Closing Your Ears Because You Have Dirt on the Speaker
[1] He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. [2] 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. (ESV) Mark 6:1–6 ESV Read More
When someone brings the truth and nobody believes it because of the person bringing it, that is referred to as an Ad Hominem fallacy. It is a mistaken belief or a failure in reasoning based on what you think about the person. Instead of listening to the teaching and thinking about what Jesus said, the people were distracted by the knowledge that He was a hometown boy that everyone knew. They failed to listen to the substance of His words and instead veered off course to undercut who He was just because they knew Him.
John Ortberg said that one of the things that helps him really believe in Jesus is that James, one of the brothers of Jesus, came to believe in Jesus. If His own brother came to faith, knowing everything about Him, He must be the Messiah, reasons Ortberg.
When we are confronted with the truth, or with a provocative statement, the easy way out is to “Consider the source” and not give as much thought to the truth. Either criticism, honor, gossip, or news can easily be dismissed if we judge the people that are delivering it. This is a way of being hard-hearted and resistant to changing things in our lives. This is the seed sown on the path that is quickly stolen.
There were only a few sick people that Jesus healed. They might have been newcomers to the city or people that were so desperate that they didn’t care that they knew Jesus as Joseph’s son. Jesus marveled at their disbelief. He was stunned. In other cities, people marveled at Jesus. In His hometown, Jesus marveled at the people who wouldn’t believe.
There are many reasons we don’t believe things. There are personal reasons that we jump to conclusions or discount the wisdom of someone because they are a certain kind of person. Jesus was astounded at such action. Instead of blocking off people, let’s seek out the truth they offer no matter who they are. There might be some healing from Jesus waiting there for all of us.
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