Mark 6:4 Then Jesus told them, “A prophet is honored everywhere except in his own hometown and among his relatives and his own family.” 5 And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles amonth them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. 6 And He was amazed at their unbelief.
Faith. Belief. Is there a difference? I have always read these verses and heard them interpreted as meaning “faith”. That the people in Jesus’ hometown didn’t have enough faith. That Jesus couldn’t do great miracles there because of their lack of faith.
“You need to have more faith” “God can’t work when there’s a lack of faith” “Ask for more faith” “You don’t have faith for that” “I just need to have faith for it” “We need to believe that God will do it”
I’ve heard all these phrases. I’ve had the discussion with many people: Does God’s working depend on our faith? Does it depend on the amount of our faith? Does healing depend on my faith?
Just the other day I read these verses with a new interpretation. Go back a little ways and read the verses just before them: v.2 “The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, ‘Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?’ v.3 Then they scoffed, ‘He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.’ They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him. ”
They saw Jesus doing miracles. What’s not to believe? Wouldn’t you have faith in the miracles themselves if you saw them being done? They even heard and acknowledged his wisdom (verse 2). Their unbelief was not just a lack of faith. Their unbelief was in who Jesus was. They didn’t believe that He was who He said He was. They didn’t believe that the promised Messiah would come from their own hometown. From a family that they knew. A kid they had watched grow up.
I don’t know about you, but this is really freeing to me. It makes my faith not about my faith. It makes my faith not about me. The crucial thing to believe is not whether or not Jesus will choose to do what I ask. I have to check my own heart and make sure I believe that Jesus is who He says He is. That is faith. That is belief. How God chooses to answer my prayers is completely up to Him. I can be okay with that because I have faith in Who He is. Not in what He will do, not in how He will answer, but in Who He is.
Right now we are studying the names of God. I have been very challenged to really know His names and believe Him when He says He IS.
I don’t have time for a complete list, but here are the meanings of the Hebrew names of God we are studying:
The Lord is Peace
The Lord our Righteousness
The Lord who Sanctifies
The Lord is our Healer
The Lord of Hosts – God is our Deliverer
The Lord is there
The Creator
The Lord is my Shepherd
Jealous
LORD, the self-existent One
God Most High – God is sovreign
The Lord Will Provide
Lord, Master
Almighty God – the all-sufficient One
The Lord is My Banner
God sees
Any thoughts?