unfailing".
- 3) Men, in the greatness of their depraved stupidity, do not give "honor" to the mouthpieces of Yahweh if those "prophets" are of their own house, relatives, and genealogical descent. For what cause? Mark 15:10. It appears that the closer one gets to the individual, the more the competition for status shows. A bit of distance seems to allow this wicked competition to be kept under wraps, though it is never absent. In Nazareth, the smallness of the town has made it impossible for this throbbing lust to be kept hidden so that the entire village is revealed in its hateful antagonism to anyone whom God favors. At the very root, however, is the reality of God's essential character as a "Slave to Love". The only true God of all creation is a "Servant God", and it is this that is so hateful to those in rebellion. The initial rebellion in the heavenlies was driven by this very reality, and, marvelously, was the basis for the "expectation and hope" that "rebellion could work against such a 'Slave'".
- b. Is emphatically "not" without honor ...
- 1) Except in his own "patridi"...
- 2) And among his own relatives...
- 3) And in his own house.
- 4) This is exactly opposite to a "king" because a "king" normally comes out of "his own house", "his own relatives", and "his own patridi". Also it is opposite to many of the typically "high places of regard" in any given kingdom.
- 3. Is recorded in respect to His "ability" to do a "mighty thing".
- a. He "could not" (dunamai)
- 1) This was not a matter of "iscus", nor of "kratos" [these He had in abundance].
- 2) This was a matter of "permission" (John 5:19; the same word "dunamai" is used).
- b. "There"
- c. Make (Do) any kind of "power" (dunamis)
- d. Except, having laid hands upon a few sickly ones, He healed.
- 4. Is recorded in terms of Jesus' "wonder" on account of their absence of faith (apistia).
- a. Mark used the term "wonder" in four places in his record (5:20; 6:6; 15:5; and 15:44).
- b. His meaning seems to run from a significant level of amazement to a mild "jolt" at an unusual phenomenon (something out of the norm).
