Gospel: Mark 6:1-13 (Pentecost 7: Series B)

Your brother used to go to church but has not been for years. You were a sponsor at your niece’s baptism, but she has made it clear she is an atheist now. Your co-worker is a delightful person but has never accepted your invitation to church or been willing to engage in a conversation about spiritual things.

We feel all kinds of emotions over people’s unbelief. A common one today is anger: “Why can’t they just see it my way!” Relatedly, we can feel frustrated: “I just wish they could see what I see.” Sometimes it is a deep sadness: “Unless someone can get through to them, they will spend an eternity apart from God.”

Here in Mark 6, Jesus marveled. This sermon can be an occasion to process with your people the challenges of sharing the faith and being rejected. But more than just expressing sympathy (which is a good thing), we can proclaim the good news of who Jesus is and what Jesus does, even in the face of unbelief.

The sermon might open as I did above, by naming some of the experiences of your hearers as it relates to the unbelief of others. Or you might start with the narrative context of Mark 6, saying something like: “The first eight chapters of Mark’s Gospel all take place in Galilee. There, Jesus is proclaiming the Kingdom of God and demonstrating what it will look like when that Kingdom is finally restored. Many see the miracles and want to know more. But many others outright reject Jesus.”

Then, after that opening moment in the sermon, I would suggest spending the next two sections looking at Mark 6:6: “And He marveled because of their unbelief. And He went about among the villages teaching.” From this verse, you will be able to proclaim both Law and Gospel before deciding how you would like to finish the sermon based on your context.

Jesus marveled because of their unbelief.

You could capture the sadness of this verse in a number of different ways. One option is the use of Serial Depiction: “People were astonished at His teachings. But still, they did not believe. And Jesus marveled because of their unbelief. He knew them, they knew Him. That should have meant something. But still, they did not believe. And Jesus marveled because of their unbelief. With nothing more than a compassionate touch, Jesus laid His hands on individual after individual... and they were healed! Every one of them! But still, they did not believe. And Jesus marveled because of their unbelief. They rejected His teaching. They rejected His healings. They rejected His offer. They rejected His Kingdom. They rejected His mission. They rejected His authority. They rejected... Him.”

Their unbelief was so unbelievable, that Jesus “marveled.” Jesus, who had quite literally “seen it all,” the Fall of mankind, the lust of David, the burning of Jerusalem as the Babylonians bound God’s people, Jesus saw it all. Nothing could surprise Him. Nothing could be more grievous than what He had already seen throughout all of human history. But here, in His hometown, the people He knew most intimately, they rejected Him to His face. And what else could He do? Jesus marveled because of their unbelief.

Nevertheless, Jesus kept on.

“He went about among the villages teaching.” “Went about” is an imperfect verb in Greek. It is the ongoing, habitual, continued, and repeated action. He “kept on” teaching. He kept on.

I want to focus less on the teaching and more on the persistence of Jesus. Even in the face of outright rejection, He kept on. They did not want to hear what He had to say. Nevertheless, He kept on teaching. They heard but did not believe. Nevertheless, He kept on teaching. They could not and would not understand. Nevertheless, He kept on teaching.

Even in the face of outright rejection, He kept on.

Plenty of Christian authors today will appeal to Jesus as “the greatest teacher of all time,” and then appeal to some aspect of His “methodology” for us to emulate. Well, here in Mark 6 is the greatest teacher of all time... and He cannot get through to them! If Jesus, face to face, in the flesh, cannot convince them, they must be a lost cause. If ever there were a group of people to write off as hopeless, this is them. Nevertheless, Jesus kept on teaching.

Whatever the obstacle, whatever the response, whatever the lack of faith, whatever the personal rejection... Jesus kept on.

Psalm 23 says, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me.” It is easy to think of “follow” in that verse as a synonym of “accompany” as if the 23^rd Psalm means goodness and mercy will generally be present in our lives. But that particular Hebrew word means to run after or pursue. God’s goodness is persistent. God pursues us in loving mercy. This is the heart and character of Jesus. Whatever the obstacle, nevertheless, He kept on.

From here the preacher gets to proclaim the cross. Jesus continued to keep on. Mark 8-11 takes place “on the way,” while Jesus is moving from Galilee towards Jerusalem and the cross. While He was going on the way, He told His disciples about His upcoming rejection, which would be for the sake of those who have and will reject him.

The love of God is found in the “nevertheless” of Jesus keeping on. Jesus was willingly rejected for the sake of those who rejected Him. Jesus did not return hate for hate, but He prayed for His enemies. He blessed those who persecuted Him. While we were still weak, while we were still unbelieving, while we were still hostile... Jesus gave His life to save us! He did not wait for us to be worthy. He did not wait for us to want it. He kept on because it was God’s will and His delight.

“He marveled because of their unbelief. And [nevertheless], He went about among the villages teaching.”

You might choose to end the sermon there, with a declaration of the Gospel, and that would be great! Or you could end with a word of encouragement or challenge for what this means for us today.

Specifically, you might connect Jesus’ rejection to our own. In fact, Mark 6 does this. The next paragraph is Jesus sending out the Twelve, including a word about how people might respond. God’s people being rejected as messengers is not new (see 1 Samuel 8:7-9; Matthew 10:25; Luke 10:16; John 15:18). We should not be surprised by such rejection, and God is able to accomplish His holy will despite such rejection. Being prepared for the possibility may give us courage and perseverance, rather than being disappointed and defeated any time someone refuses to believe.

Another way to end the sermon would be to challenge your listeners to be honest about what it is people are rejecting when we share God’s Word. While we are not responsible for people’s responses, it is healthy to recognize what it is they are rejecting.

Most ideally, people hear and believe. But if they are going to reject the message, let it be the good news of God’s grace in Jesus which is the stumbling block. If it is our demeanor, our aggressiveness, our lack of tact, or our lack of love, that is not an occasion to shake the dust off our feet but a moment to repent. And in our repentance, we ourselves will once again find a patient and gracious Savior who keeps on teaching and providing His perfect grace, even for us.

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Additional Resources:

Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Mark 6:1-13

Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Mark 6:1-13.

Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Mark 6:1-13.

Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!

Lectionary Podcast-Dr. John Nordling of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through Mark 6:1-13.