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Mark 6:1-6
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.
Then Jesus went around teaching from village to village.
New International Version (NIV)
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They thought he was too small. When a 5’6” player tried out with the Houston Astros baseball team in Venezuela, they thought he was too small, and older than he claimed. So he came back, birth certificate in hand and told them, “You haven’t seen me play.” His name was Jose. Jose Altuve. Can you believe the Astros almost underestimated Jose Altuve? That would have been a mistake.
Jesus knew the feeling. In Nazareth they already knew his name. They assumed limitations. When he taught, some were amazed, but others said, “Just Jesus. A carpenter. Mary’s son. We know his brothers James, Joseph Judas and Simon. His sisters are here." People in Jesus’ hometown had already decided who Jesus was and by process of elimination who he was not. Not the Messiah. No way. No how. They put him in a box. The loss was their own. What did they really miss, though?
Amazed at their lack of faith, Jesus headed down the road. All he did in the days that followed was feed five thousand people and walk on water as he calmed a storm. A deaf man was healed. A blind man saw. Even a woman from Syrophoenicia found healing. But not Nazareth. They outsmarted themselves.
I wonder what we will miss today because we have put God in our box. Let us not be guilty of limiting God by assuming what he cannot do today. If you are building a box to constrain God today, believe me when I say, you don’t have enough materials to do it. Who said, “There is no box made by anyone but that God can explode it, flatten it out and turn it into a dance floor to celebrate life.”
God plans to do something great in our lives. Like the people in Nazareth, there is one sure way to miss God’s very best for our lives: to underestimate Jesus. That would be a mistake.
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Pray with me:
Father, when did we forget that you’ve always been the King of the world? We try to take life back right out of the hands of the King of the world. How could we make you so small when you are the one who rules it all. Let us not forget that you’ve always been the King of the world. Whatever we do today, let us not underestimate you. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
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Join us in memorizing the Word. Scripture for this week:
Matthew 5:40-42
And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.
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| Our 2020 Every Day with Jesus readings will follow the Foundations New Testament reading plan. Copies of the reading plan are available at Tallowood Baptist Church, or download your copy at REPLICATE.ORG
We would love for you to join us as we read the New Testament through this year, five chapters a week. In addition I will continue my long-standing practice of reading one Psalm a day through the year. Use Robby Gallaty’s H. E. A. R. plan to study each chapter (also found at REPLICATE.ORG). Highlight verses which speak to you, explain what they mean in your own words in a journal, apply them to your own life, then respond by doing what God tells you to do.
Joyfully,
Duane
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