Following Jesus When the World Finds it Offensive

Mark 6 brings Jesus home to Nazareth, but the homecoming is not a hero’s welcome. The hometown crowd hears him in the synagogue and is astonished, but astonishment turns sideways into offense. Nazareth says, in effect, “Isn’t this the carpenter? Don’t his brothers and sisters live right here?” The people think they know him too well, like the guy who made the kitchen table or kicked the ball over the fence, and that familiarity becomes unbelief.

Scripture will not let Jesus stay small like that. Philippians says God gave him “the name that is above every name,” so every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. Colossians says Jesus is “the image of the invisible God,” the one through whom and for whom all things were created, the one before all things, the one in whom all things hold together. Jesus may come from Nazareth, but Jesus is not just like everyone else.

Mark says Jesus was amazed at their unbelief. That unbelief sounds a lot like the South Bay, where many people do not think about Jesus at all, some choose not to believe, and some are offended by him. The text does not answer unbelief by telling the disciples to hide. Jesus keeps going through the villages, and Jesus sends the twelve out in pairs.

The sending makes his followers ambassadors. Second Corinthians says God makes his appeal through Christ’s ambassadors: “Be reconciled to God.” Jesus sends ordinary people into San Jose, Campbell, Los Gatos, Milpitas, and wherever they live, not because they have everything figured out, but because they represent him.

Jesus also sends the twelve out with almost nothing: a staff, sandals, one tunic, no bread, no bag, no money. That stripped-down mission says the point is not money, resources, perfect plans, or ideal conditions. God parted the Red Sea through Moses, brought down Goliath through David, and still works through weak people. Proverbs calls for trust in the Lord with all the heart, not leaning on human understanding.

Jesus does not promise easy success. Some houses will not receive the disciples, so the dust gets shaken off and the mission keeps moving. The parable of the soils says some hearts are hard, shallow, or crowded with thorns, but some are good soil. Jesus sends his people to care for both spiritual and physical needs, preaching repentance, casting out demons, healing the sick, and loving people holistically because Jesus forgives and heals.

##

Key Takeaways

• 1. Jesus is not just local Nazareth reduced Jesus to the carpenter everybody knew, the guy whose family lived down the street. Scripture refuses that small view and names him as Lord over everything, the image of the invisible God. Familiarity can become a dangerous kind of unbelief when it keeps Jesus manageable instead of worshiped. [33:04]
• 2. Mission travels lighter than pride Jesus sent the twelve with a staff, sandals, and almost nothing else, so dependence would not be theoretical. Money, resources, plans, and the right conditions can become quiet substitutes for trust. The point is not what a person brings to the table, but what the all-powerful God can do through weakness. [40:25]
• 3. Rejection does not stop sending Jesus prepared the disciples for houses that would not receive them or listen to them. Rejection was not proof that the mission had failed, and it was not a reason to quit. Faithfulness keeps moving, trusting God with judgment and asking him to lead to the next open door. [45:01]
• 4. Good soil is worth seeking The parable of the soils makes rejection real, but it also keeps hope alive. Some hearts are hard, shallow, or choked out, yet some hearts have been prepared by God in ways that are not obvious at first glance. Mission prays for those people, looks for them, and trusts that God has already been tilling the soil. [46:36]
• 5. Jesus cares for whole people The disciples preached repentance, cast out demons, anointed the sick, and healed people. Jesus never treated spiritual need and physical need as enemies, even though forgiveness remains the deepest need. Love in his name speaks the gospel and also moves toward real pain, real hunger, real disaster, and real weakness.
  
  ## [47:24]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [29:48] - Homecomings and Jesus in Nazareth
• [31:23] - Prayer and Mark 6 Begins
• [31:59] - Nazareth Is Astonished and Offended
• [33:04] - Jesus Is Not Like Everyone Else
• [35:07] - Amazed at Their Unbelief
• [36:26] - Mission in an Unbelieving Area
• [36:57] - Jesus Sends the Twelve
• [38:14] - Sent as Christ’s Ambassadors
• [39:20] - Traveling Light and Trusting God
• [45:01] - Rejection Is Part of Mission
• [46:36] - Looking for Good Soil
• [47:24] - Spiritual and Physical Care
• [49:48] - Three Questions for Mission

1. What specific reasons did the people of Nazareth give for being offended by Jesus?
2. What items did Jesus instruct the disciples to take (and not take) when he sent them out? [39:20]
3. How did Jesus respond when people rejected the disciples’ message? [45:01]

1. Why do you think familiarity with Jesus (as “the carpenter”) led to unbelief instead of deeper faith?
2. What does Jesus’ command to “take nothing” reveal about the relationship between dependence on God and material resources? [40:25]
3. How does the parable of the soils (Mark 4:3-9) connect to the reality of rejection and perseverance in mission? [46:36]

1. In what areas of your life (work, relationships, plans) do you tend to rely on your own resources or control instead of trusting God’s provision? What would it look like to “travel lighter” in those areas? [40:25]
2. When have you hesitated to share your faith because you feared rejection? How might Jesus’ instruction to “shake the dust off your feet” change your perspective? [45:01]
3. How can you intentionally care for both the spiritual and practical needs of someone in your life this week (e.g., a coworker, neighbor, or family member)? [47:24]
4. The people of Nazareth thought they knew Jesus but missed his true identity. Are there ways you’ve reduced Jesus to a “manageable” version of himself? What truths about him (from Philippians 2 or Colossians 1) challenge that small view?
5. The disciples kept moving even when rejected. Who is one person in your life that seems “closed” to the gospel, and one who might be “good soil”? How can you pray for or engage them differently? [46:36]