Why Couldn’t Jesus Perform Many Miracles in His Hometown?
Oh, I REALLY like this question. Much appreciation to my good friend Bobby Tucker for sending it in. If you’d like to submit a question, please head on over to our EverNearer contact form. We love receiving questions from our readers!
See, now today we aren’t talking about anything controversial. No politics, no dinosaurs, no innocent people suffering, no, “Is Hell Real and Who Goes There?”, no “Do I Have to Read the Whole Bible”, and no “If I Don’t Follow Every Command of Jesus Will I go to Hell?”.
Nothing controversial this time, just a question about why the Son of God, who is fully God Himself, seems to be weak because He’s in the midst of a bunch of negative people. Nope. No controversy at all.
The Background
Ok, I have to tell y’all, this particular question has always bothered me a bit. Let me give you the scripture passage my friend Bobby is referencing.
Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. “What’s this wisdom that has been given him? What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
-Mark 6:1-6 NIV
Jesus goes back home, He starts teaching in the local synagogue (basically the church He probably grew up in), and people are amazed by His teaching. But then they start having questions. It boils down to this. We’ve heard His wisdom, we’ve heard about the miracles people says He’s done, but really? This guy? Didn’t He grow up here doing carpentry work? We know His mom. We know His brothers and sisters. How can this guy claim to be anything special? So, they “took offense” at His claims. By the way, one day if some asks the right question, I’d be happy to talk about the ridiculousness of being offended by anything at all.
The overall issue is in this well-known statement, familiarity breeds contempt. These people had known Jesus for almost His entire life. To them He was just another kid who grew up in town. He wasn’t special and Him claiming that He was offended them, because they thought they knew better.
Back to the Question
Bobby’s question, “Why couldn’t Jesus perform many miracles in His hometown?” is tied to verse 5. “He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them.” And it’s a very legitimate question.
True Jesus followers believe (and to know what is a true Jesus follower, check out the video at this link) that since Jesus was the Son of God, He is equal with God. Paul said that Jesus was:
“…in the form of God and equal with God...”
-Philippians 2:6a GW
We know that Jesus was filled with power through the Holy Spirit. He turned water into wine, He healed dozens, perhaps hundreds of people, He fed more than 5,000 people with just five loaves of bread and two small fish, and more than once He raised people from the dead! Clearly, He didn’t lack the power to do miracles.
Maybe It Was Faith Problem
Let’s look again at verses 5 and 6 and we will see something interesting.
He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith.
Have you ever heard a preacher of other religious person say something like, “If you had more faith then your prayers would be answered. You’d have your miracle, but you just lack faith.” Was that the reason Jesus couldn’t do miracles in His hometown? Did the lack of faith of the people around Him somehow drain His powers? If so, what does that mean for us? If we don’t have enough faith, can we limit the power of God?
“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.”
-Genesis 1:1 NIV
I have a question for the class! How many people were there with God when He created the universe? Oh, that’s right, ZERO! No people were there and so there was no power of faith from people. Did a lack of people with faith prevent creation? No.
When Jesus rose from the dead, how many people had faith it was going to happen? The Bible doesn’t record any. In fact, everyone who found out about the resurrection was shocked! So, no faith there either. And yet His power was not limited.
Jesus didn’t lack power because people lacked faith. I hate to break it to you, but we are completely irrelevant when it comes to God’s unlimited power. In fact, we don’t need much faith at all.
In Matthew 17 we see the following exchange after a small group of the disciples fails to cast a demon out of a boy, but Jesus takes care of it:
Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?” He replied, “Because you have so little faith. 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.”
-Matthew 17:19-21 NIV
Now, at first, we think we’re back to the “they didn’t have enough faith” issue. In fact, Jesus said, “because you have so little faith.” But if you go to Matthew 10 Jesus had sent the disciples out to cast out demons, heal the sick, and spread the Good News…and they were wildly successful! So, what happened this time?
For whatever reason, the disciples weren’t able to cast out this particular demon. It’s possible they were trying to do so in their own authority. Perhaps in this situation they let their fear overwhelm them. This demon did cause the boy to be thrown violently to the ground and foam at the mouth. Or maybe they needed to have more preparation. In the parallel version of this passage in Mark chapter 9, some versions of the story have Jesus telling the disciples that this type only comes out “by prayer and fasting.”
But then Jesus gives us the clincher that proves it’s not a lack of faith.
The Mustard Seed
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.”
-Matthew 17:20b-21 NIV
A mustard seed represented one of the smallest things available at that time. Jesus was saying, even the tiniest bit of faith in God will allow us to do things that seem impossible, as long as those things are in God’s will. And those things being in God’s will may be connected to us being fully obedient in spiritual disciplines such as prayer and fasting. As an aside, have you done any fasting lately? It’s a powerful way for true Jesus followers to grow ever nearer to God.
Ok, now let’s bring it all the way back around. The original question was, “Why couldn’t Jesus perform many miracles in His hometown?” And now we know it wasn’t because of a lack of faith or a lack of His power. So, what was the reason?
The Answer
The answer to the question is found in broadening our focus in our Bible study. Jesus followers, back in our first two newsletters (you can find them in the Newsletter Archive) we discussed how to improve your Bible study and get more wisdom from the Lord while in His word. You can also find some guidance in the blog post, “Where Do I Find Time to Study the Bible?”
But for this post, the answer to Bobby’s question is found in looking at a parallel passage to Matthew 17. A parallel passage simply means another part of the Bible that recounts the same events. In this case, the answer is found in the parallel passage of Matthew 13. Let me quote the exact same story, but this time from Matthew’s perspective.
When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.” And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
-Matthew 13:53-58 NIV
You’ll notice it’s almost identical…until the very end. Look again at verse 58.
And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.
Do you see it? Mark told us Jesus “could not” do many miracles there, but Matthew says Jesus “did not” do many miracles there. Here’s what likely happened, and it’s right in line with the nature of our Lord.
Jesus saw that they doubted Him. He knew they didn’t believe in Him. So, He had a choice. He could do a bunch of miracles to try to convince them, even though they were clearly not interested in changing their minds, or He could go to those who were open to His message.
Hear me sisters and brothers. Jesus doesn’t have anything to prove. He doesn’t need to show off to convince people to follow Him. Jesus didn’t do that for the disciples. He simply told them, “Follow me”. Let me ask you a question. Did Jesus work a bunch of physical healing miracles on you or people you loved before you became a Jesus follower? Probably not. But you learned about His love. You learned about your need. You may have been at rock bottom, and He came to you and offered you the joy and peace and salvation you never knew were possible. Jesus didn’t wow you with miracles, no, the Holy Spirit moved in your already open heart.
Not the Greatest Showman
Do you remember the movie, The Greatest Showman? If you haven’t seen it, I highly recommend it. A great story! In it, Hugh Jackman plays the part of P.T. Barnum. And P.T. gets very wrapped up in the trappings of fame. He nearly loses everything, including his family, all because of pride.
But Jesus? He was not the greatest showman. He wasn’t here to impress us with His amazing abilities. That’s not why He came. Here was his purpose:
“For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
-Mark 10:45 ESV
Could Jesus have performed many miracles in His hometown? Of course. Did He? No. Why not? Because it did not serve His purpose. Jesus never tries to force us to follow Him. He invites us to follow Him. He’s not into coercion or conniving. Instead, He presents us with a simple choice, and lets us decide.
And then, when our hearts are open, that’s when He sometimes pulls out the miracles. Not to show off, but as a benefit of being in relationship with Him.
One Final Point
I truly am glad Bobby gave us this question, and I’m glad for two reasons. The first is that is allows us to see that Jesus did not have limited power due to a lack of faith by people, and because of that we don’t have to worry about losing out because we may not feel our faith is all that great. We can have just a tiny bit of faith, but if we are true Jesus followers with that faith, He will show us things that we could never have imagined.
The second is this. It’s critical to not just read the Bible, but to study it. To understand how it all ties together and how different parts relate to each other. At the very beginning of this post, I mentioned this question had always bothered me a bit, and it did so because I’d never taken the time to really dig into it. I was learning right along with you as I was researching this topic! You may think you are very knowledgeable about the Word of God, or you may think you’re woefully inadequate. But sister, brother, we all have plenty of room to grow. Don’t worry about where you are in understanding His word. Just commit to spending time every day learning more about it and getting it inside your heart.
Love you Jesus follower!
-Troy
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