Mark 6:1-6 ~ Mighty Words done by His Hands

 

Nazareth 1901

View from Nazareth today

Mt Tabor 

Valley of Jezreel

Mark 6:1-6

He went away from there and came to His hometown, and His Disciples followed Him. 

And on the Sabbath

He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? What is the wisdom given to Him? How are such mighty works done by His Hands? 3 Is not this the carpenter, the Son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him. 

4 And Jesus said to them, 

“A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 

5 And He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His Hands on a few sick people and Healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief.

And He went about among the villages teaching.

The Scriptures are bold. 

There is no spin, no propaganda. Jesus has trouble going to do good works among the people who knew Him as a child, teen and adult. We understand in Scriptures, in Nazareth, Jesus is seen to be from a good, loving family. And not exactly blending in.  Scriptures boldly say Nazareth isn't a ray of sunlight to the Living Grace upon Grace of the Ministry of Jesus Christ.

And like Zacchaeaus

In Luke 19, in the Sycamore tree, the Son of God, it matters more what He Sees. Not watchful, watchtower, Nazareth.

Nazareth saw Mary betrothed and unmarried, pregnant 

Mary heading off to Bethlehem with the son of David, Joseph.  Nazareth knew Mary and Joseph then went to the Temple to present their son and off to live in Egypt.  Of course, they knew. Gabriel and Zachariah and Elizabeth would have been such a wonder. Shepherds know Shepherds. Tribe marries Tribe.  Temple wonders discussed from rural Priest Zachariah to rural Priest Nazareth.

Nazareth, 

Joseph returned with Mary and Jesus, eventually, to live in Nazareth. God saw something in Nazareth.  We cannot in faith believe God chose Mary and Joseph, but the surroundings were something He just tossed in. Planned by God. Nazareth.

John jumps in right away. 

Nazareth. Surely, what could come of Nazareth, Nathanael asks, laughing.  And John makes the comment eternal. Jesus takes the moment and Nazareth is included, very well.  In fact, so well, Acts records The Christ of God has a brand new title, "Jesus Christ of Nazareth."

Nazareth stands above the prophetic teachings of Jesus when He mentions, Bethsaida, Chorazin and His Beloved Capernaum. Not bad for the people who decided to Throw Jesus Christ Over and into the Abyss. He merely walked away.  We are left to decide how He would do this Sign. No Sign was Given in explanation. Interesting. Jesus always is. Our Jesus.

Paul Harvey would have something to say, About the Rest of the Story.  

We learn about Jesus' biological family, traveling Husbands and Wives to explain their Jesus and His Salvation. And then we have vivid, accurate, believed and true, well written, known and quoted Bishop of Caesarea, Eusebius, (b. 260 AD, d. May 30, 339 AD, age 74 to 79. The average age of death 30 years in this era.) So many famous men quoted Eusebius, his writings are well known, when his papyrus of his own isn't found. Eusebius explains the extreme and horrible torture sent by Emperor Diocletian, to send his little nephew, future Constantine I, to torture the nephews of Jesus and their families to renounce Jesus as false.  And what occurs In Nazareth? Where the family of Jesus chose to live after traveling the world.  The descendants of Jesus chose death instead of dishonor. Jesus Christ was upheld. 

John's 1st Chapter, reveals Nazareth has warmth. Even when Jesus jests with Nathanael. 

Just as the grave under the Vatican has the 62-year-old Peter, crucified upside down, the bones show Peter was cut by the ankles off the cross. Buried in the foreigner's graveyard, where pilgrims would put a huge Rock stone to cover Peter's grave. Jesus's Rock.

Jesus in Caesarea:

We find Nazareth saw the birth of the worldwide Church of Jesus Christ.  In extreme sacrifice. Jesus told of the Church in Roman Caesarea. The future Bishop of Caesarea would report the circumstances of Constantine's reason to proclaim Jesus Christ Alive and Christianity miraculously arrived. Jesus alive and knowing The Father.  Eusebius was a boy when he saw Constantine. On the road with his soldiers. Marching by. Turned out to be marching from Rome to Nazareth. 

An amazing cloud of witnesses. Recorded for us. The Bible in our hands is a miracle of God.

An Amazing Cloud of Witnesses

What does the Dead Sea Scroll tell us of Jesus?

The blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them

These miracles are told scattered here and there through Isaiah. Matthew, Disciple of Jesus, tells us they are pulled together and displayed clearly. A cataclysm of miracles. Seen with extreme power of God Himself.

The Essenes received visitors. And the Essenes wrote analysis of Bible accounts 

and their own understanding. 

In the Essenes writings is The Messianic Apocalypse (4Q521), has a list of miracles very similar to Luke 7:21–22, even though it was written approximately 150 years before Luke’s Gospel. And Matthew's.

How are such mighty works done by His Hands?

The city of Nazareth asked a question. And the persistence of Jesus is an important aspect of our Jesus and His Gospels.  This is a defining question today regarding the Life of Jesus. Jesus had options. John 12 records the Jewish Dispersion in Greece wanted Jesus to escape Herod and come with them to Greece. Jesus declined, even, to meet them. Jesus asked in the Garden of Gethsemane to allow God to change His Plans. And Jesus bowed to His Father's Will. Jesus knew He could call 12 Legions of Angels. More than the 1.5 stationed in Judea and Syria of the Roman garrisoned army. 

How are such mighty works done by His Hands?

Matthew 19:26

Jesus looked at them and said, 

“With man it is impossible, but not with God.

 For all things 

are possible 

with God."

Matthew 17:20 

 

“Truly I tell you, 

if you have faith 

as small as a mustard seed, 

you can say to this mountain, 

'Move from here to there,' 

and it will move. 

Nothing will be impossible for you.

Romans 12:2 

Do not be conformed to this world, 

but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, 

that by testing 

you may discern what is the will of God, 

what is good and acceptable and perfect.

  

Proverbs 3:13 

Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, 

and the one who gets understanding 

1 Corinthians 4:20

 

For the Kingdom of God does not consist in talk 

but in power.

Colossians 2:8

 

See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy 

and empty deceit, according to human tradition, 

according to the elemental spirits of the world, 

and not according to Christ.

Romans 12:9,10

 

Let love be genuine. 

Abhor what is evil; 

hold fast to what is good. 

Love one another with brotherly affection. 

Outdo one another in showing honor. 

Abba, Father,

Abba,

In Your Word today,

the House of Jesus Christ

takes a beating in Nazareth.

The winds of mankind in Nazareth

are blowing fiercely.

Today, Texas faces Hurricane Beryl.

The Gulf Coast of Texas.

As much as mankind studies,

we do not tame the wind.

Mankind doesn't even do 

perfectly to predict the wind.

We ask of You

in the Name of Jesus Christ

for Your Mercy

and Protection.

We pray from Your Word:

Psalm 57

Be merciful to us, O God, be merciful to us, 

for in You 

my soul takes refuge; 

in the shadow of Your Wings 

I will take refuge, 

till the storms of destruction pass by. 

I cry out to God Most High, 

to God 

Who fulfills His Purpose for me.

Dwell in us, please, Father.

Dwell in those we Love.

Help us to seek You first.

In Jesus Christ, we will finish well.

To see

to bring

to be

more daily

Thy Kingdom come

Thy will be done

on earth

as in Heaven

In Jesus Christ is 

Our Love, Joy and Hope.

Bless those working for

Post Pandemic Healing

and 

Care

with Faith, Hope and 

LOVE.

Thank You for Jesus.

To You, our Father, be the Glory

Our God is an Awesome God! 

Amen and Alleluia

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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YES Bless the Lord Jesus

Thank You Jesus

Psalm 137 ~ we remembered †

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Psalm 137

By the waters of Babylon,

    there we sat down and wept,

    when we remembered Zion.

On the willows there

    we hung up our lyres.

For there our captors

    required of us songs,

and our tormentors, mirth, saying,

    “Sing us one of the songs of Zion!”

How shall we sing the Lord's song

    in a foreign land?

If I forget you, O Jerusalem,

    let my right hand forget its skill!

Let my tongue stick to the roof of my mouth,

    if I do not remember you,

if I do not set Jerusalem

    above my highest joy!

Remember, O Lord, 

against the Edomites

    the day of Jerusalem,

how they said, “Lay it bare, lay it bare,

    down to its foundations!”

O daughter of Babylon, doomed to be destroyed,

    blessed shall he be who repays you

    with what you have done to us!

Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones

    and dashes them against the rock!

The Victory from original Tyranny in 1776 was brought about with violence, war and death. As were all the wars. And riots.  The 4th of July, does anyone over the age of 16 not think about the cost of Freedom? 

The Exodus from Tyranny. The Exodus. 

The cellophane wrapper is very thin.  Many do not want to think of the last verse of Psalm 137. We cannot sweep the Word of God under the rug. Why would God include this? To allow us in terrible times to believe God reaches us, as He held up Peter, overwhelmed by the waves. To know when the terrible, wretched events happen and our emotions react, God is With Us. Emmanuel. With Us. 

So many times, people say, how can God allow this Terror or Horror or Evil? 

Psalm 137 ends with the ability to go to God as Counselor. Invitation. Counsel. Counseling. Help. Helper. Comfort. Comforter. In Real Time Life. Sincere emotion, the kind not spoken of in casual life or happy events. 

Not just Corey Ten Boom lived with faith, the survivors of the Nazi Concentration Camps went on boats to the Nation to become Israel, Again. The resurrection and the Life to come. Reality of Faith.

Jesus brings us to every Jot and Iota of Scripture. He will Fill.

When we study the Exodus and think of living in the desert for 40 years. We might agree we would complain. And possibly, probably, complain some more. In 40 years.

In life, we will all have a situation where we experience Grief or Pain beyond what we knew. We will all deal with people who are evil, too lazy and sin, or criminal, or both. We will see people become what we did not think they had within them. And seeing 4 businesses end from being unreliable and uninterested in real business.

And in those times that are dark indeed, we need to be able to tell our Father, in Jesus Christ and His Holy Spirit, our dark emotions and reactions.  We would not want to see Jesus suddenly become the Saturday Night Live Church Lady. And tsk, tsk our lives.  If we have bottomed out and burned out, we need to tell The Lord our anger, our grief, our fear. We arrive with great need for God's Righteousness. 

The Lord does not turn us away.  When many human beings would turn away. The Lord is not shocked, and The Scriptures readily tell us. Those who have turned away believe this to be foolish. Or hope to skate by.

Even the day-to-day muck.  The entertainment we are presented and the constant barrage of slime, carefully arranged, to be called virtue, or acceptable.  The comment from the offensive and not merciful or kind or worthy.  To see violence surround the city we live in.  The people we ask for help in areas in our lives and this is their livelihood, but they are only present to seek for themselves, and they are a front for greed. Customer service pretense.  Seeing groceries double and being told inflation is 20%.  Utilities double in cost. Insurance surge with the reviews saying claims are unpaid.  Not 20% Historic. 

Being lied to by the news. The fires burning during the riots. Knowing the media knows we know.

In Jesus Christ, we can find genuine gratitude. And find peace. Overcome the world. Let our Holy Spirit Light shine and give to one another. Going forth with The Lord again. Give us the Day. Our daily Living Bread. 

God gives us a Scripture to be calm in the storm. Several!

Psalm 4:3-5

Know that the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself;

    the Lord hears when I call to Him.

Be angry, and do not sin;

    ponder in your own hearts on your beds, and be silent. 

Selah

Offer right sacrifices,

    and put your trust in the Lord.

Psalm 131

I have calmed and quieted my soul,

    like a weaned child with its mother;

    like a weaned child 

is my soul within me.

O Israel, hope in the Lord

    from this time forth 

and 

forevermore.

The Sacrifice of Thanksgiving. What does work, in our lives, to rejoice and have gratitude! 

Believe God will work all things to good, in Loving the Lord and working to His Purpose.  Seek what is good and noble and pure. Find the Good. Be the one who helps the real person, who lives in Mercy and Love. Our Neighbor.  To pray. Pray when surrounded by darkness, for His Miracles and Mercy to prevail. Not, ever, to accept or normalize the unacceptable. Sincerity. To love ourselves. Live in Truth.  

As Jesus did, to pray, and believe He upholds the Universe with the Power of His Word.

Colossians 3:3  

your life is hidden with Christ in God.

Colossians 2:18

Let no one disqualify you, 

insisting on asceticism and worship of angels, 

going on in detail about visions, 

puffed up without reason 

by his sensuous mind

And you aren't handing over little children, yours, mine 

or anyone's children 

to this evil, noneducational, idiocy.  

Colossians 3:2-3

Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 

3 For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. 

When Christ, 

Who is your Life, 

appears, 

then you also will appear with Him in glory. 

2 Timothy 2:19

Nevertheless, 

God’s firm foundation stands, 

bearing this seal: 

“The Lord knows those who are His,” 

and, “

Let everyone 

who Names the Name of the Lord 

depart 

from iniquity.”

The Bible is Living and Active.

The Scriptures exist to allow all those who have sorrow for their attitudes, deeds and works and words to repent and be redeemed in God's Heart and become New. In Jesus Christ.

The last verse of Psalm 137 is for the times we need The Lord and know Him to be our Help and Helper when dark and darkness surrounds us. 

His Light lights mankind, the nations, the world and Heaven. In His Light, we are Comforted, Strengthened and stand in His Goodness, Love and Mercy. For ALL. 

John 13:1

Now before the Feast of the Passover, 

when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world 

to 

The Father, 

having loved His own 

who were in the world, 

He loved them to the end.

Abba, Father,

Dwell in us, please, Father.

Dwell in those we Love.

Help us to seek You first.

In Jesus Christ, we will finish well.

To see

to bring

to be

more daily

Thy Kingdom come

Thy will be done

on earth

as in Heaven

In Jesus Christ is 

Our Love, Joy and Hope.

Bless those working for

Post Pandemic Healing

and 

Care

with Faith, Hope and 

LOVE.

Thank You for Jesus.

To You, our Father, be the Glory

Our God is an Awesome God! 

Amen and Alleluia

♔ Lord Jesus Saves †

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