#DailyDevotion Does Jesus Find Your Lack Of Faith Disturbing?

Mark 6:3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. 4 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” 5 And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And he marveled because of their unbelief.

What does it take to amaze God? What does the Lord marvel at? In this lesson from Jesus preaching at his hometown we certainly find out. The people there were marveling at his teaching, but not in a good way. No doubt they saw Jesus grow up. They knew or at least thought Joseph was not Jesus’ biological father. He was a carpenter like Joseph which were not thought much of in those days. Jesus had never manifested probably anything of his divine nature until he started his ministry after John’s baptism. So they are kind of wondering where on earth did all this come about. Jesus ought to stick to carpentry and know his place.

Well Jesus marveled at their unbelief. After hearing about the miracles and hearing him preach, he marveled at their unbelief. Our unbelief amazes God. Our lack of faith, having heard the word of God, is not only disturbing, it makes the Lord marvel. If our lack of faith amazes God it is no wonder we often are disturbed when pondering why some people are not saved. He marvels at it too. Now in the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark and Luke) Jesus’ miracles are not used to create faith in people or incite it. They are the response of faith and they confirm people’s faith. This is why Jesus could not perform a lot of miracles there. It wasn’t because he didn’t have the power (he did heal a few sick people there) but performing them would go against why he did them in the first place. Miracles in Nazareth would only be a side show and that is not why Jesus came.

We might note our faith in Jesus also amazes him and makes him marvel. In Matthew the servants of a centurion approached Jesus and said, Mat 8:9-10 ESV  “For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go,’ and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”  (10)  When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, “Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith.”  Jesus marvels at this centurion’s faith, the type of faith that ought to be found in his fellow Jews. Jesus is going to marvel at one of two things in you, your faith or you lack thereof. Jesus having died on the cross and risen from the dead on the third day has conquered sin, death and the power of the devil and promise to raise all to eternal life who believe in him on the Last Day. In what way are you going to make Jesus marvel today?

Gracious God and Father, grant us your Holy Spirit that we may make you marvel at our faith in Christ and not our unbelief, that we may be raised to eternal life in the fashion of you Son Jesus Christ on the Last Day. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.