Live Like Jesus (Mark #18)

Years ago, during the hardest stretch of planting this church, I was meeting regularly over video with a coach — someone I had hired specifically to encourage me and keep me going.

Every time I unloaded on him, he would take me to some passage of Scripture that spoke directly into it and lifted my heart.

But one session he did something different. He looked straight into his camera and said, “Maybe it is time to shut down the church.”

My jaw dropped. Wait a second — I hired you to encourage me. What are you doing?

And he said, “This is about the fourth time you have told me these same things. Maybe it is time to stop. And if you stop, you have nothing to be ashamed of. You took a step of faith. You did something almost nobody does. You have not failed. But maybe it is time to shut things down.”

Then he added: “But I cannot make that call for you. And honestly, you cannot make that call for you either. Only God can. So what does God seem to be saying? What is your heart telling you?”

And in that moment I knew: I have to keep going. God was the one who told me to start this, and I did not sense Him saying it was time to stop.

So despite the external doubts, and despite my own internal doubts, I kept going.

Have You Been There?

Have you ever faced something where opposition was coming from every direction, and you still knew this was the right thing?

Maybe you felt God calling you to start a business, and it made no sense — you had a good job and a good salary — and everyone around you thought you had lost your mind. Why would you quit that? You do not have the finances. This does not add up. And inside you knew: I have to do this.

Or maybe there was a person you knew you were meant to spend your life with, while certain people around you were saying, I do not think this is the right one. I do not think you should do this. And something deep down told you otherwise.

Now let me add a caveat, because we are extraordinarily good at lying to ourselves. Sometimes we want something we know is bad for us, and we talk ourselves into it — I once heard a pastor say that in the face of obstacles you must keep going, so I am going to keep going — while deep down we know it is not right.

Part of what kept me going in the face of the doubters was other external voices. Alongside the people saying “I do not think you are called to this” were people who knew me and loved me saying, “I know you are supposed to do this. Keep going.”

So if you are drawn to someone and you have family who love you and friends who want what is best for you all telling you not to marry that person — you might want to listen to them.

But sometimes we genuinely do know: in the face of the opposition, I have to keep going.

Which brings us to today, because that is exactly what Jesus faces. He is going to meet opposition. People will doubt Him. People will stand against Him. People will take offense at Him.

And we get to watch what He does. Does He retaliate? Does He quit? Or does He keep going?

Because if you follow Jesus, you have been called onto the mission of God — and when people come against you, you will have to answer the same question.

Mark 6:1–6

“He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, ‘Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? 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.

“And Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.’ And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief. And he went about among the villages teaching.”

You Would Expect a Hero’s Welcome

Think back over the first five chapters. Jesus has cast out demons. He healed a shriveled hand. He cleansed a man of leprosy. He healed the paralyzed man whose four friends tore open a roof to lower him down. He stopped a storm with a word. And just last week, He raised a girl from the dead.

And that is before you even get to His teaching, which Mark keeps telling us drew crowds because He taught unlike any other rabbi.

So you would think a man like that comes home and gets a parade.

A few years ago a young woman from our part of the state made it to the final three on a national singing competition. Each finalist went home to put on a hometown concert, so she came back to Iowa and they held it at a county fairgrounds with the network film crew there.

Iowa was thrilled. The governor declared a day in her honor for the entire state. And that was before we knew whether she would win — which, thankfully, she did. This does not happen often for us. Now they are naming a park after her in her hometown. She is a hero there.

You would think Nazareth would put up a sign at the edge of town: Nazareth — home of Jesus, son of Mary and Joseph the carpenter. Nobody thought much of Nazareth. They were looked down on. Finally, something to be proud of.

That is not what happens.

Astonished — and Then Offended

Verse 2 tells us they were astonished. We have heard that word before in Mark, so at first it reads like awe. Where did this man get these things? What is this wisdom? How are such mighty works done by his hands?

And then verse 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.

Why?

We Are Compulsive Categorizers

Human beings have an uncanny ability to categorize. We meet someone, we put them in a box, and once they are in the box we want them to stay there — because we understand them there.

It is why you see a friend’s children after ten years and say something ridiculous like, “Wow, you have really grown!” — as though we did not expect growth. We had them filed as little kids, so they should remain little forever.

It happened to me repeatedly. When I was a worship director at a church plant in Colorado, I told people I felt called back into more pastoral ministry — I had been a campus youth pastor overseas and missed the counseling and teaching, and felt I needed to step away from music. And they looked at me like it was impossible. In their heads I was the music guy. They could not picture me counseling or teaching.

Then I became a young adult pastor at another church, and when people there found out I used to be a worship pastor, they said, “You cannot do music.” I now fit the box marked young adult pastor.

And then I told people I felt called to plant a church. “No — you are the young adult pastor. You are not a lead pastor. You cannot do that.”

We do this constantly. And it is precisely what Nazareth did.

They knew His story, so they had Him filed. Carpenter, not rabbi. Son of Mary and Joseph, not Son of God. And — this one matters — the young man born out of wedlock, because Mary was pregnant before she and Joseph were officially married. They had Him categorized under God cannot use anyone born in sin.

So: how does this man get that kind of wisdom? How does this man do mighty works? We know his family. We know the story. How dare he stand here claiming to speak for God.

He did not fit their category, so they rejected Him.

And notice Jesus is not surprised in the slightest. Verse 4: “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.”

People assumed a prophet had to come from nowhere — simply appear. But if you come from my house, my community, my region? Then you cannot possibly be a prophet. We always assume the best are out there, not in here.

I think that is why so many churches, when hiring staff, almost always look outside the church and rarely from within. They see a person and file them: great attender, great kids’ ministry volunteer, great small group leader. But bring them on staff? No — we have to go outside for the real ones.

I am thankful we do not operate that way. If we did, our children’s ministry director would never have become our children’s ministry director.

Some of you know that my wife actually led that ministry for three or four years. She did it well and she loved those kids, but it was not where she thrives. So she started asking parents to volunteer, and one mom came in and started helping. My wife watched the way she worked with the kids and thought, she is really good. Then she learned this woman had a teaching background and an education degree. So she asked her to try teaching — and she was excellent. Then she watched how she interacted with everyone else.

And before long my wife was saying to me on the drive home from church: I think she could do this better than I can.

She refused to leave that woman filed under just a mom, just a nice person, good with kids. She let her become who she actually was. And this whole church is reaping the fruit of that.

So How Does Jesus Handle Rejection?

Does He retaliate? That is the natural move — someone hurts you, you come after them.

In Luke 9 there is a scene where Jesus is traveling from the northern region down to Jerusalem, passing through Samaria as He liked to do. He was not unknown there — in John 4 He had stopped at a well in Samaria and had that famous conversation with a woman.

But when this village learns He is not staying, that He is continuing on to Jerusalem, they refuse to welcome Him.

And James and John take offense on His behalf: do You want us to call down fire on them? They hurt us — do You want us to hurt them?

That is what we do.

A few weeks ago I reconnected with a man I used to pastor. We have both moved on; he is out of state now. He has been walking through an extremely hard season and reaching out to a handful of people he trusts for counsel and prayer.

In the middle of it he was going to be passing through the city where we used to live, so he called a couple of old friends to ask if he could sleep on a couch. They said no.

He was so hurt — so angry that these people would not open their homes to him — that he prayed for the destruction of the entire city.

A little overboard, do you think? Two people said no, and he prayed God would level a city.

And then a week later the derecho hit. He thinks that was the answer. He takes credit for it.

That is what we do, is it not? We get hurt, so we want to hurt back. You wounded me — I want to see you destroyed.

So here are the people of Nazareth looking at the Messiah — the Son of God, the one who created the heavens and the earth, who created them, who knows their whole story, who is going to a cross for their sins — and they reject Him.

And what does He do?

Verse 5: “he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them.” Verse 6: “And he went about among the villages teaching.”

He kept going. He did not quit.

An Aside About Verse 5

I need to stop here, because that verse has made me uncomfortable in the past.

“And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief.”

My church background used that verse as a proof text about the importance of faith — that God is unable to do anything for you until you produce enough faith.

So the reason you do not have a job, or a spouse, or a child, or enough money, or a cure, is that you have not generated enough faith. God is sitting there wanting to give it to you and simply needs more faith from you first. Like feeding spinach to a cartoon sailor — hand God the faith, and out comes your miracle.

Let me ask a question. Whose faith was Jesus drawing on when He stopped the storm at the end of chapter 4?

Not the disciples’. They are in the boat terrified. The storm is swamping them. When they wake Him it is partly out of shock that anyone could sleep through it, and mostly out of fear — do you not care that we are perishing? Start bailing!

Then He stands up and says, “Peace! Be still.” The wind stops, the water flattens — and the text says the disciples were filled with great fear. They were now more afraid of the man who could stop the storm than they had been of the storm they thought would kill them.

That was not a miracle powered by their faith.

Or two weeks ago, when Jesus steps off the boat and the demon-possessed man comes charging at Him — a man filled with so many demons they called themselves Legion. Whose faith was Jesus relying on there? Certainly not the man’s; the demons had control of him. And the demons had no faith in Jesus.

He performed the miracle anyway.

God is not sitting around helpless, waiting for you to pay a faith tax. You do not have to give Him a faith bribe.

So what does Mark mean? I appreciate how one commentary puts it: there was no limitation on His power, but His purpose was to perform miracles in the presence of faith — and only a few here had faith to come to Him for healing.

Jesus could have done far more. The people simply were not coming to Him, because they did not believe. Only a few had the faith to approach — and when they came, He healed them. Not because He was feeding off their faith, but because they came.

And frankly, the rest would not have believed even if they had seen it.

People saw the skill and still did not believe

A few years back, one NFL team was mocked relentlessly for trading up in the draft to take a particular quarterback. The scouts had all said he would never make it — too erratic, not the prototype, would throw far too many interceptions, would get rattled. Maybe a decent backup, but that was it.

When they traded up for him, everyone — including their own fans — said, “What are they doing? There were so many better options.”

Now all those critics are eating their words. He was league MVP one year and Super Bowl MVP the next, setting records nobody has come close to.

People had watched him play in college. They saw the skill. They simply did not believe it.

Nazareth is looking at Jesus in their own synagogue, and they do not believe it.

So it is not that Jesus was standing there helpless wishing He could act. They were not coming to Him, and they would not have believed it if they had seen it.

But for those who did come, who did believe — He healed them. He loved them. And He kept going. He did not retaliate and He did not quit. He healed. He preached. He served. He loved. He stayed on mission.

Persevere — But at What?

You may be sitting there thinking the application today is simply: persevere.

That is only half of it, and if that is all you take away you have missed the point.

Do not mishear me. If you are an athlete, by all means persevere in practice and in games — that is being a good teammate, and I believe it gives God glory. If you are struggling in school or staring down a huge project at work, persevere. I believe that glorifies God too.

But that is not the point today.

The point is that living like Jesus means we persevere in the mission of God.

Jesus knew exactly why He came. He came to bring people into God’s kingdom, and He knew that the gate into that kingdom was Himself. That is why He would go to a cross to die for our sins and rise again to show He has power over all things — and then invite us in. That was the mission.

And if you follow Jesus, living like Jesus means taking up that same mission.

You Will Face Doubters

Some will be from your past. They will look at you and say: we knew you back then. We were at that party. We know what happened that night. We have heard you lie and gossip. We have seen what you have done. And now you walk in here acting holy.

In that moment, do not retaliate. Do not insult back. Do not even scramble to justify yourself.

Own it. Confess it. Yes, I did those things. If I could go back I would do it differently. And I am going to tell you that God changed my life. And then keep loving them. Stay on the mission.

But it will not only be people from your past. It will be people in your present — at work, at school, in your neighborhood. They will doubt your motives. They will question why you do what you do. They will assume you are fake. They will assume things about you. They will categorize you.

Do not categorize them back. Do not retaliate. Do not pray for a natural disaster to hit their city. Just love them, and live like Jesus among them.

And Here Is the Gift Inside It

Jesus did not have to examine His own heart. You and I do.

Even as a follower of Jesus, your motives can get jumbled. Sometimes the reason you are serving is so you look good, or to impress someone. Sometimes we start thinking we have to do this to make God happy — no. God is already pleased with you because of what Jesus did on the cross. You are His child. He loves you. He embraces you.

And sometimes we serve to get something back: if I do this, they will do that for me. That is not the way of Jesus.

So when you face doubt and opposition, rather than going into an emotional tailspin the way I did, welcome it as a gift. Let it be a purifying process. Ask yourself: why am I doing this? What is my purpose here?

And if you check your heart and realize you are not doing it for God’s glory but for your own — confess it right there. Ask God to purify you. And begin again.

Because what this world desperately needs are people who love like Jesus loved and live like Jesus lived.

There are people right now pushing agendas — their politics, their worldview, whatever it is — convinced they are bringing healing, while what they are actually doing is fracturing things further and widening the rifts. What we need are people who come in like Jesus and start building bridges.

Jesus Described It Himself

In the opening of His most famous sermon:

“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God. Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

God wants you on His mission. He loves this world. He loves these people — they bear His image. And they are crashing around, and He has brought the cure. His name is Jesus. And the way people find Him is through you.

So living like Jesus means giving mercy. Being pure in heart. Being a peacemaker. And yes — people will doubt you, revile you, oppose you. Blessed are you. Your reward will be great.

Just stay on the mission. Keep being a blessing. Keep loving like Jesus loved. You do not have to fight and argue the politics. You do not have to fight and argue every cultural flashpoint. Seek to love. Seek to listen. That is genuinely hard in the moment, which is exactly when you ask God to empower you by His Spirit — and you begin again.

Father, it is easy to say these things and another thing entirely to live them. For everyone here who is Your son or daughter, filled with Your Holy Spirit — help them walk in that power. You tell us the same power that raised Christ from the dead now dwells in us. So help us bring this kind of love and attention to people, because our world is dividing over so many things, and what it needs is the healing balm of the gospel. And You have called us to carry it.

Jesus, You had people opposed to You and You kept going. Help us do the same — not retaliating, not giving up, persevering on the mission You have given us. It will bring You glory, it will bring us joy, and it will bring healing to others.

And I pray for anyone praying along who has never surrendered their life to You — that right now they would confess their sin, accept the sacrifice of Jesus on their behalf, and give their life to follow You, letting You begin changing them from the inside out, so that they too go to their school, their work, their neighborhood, their friends, and love like Jesus loved and live like Jesus lived.

You told us to go into all the world and make disciples. Help us accomplish that — with our words, with our actions, with our presence. And even the people opposed to us politically, or opposed to us because they have categorized us, let them sense something different — because we are not going to be like the world clamoring loudly for its own way. We will quietly and lovingly whisper Your way, and it will draw people to You. Because You came for us, died for us, and rose again, so that we could follow a living Savior. Amen.