“He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and
heal them.”
Mark 6:5
Here we have a sad picture. Jesus came to church but could do no mighty work because of their lack of faith. It was not a good first year of ministry for Jesus as far as His reputation among the hometown people of Nazareth was concerned. He experienced a tremendous amount of rejection. Nazareth was where the Scriptures say, “And Jesus grew in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” (Luke 2:52) It started out well enough when He took the pulpit on a Sabbath and read from the prophet Isaiah, the 61st chapter. This event (recorded in Luke 4:16-30), tells how they “were amazed at the gracious words that came from his lips.” (verse 22) But when He told them, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing” (verse 21), they became enraged. In fact, they ran Him completely out of town to a cliff where they wanted to kill Him by casting Him off the edge. “But He walked right through the crowd and went on His way.” (verse 30) Talk about rejection! Most preachers would have dusted their feet off and pronounced judgment, never to return. Jesus, however, is not like most preachers, thank God. He still had a burning desire to do a mighty work among them.
Jesus still has a burning desire to do a mighty work through His church and people today. Are you willing to live by faith and have a prayer relationship with Him? For He is ready, willing, and able to perform powerful works through us. Our faith will either turn the switch on or off. Jesus will either do a mighty work here, or He will go elsewhere to do His mighty work.
Prayer Focus: Pray that He will do a mighty work through Grace because we are of strong faith. Ask God to show you if there is a roadblock of unbelief in your life.
