"He could do no miracle there"

carpecollum@gmail.com — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 16:45:34 GMT

Have you ever wondered about this statement in Mark 6:5?

Mark 6:5-6: "And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief."

Is this saying Jesus' power was thwarted in His home-town of Nazareth? Was He trying to do miracles but nothing was happening because of the lack of faith among the people? Does our lack of faith destroy the power of God?

Absolutely not! Jesus performed many miracles on people who had no (or little) faith. Case in point: any time He raised someone from the dead, it wasn't the dead man or woman's faith which enabled Jesus to perform the mighty act. Any time He cast out a demon, it wasn't the faith of the demon-possessed which allowed Jesus' power to flow into him.

Sure, there were many times Jesus said, "Your faith has made you well." What about those? Don't they show a person's faith had to be present for healing to occur? How does that fit into this discussion?

At the END of Mark 6, in verses 54-56, we see the flip story of Mark 6:5.

Mark 6:54-56: "When they got out of the boat, immediately the people recognized Him, and ran about that whole country and began to carry here and there on their pallets those who were sick, to the place they heard He was. Wherever He entered villages, or cities, or countryside, they were laying the sick in the market places, and imploring Him that they might just touch the fringe of His cloak; and as many as touched it were being cured."

Here we see why Jesus could do miracles in His home-town. It DID have to do with their faith, but it was because their faith prompted them to flock to Jesus! In His home-town, everyone already "knew" Him - He was a carpenter's son and they knew all His brothers and sisters. "We knew You while You were in diapers," many of them probably said. How could little Jesus be some great spiritual leader? How could He have great powers? They already knew, so they didn't come to Jesus. They did not believe enough to even approach Him with their sicknesses! However, in other towns and villages, persons flocked to Him in droves. They had at least a small level of belief that He could heal.

Salvation is the same way. Jesus has the power to save every person on this green earth. But who has even the smallest kernel of belief to approach Him, to ask Him, "Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean"? It would be a shame for it to be said of a city, "Jesus could do no saving there, and He marvelled at their unbelief."

God bless,

Nathan

Daily Bible Message

"He could do no miracle there"