Jesus's return to his hometown of Nazareth highlights the profound impact of unbelief on hindering God's work. Despite his miraculous deeds and divine wisdom, the people of Nazareth, knowing him as a carpenter and the son of Mary, were offended and unable to recognize him as the Son of God. This rejection prevented Jesus from performing mighty works among them, as he marveled at their lack of faith. The sermon contrasts their limited view with the heavenly recognition of Jesus as worthy and concludes by emphasizing that belief in him as the eternal Son of God is the key to experiencing his saving power and receiving everlasting life.
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I would like to read a few verses from the sixth chapter of Mark's Gospel, Mark chapter six. Now if during the meeting this morning there are any who cannot hear, just put your hand up and we'll speak louder. Sometimes people tell me they can't hear. I'll be glad to oblige you to put your hand up. Mark chapter six, verse one. and he came out from thence and came into his own country, and his disciples follow him. And when the Sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things?
And what wisdom is this which is given unto him? For even such mighty work, are wrought by his hands. Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph and of Judah and Simon, and 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 dare do no mighty work. Making words, he could dare do no mighty work, saying that he laid his hands upon a few sick folks and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went around about the villages, teaching. Let's ask for God's blessing on our meeting, shall we? Blessed God, our Father, we thank you again for bringing us here this morning. We pray, Lord, that this morning thou would open our eyes, our spiritual eyes, that we might behold no man save Jesus only.
We ask thee that thou magnify and exalt and glorify thy beloved Son in our meeting. And as it gave, it did. Look, thou work that strange work in our hearts that makes us call a deceit in worship and adoration. And if, Lord, there should be one in our midst that has never yet known the Lord Jesus in a personal way, we pray, Lord, that this morning the great work of salvation might be done. We pray that this might be the moment when the great revelation concerning thy son shall be made to our hearts.
We seek thy blessings in the precious name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. Now the Bible is a very wonderful book. It took about sixteen hundred years to write this book. written by kings and prophets and shepherds and different people. It's the most wonderful book in the world that has no mistakes in it. Although it was written by so many people and over such a long, long period, it all doves tales together with no errors. There are people in the world that tell you there are mistakes in the Bible.
It's a very easy answer to them. Give them your Bible and say, finally, the mistake. Well, I don't know it as well as that, of course. I don't know. Because they've never written it. This is God's perfect work in the book. And the theme and subject of the Bible is God's beloved son, the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the center of it all. From the earliest moment in the Garden of Eden to the last scenes and action of the revelation. When God will make all things new, The Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, is the center and theme of the whole work that God gives us in this book.
We have been studying in the last few weeks some of the scenes in the earthly life of the Lord Jesus are hidden by the Apostle by Mark, by Mark. There are four Gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke, And John, they all write about the Son of God. They all look upon him from different viewpoints, different angles, and then Mark looks upon him as God's perfect servant. Down here on earth, doing God's will. Always the eternal Son of God. We always talk about John's gospel as being the gospel of the Son. But I've been amazed to find they all talk.
They all start that way, you know. It is no need. John that starts in the beginning was the word. They all have a beginning, and they all make mention of the Lord as, look at the very first words of Mark's Gospel, and see how it compares with John. John says, in the beginning was the word, and he explains that the word was the eternal Son of God. Well, listen to Mark, and he's talking about the servant. In the beginning, that's why John, in the beginning, the beginning of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. So although he's a servant in Mark, he is the Son of God. And this is the theme of the whole Bible.
Jesus Christ is the Son of God. We have traced his footsteps in Mark from the first chapter when he appeared at thirty years of age, went down to the River Jordan and was baptized as John, went into the wilderness for that great temptation, and then came out after that John was put in prison, he came to preach the gospel of the kingdom of God. Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, the time is fulfilled. The kingdom of God is at hand. Repent and believe the gospel. Then he went down into Capernaum. He left his home city, Nazareth, and went down to Capernaum, a city on the lake of Galilee.
And the In the early chapters of Mark, the Lord is laboring in and around Capernaum. He preaches in the synagogue there. He preaches in the house there. He preaches on the seashore there, always in and around Capernaum. He preaches sitting in a boat. He goes across the lake to the other side, and there he yields a man possessed with demons. His name was Legion because he had two thousand demons and the Lord cast them all and proved himself to be the eternal Son of God in power and might and wisdom. In our last study together we were looking at him in the fifth chapter of Mark where he cast out the demons from this man, killed the woman who had that illness for twelve years and then raised a little girl who had died twelve years of age.
And then he leaves Capernaum. And in our first verse we read, it says, He went out from then. That's to say from Capernaum. He went out from then into his own country. His own country was Nazareth. He was brought up in the city of Nazareth. Now go back to chapter one, and we'll find in chapter one and verse nine, it came to pass in those days that Jesus came from Nazareth of Galilee and was baptized in Jordan. And then after his baptism, he went down to Capernaum on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.
And now after a long period, he goes back to Nazareth. Now remember, he had spent certain years of prophecy. Of course, as a very small child, as a baby was taken down into Egypt and then came back. And they didn't settle in Bethlehem, but they went back to Joseph's city, to Nazareth, and there they settled down. And the Lord Jesus grew up as a boy in Nazareth. And he worked in the carpenter's shop that he'd promised. I searched the Bible once to see where it definitely said that Jesus was a carpenter. Many times we find, is not this the son of the carpenter?
But long years ago I remember reading the sixth chapter of Mark, and I got it. Look at that verse there, verse three. Is not this the carpenter? Is not this the carpenter? So the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, Jesus of Nazareth, worked as a carpenter in a service shop in Nazareth. Nazareth is a city on a hill. I have been to Nazareth. And I've been to, oh, they have a traditional house, of course. Out there, they always show you the house where somebody lives. I've actually been to what they call the tomb of Lazarus at Bethany. But I don't think it was the tomb of Lazarus.
It's just a tomb, but they tell you all sorts of things. And I went to a house in Nazareth. They said, this is where the Lord worked as a carpenter. I don't know what house, but I know he lived and labored at Nazareth. Now he goes home. What are they going to do? Are they going to lay out the red carpet and receive him? He's been away now for some months. He's done tremendous work. He's raised the dead. He's healed the sick. He sends the lepers. He's given sight to the blind. He's filled the storm on the lake. He did mighty work to nabble back to his own town, to his own city.
What are they going to do? Receive him now. as the Son of God, which indeed he was. He sees him as the Messiah, came fulfilling all those things, written of him. He had been speaking. He had spoken in Nazareth about a year before this. Let me read you from Luke chapter four. And he made tremendous change in the synagogue. In Luke chapter four, verse sixteen, it says he came to Nazareth, where he's been brought up. And as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day. and it was delivered unto him, the book of the prophet is there. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written. And this is what he read, and applied it to himself.
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor. He has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering the plight to the blind, to set at liberty there that arose. all these things he did and proved himself to be the Messiah, the sent one, the Christ, the Son of God. He made mention, and here's one of the protections of Scripture, he made mention of one other thing. How she said, to set at liberty them that abode, verse nineteen of Luke four says, and to preach the acceptable ear of the Lord.
But if you turn to Isaiah from which this was quoted, there's another thing said. to preach the acceptable year of the Lord and the year of vengeance of our God. He didn't quote that. Why? Because when he came here, he didn't come here in vengeance to bring back the judgment of God upon this world. He came here in mercy, in love. He came to bring about redemption. He's coming back again. Two thousand years later, on this occasion, he's coming back to bring judgment And he divided the scriptures properly. There's no mistakes in the Bible. He didn't say, and a year of vengeance of our God, because that's not what he came for on that occasion.
When he comes back by a king of kings, and Lord of lords, then he'll come back in vengeance upon those nations that have rejected him. He comes to nursery. I asked the question, did they roll out the red carpet for him or no? When the Sabbath day was come, he began to teach in a synagogue. And many hearing him were astonished, saying, And let's see what they said. Three things. From whence had this man been seen?
They did not recognize that he was the Messiah. They would not admit that he was the Son of God. And they said, where did he get all this wisdom from? He's wondrous words, he speaks. Where did he get them? Where did he get it? That was the first thing. So sit next to one, and this wisdom. What is this wisdom that's given to him? And thirdly, and there's mighty works that are wrought by his hand. He's a carpenter. He's the son of a carpenter. He was brought up among us here. Well, he's got his brothers and sisters here.
Some people tell you the Lord didn't have birth with him. Some will tell you that Mary never had any other children than the Lord. But here the scripture gives the answer. He is not this, the carpenter. The son of Mary. And note the wisdom and the wonder of the scripture. Not the son of Joseph. Now, be careful. He was not the son of Joseph. He was the son of Mary. Not the son of Joseph. How accurate is the Bible. Is not this the Carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James and Joseph and Judah and Simon, and are not his sisters here with us? So Mary had other children after he was the firstborn, he says so, in close chapters of Matthew, she should bring forth her firstborn son.
Now she called his name Jesus. So we looked at him and said, yeah, he was a poor girl, Joseph. They don't mention Joseph here, but he was a carpenter. We didn't get all this wisdom from. We in our synagogues, we like to have men of learning. We like to have men's degrees. We want these that have been at the seminary and been at the great schools in Jerusalem and come down here and speak wisdom and knowledge to us. How can a carpenter do all these wonderful things? They were astonished, saying, From whence His word?
Can we pause a minute and try and answer the question they couldn't answer? From whence His word? Where did it come from? Where did those words come from? Let me read you verse John fourteen. John fourteen and verse thins, believeth thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me. The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself.
The words that I speak unto you, I speak not of myself. Someone sees words, he gives the answer. The words that I speak, I speak not of myself, but the Father that dwelleth in me. Hebrews, the word. These were words from heaven. These were words from God. He was the eternal Son of God. From whence His words? Or if they had only known. If they had known what we know. Long, long ages ago. When chaotic darkness covered all this earth. Chaos the earth was chaotic, said. Darkness covered the face of the deep.
It was He who said, Let there be light. And there was light. The words of the Son of God brought about a creation. And they say, From whence His words, Oh, how ignorant they were, how foolish they were. How little they understood God's purposes. They knew the Bible, but how little they knew about the Bible. How little they knew the theme of the Bible was God's beloved Son. They didn't know. Where do you get those words, from whence His words? What wisdom is this? What wisdom is this? What wisdom was it that created the world, that created the universe?
And he's the one that did it. Well, let me read you from Colossians chapter one a moment. That wonderful fifteen-sixteen verse of Colossians chapter one that tells us of the wisdom and the works and the power of the Son of God. Christians chapter one, verse fifteen, who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature. For by him there are all things created that are in heaven and that are in earth, visible and invisible. Whether they be thrones or dominions or principalities or powers, all things were created by him and for him.
and he is before all things, and by him all things subsist or held together. By him all things are held together. What wisdom is this? What wisdom is this? The wisdom of the eternal Son of God, who bowed his feet in adoration and worship, when he gave as a wisdom of the Son of God, and when he went back to his own home, among his own people, you see what it says? No prophet is without honor saved in his own country, among his own kin, and in his own house. They didn't believe in him.
They didn't admit. They wouldn't admit. The stubborn heart would not admit that he was the eternal Son of God. And they said, what words are these? What wisdom is this? And these works. Even such money works are wrought by His hands. Old friend, listen, it was His hands that made the universe. His hands. I'll go further than that. And I'll say that as I seek to answer that question. What great works were wrought by His hands. Those blessed hands were taken and nailed upon a cross. And do you know what those hands wrought for you and me?
Eternal salvation. Eternal redemption. The hands of the Lord Jesus, who are in the universe, have made the creation. For those blessed hands also, one for us our redemption, the blood which flowed from his hands and feet, and side his precious blood, which cleansed us from all sin. And they asked, What wisdom is this? What words are this? What are some of these that are done by these hands? Oh, I feel that you gave it those hands. And we could enumerate and tell the wondrous things that were done by those blunted hands, and they said, what have these were removed hands? And then the Lord Jesus made this great statement.
Oh, how often it's been quoted down through history. Listen to history. No prophet. A prophet is not without honor, but in his own country, among his own kings, And he knew now, the Son of God, without honor. Think of those words. The Son of God, without honor. What contrast we get in the Bible. Living is in a very place in which he was brought up. Thirty years they'd watched him. Some of these men had been to school with him. Some of these men had been in and out the car with his shop. Some of these men had seen the work he did there.
But their eyes were blind and they didn't know. But I'll tell you something. During all those thirty years, God looked down on heaven, and he saw the work he did. I don't think any man ever made tables, for goodness me, as the Lord Jesus made them. I don't think any man made yokes for option, and all the various things that they had to do in a carpenter's shop in those days, as wonderfully as he made them. If he made this world's creation so perfect, then I believe all the work in his hands was perfect. I believe you could pick up those tables and chairs and look at them. You couldn't see the joints.
The wood was joined so perfectly you couldn't see it. Beautiful work. All those wooden pegs that were put into join that work in those days, they were so smoothed off and beautiful that he did such a perfect job. He was the eternal Son of God. He saw his works and it meant nothing to them. But God looked down from heaven, thirty years, and I'll go back to the first chapter of Mark again, and I'll tell you what God said about him. No prophet without honor, he says, but listen what God said about his son. After thirty years, there came a voice from heaven saying, Thou art my beloved son, indeed, for that's how it is in the Greek.
Indeed, am I well pleased. God had seen the work he did. God had seen and watched and heard the words he spoke all those thirty years. And God said, My beloved son, in thee I am wealthy. They saw nothing in him. He was without honor. But God looked down, saw his beloved son, said, Indeed, I am wealthy. Let's turn the pages. And let's look out into eternity. I'll read you from Revelation chapter five. He says, a prophet is without honor in his own country, and that's how they should be.
But let me show you another picture in heaven. Revelation chapter five, verse six, and I beheld, and lo, in the midst of the throne, and of the four beasts, and in the midst of the elders, stood a lamb, as it had been slain, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirit of God, sent forth into all the earth. And he came and took the book out of the right hand of him that sat upon the throne. And when he had taken the book before the beast and the four and twenty elders fell down before the Lamb, the same one, Jesus of Nazareth. They fell down before him, now exalted, seated upon a throne amid the glory of heaven. And what do they say, listen? They sung a new song, verse nine, saying, Thou art worthy.
He said a prophet, not without honor, saving his own home. But let me say something. What was his real home now? Was it Nazareth? Was that his home? That was just a tent in which he lived for a while down here. His home was up there amid the glory of heaven. And in this picture of Revelation, he's back at home. But in that home they have different values. Down here a prophet's not without honor saving his own home, but up there in his eternal home. Listen to this song of heaven. They sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof, for thou was slain, and thus redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nations.
And thou hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall reign over the earth. And I beheld and heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beast and the elders. And the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand. And thousands of thousands staying with a loud voice, thou art worthy. He was without honor down here on earth, but listened to the sound of heaven. Staying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor. without honor, to receive power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing and every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and touches are in the sea and all that are in them heard I say in blessing and honor and glory and power he to him that stood upon the throne and unto the land forever and ever.
Without honor, honor, but amid the glories of heaven. The Lord Jesus will receive the eternal praise and adoration and homage of others in that great day when we see him face to face. Our prophet is not without honor but in his own country and among his own king and in his own house. And now look at this verse. Verse five, and there in his own home. in his own country, among his own kings, in his own house, there he could do no mighty works.
He said, what are these mighty works which are wrought by his hands? What are these mighty works? But there he could do no mighty work. He had to go somewhere else to do mighty work. Why? The answer is this. be marveled because of their unbelief. Be marveled because of their unbelief. That's why he could do no mighty work in that because of their unbelief. Oh, friend, I want to ask you a question this moment. Some of us here have reached some of the later stages of life.
We pass along some of the highways of life, and we know some of life's experience. And some of us have known and felt the touch of the finger of the Son of God. We know His mighty works in our own lives. We've believed in Him with all our heart, and we felt His touch. But I venture to think there could be some here this morning, and you've been through life experienced too, and yet you can't talk with me. You don't know the touch of His finger.
You don't know his mighty power. Your life has not been revolutionized. Your life has not been changed. You are not yet born again. You are not yet saved. You say, ah, but I'm a member of the church. Being a member of a church doesn't do anything for you. As regards salvation. Every true born again believer should be associated with some local church. That's scripture. But joining a church doesn't make you a Christian. The only way to become a Christian is to be born again. Some people say, well, I was born in the United States.
Am I not a Christian? No. Nobody was born a Christian anywhere. Nobody was born a Christian. The Bible says we were born in sin and shape and in iniquity. In sin did my mother conceive me, says David. And we must be born again for all of sin and come short of the glory of God. And my message this morning is this to you, if you are not born again, if you are not saved, you don't know much about His mighty works. But this morning, except for this question of unbelief, you can experience the mighty works of the Son of God. Except for this problem of unbelief, you can be saved this morning. And the only thing that will keep you from being saved and being born again and knowing your sins forgiven.
and ensure you're going to heaven. There's only one thing that can keep you from that this morning. That's your unbelief. They couldn't see anything in him except the carpenter. Yet we gazed upon him and see the eternal Son of God, because that mighty revelation has taken place in our life. The moment came when we believed in him, when we accepted him, and he changed everything for us and gave us new eyes to gaze upon the eternal Son and say, the Son of God, beloved me, and gave himself for me. How many men in the world today talk about Jesus as a great example? And I tell you what, you can usually tell these people that talk about Jesus and use just that name Jesus.
You can reckon they don't know much about the Son of God. The title of the Lord is the Lord Jesus Christ, not just Jesus. Jesus speaks of his humanity, but he's Christ, the chosen, the anointed one of God, and he's our Lord. And when we bow at his feet and say, And own him as our Lord, then something has happened. And if you've not yet done that in your life, you still look upon him as this Jesus of Nazareth, and you're not saved. Oh, I've treated you this morning as you gave the precious Son of God. And see the works of his hands as he hung upon that cross with you. He bore our sins in his own body on the tree.
God's judgment fell upon him. And in that dark hour on the childish part, he took our place. And he who knew no sin was made sin for us. And he bore our sins in his own body on the tree. And all he's asking you to do this morning is to believe that. To receive what he did, deceive him as the eternal Son. And listen to what the Bible says. He that believes it's on the Son. I love it. He that believes it's on the Son. hath everlasting life. Not he that joins the church, not he that does the best he can, not he that gives tithes and helps the poor and all this.
No, no, he that believes it on the Son hath everlasting life. Do you believe on the Son? Do you believe that Jesus Christ of Nazareth was the eternal Son of God? If you do it, say, he that believes it on the Son hath everlasting life. everlast in life. And you can have the assurance of salvation this morning by believing on him and receiving him as God's eternal life. The one who died for this on the cross itself. He could do no mighty work. David laid hands on a few or two sick folk and healed them and marveled because of their unbelief.
I think the Lord Jesus still marvels because of our unbelief. Oh, may God open our eyes this morning to accept him as I'll see. I'd like to sing a couple of verses of a hymn known to us all, Just as I am without one please, but that thy blood was shed for me, and that thou bid me come to thee, O Lamb of God, I come. Two hundred and twenty-six, softly will sing. Just follow the music, because I'm no strong leader, but just follow the music and sing quietly. Two twenty-six, just as I am, am waiting not to rid my soul of one dark block to thee whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God I come.
We are closing our meeting early this morning with this in view. to give ourselves a few moments that you, even now, might make a decision, and that I may make a decision. And every one of us, as we sing this hymn,