Offended at Jesus

Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him.  And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, "Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?" So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, "A prophet is not without honour except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house." - Mark 6.1-4

Jesus’ entire ministry at home is interesting. It really gives us a unique look at His humanity. It is fascinating to see how the people who knew Him best responded to Him.

When He came home he had the chance, as a Jewish male over 30, to teach in the synagogue. He teaching shocked them ‘Where did this man get all this? Where did he get this wisdom? How does He do these great works? Isn’t he the carpenter? Isn’t he Mary’s boy? Isn’t he the brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?

I like the fact that we get to see that Jesus grew up like anyone else. Those who knew Him knew Him as ‘the carpenter.’ They knew His mother and His brothers and sisters. They were offended and bothered by the fact that this local boy was trying to tell them how to live. They were even bothered by His wisdom and His miracles.

So they chose to be offended. The original meaning of this Greek word was scandalised. But what bothered them. They had not been bothered when He was ‘the carpenter.’ They were offended when He taught in the synagogue.

Apparently it was not Jesus Himself who offended them – it was His message. ‘Who does he think he is to talk to us like that?’ seems to be their attitude.

I think we need to glean something from this. We need to be sure that what was true of Jesus is true of us. Some Christians seem to take great delight in causing offence then claiming persecution. I just read of a group of Christians who marching into the middle of a Muslim celebration with hate filled signs and provocative slogans. When the Muslims responded by throwing rocks and bottle the Christians claimed that they were being persecuted.

It wasn’t the message that was offensive that day; it was the foolish actions of these people.

We can expect our message to bother people. The gospel flies in the face of what people believe.

However, let’s be sure that we don’t cause offense with our attitudes and actions – that will get us nowhere.