A Prophet without Honor

Mark 6 : 1 - 6

There is a similarity between this pericope and the one in Mark 1:21-28. In both, the timing fell on the Sabbath day. In Mark 1:22, people were also amazed at Jesus’ teaching. Their reaction in Mark 1:27 is very comparable to what we read in Mark 6:2. So when we compare chapter 1 and chapter 6, we might anticipate chapter 6 to end positively as well, but that is not the case. We may be disappointed if we are looking for a fixed pattern in Jesus’ ministry, or even in the Gospel. The point is not to glorify unpredictability. Rather, this proclaims God’s freedom and sovereignty, as well as the diversity of human responses to Jesus, to God himself.

At the end of this story, the people were offended at Jesus. This response even came from his own family, his own household. Instead of taking pride in him, they took offense at him. Even Jesus himself marveled at their unbelief. Mark often presents Jesus from the perspective of his human nature, and this is a very human response. Jesus himself was amazed. Even, to a certain extent, as we read in Mark 6:5, “he could do no mighty work there,” because of their rejection.

In this story, the motif of insiders versus outsiders is clearly revealed. There is a distinction between those who truly belong among the insiders and those who belong among the outsiders. This is not about geographical location or physical nearness, because even Jesus’ own family can stand among the outsiders. The same can happen in the church. Some may attend church and yet remain among the outsiders rather than the insiders. They see but do not truly see, and they hear but do not truly hear. They hear, but they do not understand.

It is very important, when we look at Jesus’ works recorded in the Gospel, to see that his works and his words were not only received with humble acknowledgment and faith, but also with rejection. This is also an aspect that confirms the true work of God: his work is not only received with faith, but it can also be rejected. Rejection from humans may also be affirmation of God’s true work. Of course, we should not confuse this with rejection that comes because of our own failure. We may be rejected because we are annoying, or because we lack wisdom. But if we read the Bible, as well as in church history, even the best of God’s work can be rejected.

It is interesting that the people at least acknowledged that Jesus’ works did not come from himself. There must be some supernatural power involved. In Mark 6:2 we read, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands?” They recognize that something beyond human agency is certainly involved here. But we should remember that when people refer to the supernatural, it is either God or another power, namely demonic power. This also happens in Europe at times. People realize that the natural world cannot satisfy the deepest longing of the human heart, and they seek the spiritual realm. But sadly, they do not always seek God himself. They do not seek Jesus, they seek somewhere else.

When Jesus experienced rejection, he is in the same group as the prophets of the Old Testament, who were also rejected. We will not find a prophet in the Old Testament who was not rejected. In our contemporary context, we often want to live peacefully with our neighbors and try to be in harmony. We are afraid of being considered annoying, so we try to play safe. But playing safe is useless and hopeless for Christianity. If Jesus had played safe, he would not have died on the cross. If the prophets of the Old Testament had tried to play safe, they would not have been rejected and persecuted.

Do not get me wrong. We do not want to glorify being tortured or persecuted; that would be a psychological error. But this is the problem in contemporary Christianity: we simply do not have courage to be rejected and to be persecuted. We try to maintain a balance, an equilibrium, so that everything is fine. But that is not the story recorded in the Bible, and certainly not the life of Jesus himself. Let us be reminded again of the Beatitudes. In Matthew 5:10-12 we read, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

So when Jesus experienced rejection, this was nothing new. It was already a pattern we find in the Old Testament. But here in the Gospel of Mark, or at least in this story, the rejection came from his own family, which makes it more difficult. These are people who are very close to you, yet they do not understand the work of God. Let me say this clearly: they do not understand the work of God. It is not that they do not understand you. Do not confuse yourself with the work of God, otherwise you will end up celebrating your own self-righteousness.

This story would have been very comforting for the Markan communities to whom Mark wrote this Gospel. They might also experience rejection from their own families. In the European context, we may not experience this. But in Indonesia, or in certain parts of Asia, when you convert to another religion, it can mean the end of familial ties. You can be cast out of your home and left on your own. Your family may no longer recognize you, and they may want nothing to do with you anymore. There is a price to pay, the cost of following Jesus. And that confirms that the grace we receive from God is not cheap, but costly.

What else can we learn from this story? In the previous chapters, Jesus was often opposed by demoniacs. That is understandable, because there is a spiritual war between the kingdom of God and the kingdom of darkness. We also read, rather ironically, that rejection can come from self-righteous religious authorities. So we must be careful. Learning a lot of theology can lead to self-righteousness. If we do not maintain a humble relationship with Jesus, that is where the attack will come. The more religious we become, the more self-righteous we can become. In chapter 5, Jesus was also rejected by people from the Gentile region. Thus, rejection can come from demoniacs, from self-righteous religious authorities, and also from Gentiles.

But here, Jesus was rejected by his own community in the Jewish region. This is, to quote a commentary, “the heartland of the Gospel,” and yet even here he is rejected. When we read in Mark 6:6 that Jesus “marveled because of their unbelief,” the perspective of his human nature is highlighted. It is not that he lost his divinity, but Mark clearly describes Jesus according to his very human nature. His astonishment at their rejection may also reflect the astonishment of the early church because there is a strange shift in salvation history. There is a movement from Israel to the Gentiles, as the people of God, who were expected to understand the kingdom of God more, rejected the word of God.

One of the most difficult experiences is to face injustice or persecution that does not come from unbelievers, but from within the church, even from church leaders. We might expect persecution to come from radical people of other religions, or perhaps from atheists, but somehow instead, it comes from fellow Christians. This is sad, but it is the reality. I once read about the main reason missionaries give up and leave the mission field, and I was astonished. It is not, for example, economic instability, or because the field is too harsh and difficult. Rather, it is conflict with fellow workers on the mission field. Is that not sad? The opposition comes not from unbelievers, not from those who hate Christianity, but from fellow workers.

That is why, in serving God, we need not only wholeheartedness, but also one-heartedness. I once served in a church that had a power struggle. It was very tiring. I prayed and consulted with the synod leader, and in the end I decided to move out from this church. There were continual arguments and conflicts among the leaders, and there was no more energy to do God’s work. The congregation was small, only tens of people, and it is unthinkable for me that a power struggle happened there. I do not share this to reopen an old wound, since it is already healed, but to illustrate what Jesus experienced here. Jesus was rejected by his own people, even by his own family.

We can see a kind of reversal motif here, a pattern that appears again and again in the Gospel. As one commentary puts it, “The opposition that God’s dominion is suffering does not cancel belief in it, but rather testifies to its provocative power and demands a continual exercise of patient, hopeful, eschatological insight.” I want to emphasize this: the coming of the kingdom has a provocative power, and we cannot avoid it. True Christianity should be provocative because it is placed in the context of human sinfulness. If we put salt on a wound, it will be provocative. If we put sugar on it, it will not. We often prefer a sugarcoated relationship with our neighbor. That is why Jesus teaches that we are the salt and light of the world. He does not teach that we are the candy or ice cream of the world.

In this story, we as readers can see who belongs among the insiders and who belongs among the outsiders. But in our lives, we cannot predict who is an insider and who is an outsider. Each person must examine their own heart before God and decide whether to believe or reject the work of God. What is astonishing about this story is not mainly about how sinful or how evil the human heart is. We should not trivialize or relativize the evilness of the human heart. However, what we read here is not about extremely evil acts, but rather ‘merely’ the hardness of the human heart.

In Europe, we are often simply ignored. We are not persecuted, and we do not experience violence. We live in 2026, not 1933. In many ways, we live in freedom now. But the indifference of the human heart toward the kingdom of God, the deafening silence, and the unwillingness to believe and to participate in God’s work, this is the real evilness of the human heart. Sometimes those who persecute can be changed by the power of God, as in the case of Paul. But those who were not so outwardly evil, who did not do what Saul once committed, simply ignored Jesus. They saw him only as the son of a carpenter, the son of Mary. They refused to acknowledge the coming of the kingdom initiated in the person of Jesus.

We might wonder why, but this is the hiddenness of the coming of the kingdom. As another commentary puts it, “God has identified himself too closely with the world by becoming a fragile baby.” His simple life is simply too human. There is nothing extraordinary. Yet this is precisely the beauty of Christianity: God becomes truly human. We do not seek to amaze people through complicated logic, as if to show off how genius we are as Christians, nor through economic or military prowess, in a triumphalistic spirit. Rather, God works through vulnerable humanness, as we see in the life of Jesus himself. Do not try to impress people by becoming more religious. Sometimes religious people can be the most annoying, and they can fail miserably in the calling of being human. Look again at the very life of Jesus Christ, and the beauty of him as the son of Mary, the son of a carpenter, living an ordinary life, and God is there. So let us humbly receive this invitation in our lives. (T.F.L.)