“Anatomy of
Unbelief” Mark 6:1-13
SCRIPTURE INTRO:
Gospel of Mark is the record of an invasion.
It’s about the Son
of God coming into our world.
When he came, he was met with resistance.
We’ve seen the
resistance of the demonic world, also resistance of critic—
but
Jesus also met resistance among most unlikely people—his own hometown.
INTRO: Since we moved to Cullman 10 years ago,
I’ve had 3 or 4 opportunities
to
preach in my hometown, in my home church—First Presbyterian, Tuscumbia.
The second time I preached there, it was a Sunday evening—
and
I took Will with me—he was 3 or 4 years old.
For some reason Allison stayed home with the girls—
but
I thought it would be fun to take Will.
I planned to put him in the nursery.
Well, there was not a nursery that night.
So I sat him down
on the second pew and I said:
“Now Bubba, Daddy
has to preach. I want you to sit
quietly, ok?”
He nodded solemnly. I
went up and sat on the platform to collect thoughts.
The sanctuary in my
home church is very cozy, good acoustics—
people
were coming in, finding seats, taking quietly.
Right then Will started making noises—tooting noises, gas
passing noises
that
delight little boys. I looked down at
him and shook my head.
He was quiet for a
minute and then started doing it again.
So I stepped down from the platform and I said:
“Will, you are
going to have to stop that. Quit making
those noises.”
He nodded and I
went back to the platform. Then he started
again.
About that time my second grade school teacher walked up and
said to me—
“I would love to
take him back to the narthex to sit with me during the service.”
And I said, “Thank you Mrs. Hudson.” It’s humbling to preach in your hometown.
This is not a story about small town dynamics—jealousy over
successful local boy.
It’s not an
illustration of how familiarity breeds contempt.
This is a story about unbelief.
It’s about people
refusing to believe in Jesus Christ.
In all of Mark’s gospel there is
only one time that we are told Jesus was amazed—
and
this was it—he was amazed at their lack of faith.
Jesus not amazed when naked man, possessed by demons
screamed at him.
But he was amazed
at the unbelief of the synagogue worshipers in his hometown.
Why was he amazed?
Because these
people didn’t have intellectual objections—believed did miracles.
They weren’t like
religious leaders, resisted Jesus for political reasons.
They weren’t
enslaved in gross sins and immoralities.
They were just good, hometown folks.
These were
church-going people who had seen Jesus grow up, knew character.
But their unbelief was so strong that they rejected Jesus,
rejected his message—
and
we are told that because of that unbelief he could not do many miracles there.
It’s so easy to read this story and say: That’s the unbelief of the world.
That’s the unbelief
of bad people.
But it’s not. This is
about church people—small town, Bible-belt, church people
who
worked hard, paid bills, read Bible, went to synagogue every Sabbath.
But when Jesus came, with his message of repentance and
grace—
they
resisted him so strongly that he was amazed.
There are two groups of people in every church service.
There are believers
and unbelievers. I’m going to speak to
both this morning.
Majority of you are believers. You trust Jesus for your salvation. Lord. Master.
This story is for
you. In study this week, read a comment
by JC Ryle.
“Let us go on
watching our hearts, even after we have believed. The root of unbelief is never
entirely
destroyed. We have only to leave off
watching and praying, and a rank crop of
unbelief
will soon spring up.”
Let this story warn you not to let your old unbelief come
back and weaken faith.
Two groups—some of you are unbelievers. Might think you are a believer.
All of them did in
synagogue that morning.
But you are really not trusting Jesus to save you, trusting
yourself.
Let this story
search you. Don’t die in your unbelief,
resisting Jesus.
Three headings for note-takers:
The root of
unbelief
The effect of
unbelief
The cure for unbelief
MP#1 The root of unbelief
The root of unbelief is self-righteousness.
It was the self-righteousness of these good,
synagogue-attending folks
that was the root of
their lack of faith in Jesus Christ.
Self-righteousness is the belief that we can be our own
saviors.
We have some
program of self-salvation. A standard we
set for ourselves.
If we follow through with program, meet standard, then we
think we are righteous.
We believe we are
acceptable to God and therefore don’t need Christ.
What was the self-salvation program that these people of
You can tell by
their comments about Jesus.
Their
self-righteousness came from social pride.
Who is this? Isn’t
this the carpenter?
Jews didn’t look
down on manual labor—this man worked for us.
He put that
addition on our home. Needs to stick to
what he’s good at.
Don’t we know his brothers and sisters?
We’ve known this
family for years. They are no better
than us.
Who does he think
he is telling us that we need salvation.
Isn’t he Mary’s son?
Custom
to refer to man by father’s name.
Isn’t this Joseph’s son.
A
hinting at a scandal surrounding his birth. Months didn’t add up.
Who does he think
he is telling us to repent and turn to God.
Found righteousness in their social pride.
Root of their
unbelief was their confidence in their reputation and standing.
This person is
below me, this person is above me.
Our social prejudices have a lot more to do with religious
beliefs than we think.
The way we rank
ourselves and define ourselves in relation to other people
affects
our faith in Christ and his salvation.
There is a great example in the OT story of Naaman.
He had
leprosy—which in the Bible is a disease symbolic of sin.
What did he bring
when came to ask for healing from Elisha?
Money, letter of
reference (resume), sword (in case asked to do a great deed.)
He brought his righteousness. All the things that defined
him as a worthy person.
Who did Elisha send out to meet
him? His servant.
The servant did not
take money, resume, send him on great deed.
Told
him to wash in
Why was Naaman enraged?
Being
told, all your self-salvation plans worthless.
Your money, means nothing, your resume, your skills—worthless.
That offended Naaman’s self-righteous pride.
Isn’t that interesting?
He was offended at the message of God’s grace.
That’s the very same
way the people of
Naaman
wanted a salvation that fit his ego—not God’s free grace.
But God says, if you want healing—submit
to my cure.
Don’t let your
self-righteousness get in the way.
If Jesus came to our town, to our church and preached—would
we accept him?
Or would our
self-righteousness rear up against him in unbelief?
Jesus does
come. He comes in the person of your
Christian brothers and sisters.
If a fellow Christian, who you rank in your self-righteous
pecking order
as
your equal or beneath you tells you something that you need to hear—
but
don’t want to hear, how do you respond?
Do you say, What’s the Lord trying
to tell me—or do you just get offended?
I remember once a fellow minister, who I considered my
equal—
maybe
a little bit beneath me challenged me about something in my life.
My self-righteousness rose up against him. I took offense at his words.
Fortunately the
Holy Spirit shook me and said, Listen! He’s right.
Stakes are even higher for unbelievers.
There are people in hell today, whose own child or
grandchild—
Said, Daddy, Mommy,
why don’t you believe in Jesus?
But person responded—I’m the parent. I’ve provided a good home.
Who is this kid to
lecture me in religion? Self-righteousness.
They’ve ignored
friends, preachers all with same attitude—I’m ok.
The root of unbelief is self-righteousness.
What are the things
that you believe make you acceptable to God and man?
If you are going to listen to Christ—message of repentance
and grace—
going
to have to let go of those, or when Jesus comes, though another person,
you
will be offended at him and close your ears.
MP#2 The effect of unbelief
But what if good, church going people continue in
self-righteousness and unbelief?
Let’s consider now
the effect of unbelief.
The effect of unbelief is forfeited blessings.
You see it in verse
5.
“He could not do
any miracles there except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.”
This could have been the greatest day of miracles in Jesus’
ministry.
He went to
He wanted to bless
them. He wanted them to have an
abundance of grace.
Wonderful things
could have happened in
But he could not do any miracles there except a few because
of their unbelief.
What does this mean that he could not do miracles?
It doesn’t mean,
can’t mean that Jesus’ power was restrained.
Aren’t supposed to think that he wanted to do miracles in
but
he was only able to squeak out a few little, two-bit healings.
We see over an over in the Gospels that Jesus’ power never
restrained.
He did miracles for
many people who didn’t even ask—feeding of 5,000.
He healed people
with little or no saving faith—10 lepers, only one believed.
When it says that Jesus could not do miracles there it means
that he could not
in
the sense that it was wrong for him.
He knew that miracles in a place of such unbelief would only
harden people
and confirm their
self-righteousness.
If a drug addict said, please give me $20 to buy some food.
You
would say, I can’t. Not because physically
restrained.
Because, even if
you wanted him to have food, know gift would be abused.
Jesus couldn’t do miracles there because they would have
abused them.
So the people of
Jesus taught in their synagogue but they were not willing to
repent
of
their self-righteous judgments enough to listen to him,
and
open their hearts to his blessings and miracles.
Same pattern repeated when unbelief pervades a
church—blessings are forfeited.
Wonderful things
that could happen don’t because Lord holds them back.
I told you at the
beginning that I wanted to apply this to the life of our church.
Let me ask some specific questions:
How do you come to worship?
Do you come with
expectation receiving God’s grace?
If you do, then you
will receive grace. Lord will come to
you.
Or do you come saying—don’t like this
music, the way they do things.
I’m here because my
family expects me to come.
You will get
nothing. Might as well
stay home.
How do you listen to sermons? Do you hope that Jesus will speak to you?
If you put aside your
self-righteous judgments, humble yourself—he will.
Through the preaching of the Word you will be comforted,
encouraged,
given
wisdom and bravery to face challenges, sanctified. Wonderful things.
But if you come critical, skeptical, unbelieving then there
can’t be blessings.
If you listen to
sermon and think—I hope so and so is hearing this—her problem!
If you bring self-righteous judgments against the preacher
things
you don’t like about him, his failures and shortcomings—
will
forfeit blessings of the Word.
There can be a critical mass in congregation that kills the
spirit of the place.
Not that individuals who come with
right spirit won’t be blessed—
there
were a few in
but
the spirit of the synagogue was devoid of blessing.
Great Scottish preacher Alexander Whyte
was talking to a fellow minister,
told
him he had been filling pulpit for such and such a church without minister.
Whyte asked how it
was going. The man said, “I find it very
cold.”
Whyte said: “Cold!
Cold!
I preached there
two years ago and I haven’t got the chill out of my bones yet!”
May this never true of us as a church.
Open your heart to the Word as preached and taught.
Don’t let self
righteous judgments against preacher or fellow worshippers
cause
you to forfeit blessings that come when Christ speaks.
If you don’t know Christ and persist in your unbelief
you
will forfeit the greatest blessing—eternal life.
Instead of blessings Lord wants to pour out on you,
separated from grace forever.
MP#3 The cure for unbelief
So what’s the cure for our unbelief?
How do we pull our
self-righteousness out by the roots?
The cure for
unbelief is repentance.
What did Jesus preach in the synagogue that day? What was his message?
Mark tells us in
verse 12, in following story about sending out disciples.
Jesus sent them out
to do what he had been doing.
Repentance—that was Jesus’ message
whenever he preached.
What is repentance? Turning away from sin and to Christ.
But it is also
turning away from your righteousness. Self-righteousness.
When Jesus says repent and believe the good news he means
you
have to turn away from your pride in all of your goodness
and
success—your morality, your hard work, your success.
And believe that his righteousness is available to you.
And recognize that your pride in those things is like a
filthy rag to God.
Repentance is saying:
I’m a proud rebel against God.
All of the ways I
seek my own righteousness
is
really rebellion against God.
Jesus, you are a better Lord of my life than I am.
I turn my life over
to you.
That’s what Naaman did. We didn’t read the end of the story—
but
he repented of his self-righteousness.
In the end he said, I’m not going to let the pride of my
wealth
and
success and position stand in the way of my healing.
Went down to the
Repentance is hard.
We don’t mind being told that we need some help—
but
we hate being told we need massive help.
Thing rotten to the core.
When I take my car for an oil change, I hate it when they
say—
we
see some other problems—transmission leaking, steering linkage.
We’re like that spiritually—even after we believe. Repentance breaks down.
Makes us see our
need for Jesus Christ.
Throughout Mark it’s the people who have it all together—
who
have a terrible time believing, because they can’t repent.
The religious
people, the moral people, the healthy, self-reliant people
On the other hand, it’s the people
who know their need,
whose
self-righteousness has been devastated
that
turn to Jesus in repentance and faith.
Do you think the demon possessed man had any problem
repenting?
When Jesus looked at him sitting there, after cast out
demons and said:
“Now friend,
repent. Man fell all over himself.
I know what it’s like to have another master besides
you—it’s hell.
I repent of ever
wanting to be mastered by anyone except you, Lord.
Do you think the woman who had suffered bleeding for 12
years—
suffered
all the social and religious ostracism that came from that—
do
you think she had any problem repenting?
Lord, I’ve seen the emptiness of social acceptability.
Repent of ever
thinking that could make me happy.
You cut the root of self-righteousness by knowing your need
for Christ.
You learn your need
through repentance.
Repentance is not something you do once at your conversion—
it’s
the way we live the Christian life—continual repentance and faith.
You have to come to Christ daily—forgive me of my sins—
and
forgive me of my righteousness—all my attempts to be my own
master
and savior. All of the ways I trust
success so I don’t need you.
And then, of course, you believe the Good News.
Good news is that
Jesus Christ is full of mercy.
And he is the one
true and righteous man.
His righteous life, his shameful death is for you.
All be benefits flow to you when you believe in him.
Forgiveness,
assurance of God’s smile.
If you already know Christ, then you know what I am talking
about.
If you don’t. This is the day for repentance and
Christ.
Don’t face him one
day, watch him shake head in amazement and say—
Do you remember that day I met you in Cullman, Christ
Covenant.
Why did you harden
your heart. The
day of grace has passed.
Urge you, live a
repentant life.
Don’t let old
unbelief and self-righteousness weaken your faith.