Hometown
Mark 6:1-6

Nazareth wasn’t much. J.R. Edwards tells us that “archaeological excavations beneath the imposing Churches of the Annunciation and St. Joseph in Nazareth have uncovered a series of grottoes that date to the time of Jesus. The resultant picture is of an obscure hamlet of earthen dwellings chopped into sixty acres of rocky hillside, with a total population of five hundred—at the most.” (The Gospel According to Mark, p 169)

So, they all knew him as he and his disciples came into town. They knew him when, on the Sabbath, he took the scroll and began to teach in their synagogue. This was Jesus, the carpenter. They knew his family. They remembered his childhood.

And now they are offended. Jesus didn’t come home as the carpenter and son of Mary. Jesus came home as the Messiah and Son of God. He didn’t come home for a reunion, but to demand repentance. But they can’t get past the Jesus they remember to believe in the Jesus who is.

Jesus isn’t your Jesus. The Messiah of your imagination. The king with whom you’re comfortable. A god meeting your demands.

Jesus is Jesus. Revealed in Scripture as the Son of God, the King of kings, and the God making demands of you, namely that you repent and believe in his Gospel.

So, repent and believe in Jesus. He’s more than your imagination can conceive.