Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his household.” (Mark 6:4)
In Mark 6:1-6, we get an interesting revelation in the narrative of the life of Jesus. Jesus, up to this point healed the sick, cast out demons, and taught a great deal of people. In other words, Jesus was doing much good among the people of Israel. In Mark 6:1, Jesus returns to his hometown. And like anyone who does great things and returns home, you would expect a hero’s welcome. Instead, Jesus returns to a skeptical crowd that doubts his work and the people who should’ve been proud of Jesus were in fact “offended by him” (Mk. 6:3). But it gets worse. Jesus says in Mark 6:4 “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown, among his relatives, and in his household.” Jesus’ own family didn’t believe in him and this entire situation “amazed Jesus.”
Think about it, there are people that refuse to acknowledge God. There are probably people in your life that you’ve been reaching out to, that you have been trying to love, that refuse to see Jesus for who he really is. And while this might discourage you, I want you to think about Jesus. Jesus’ own family could not bring themselves to believe in him. But how did Jesus respond? At the end of Mark 6:6 it says that Jesus still went “around the villages teaching.” Jesus continued to do what God called him to do. The next step after experiencing this rejection from his family was to continue walking in the good works that God the Father had planned. He taught and healed until he eventually went to the cross and died for all the people who rejected him.
So, here’s what you need to do. Be encouraged that if people rejected Jesus in the flesh, people will reject him still. Like Jesus, continue to do what you know God has called you to, which is to love God and love people through the power of the Holy Spirit supplied by the victory of Jesus. And lastly, to have hope. Because while Jesus’ family rejected him, they would eventually come around. Two of Jesus’ brothers, James and Jude wrote books in the Bible, and gave their lives proclaiming their older brother Jesus to be the Lord. So have hope that the Gospel is the power of God to salvation to all who believe, and keep praying for those people in your life who continue to reject Jesus.