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Lesson 5: Confrontation in Galilee *

Introduction: Success breeds detractors, right? Ladies, if you see a beautiful woman do you look for the flaws? Men, if you see a rich successful man, do you look for reasons why that could not be you? (If you feel better reversing the gender in these questions, go ahead.) Years ago, we bought a beautiful, new Ford Thunderbird. When my wife drove it to school, her co-worker was excited to tell her that one of the headlight covers was cracked. When a visitor drove a new and rare Dodge Viper to church, I recall fixing my mind on some design flaw. How long has this been human nature? Since, at least, the time of Jesus? Let's dive in a read what His neighbors said about Him!

  1. Not Understanding the Home Town Son


    1. Read Mark 6:1-2. What is good and bad about returning to your hometown?


      1. When you return to your hometown church, do you like to be asked to participate in the church service?


      2. We see that Jesus teaches in His hometown synagogue and people are amazed. What kind of questions are the people raising in Mark 6:2? What are they really saying in these questions? (I know the feeling. In law school I took courses in many areas of law. Just after I graduated (and actually knew something), my in-laws started entering into complex land arrangements which they ultimately regretted. Although they knew nothing about the law, instead of asking for my opinion, they kept these arrangements a secret from me.)


    2. Read Mark 6:3. Are the people excited about the success of their "native son?"


      1. Why not?


      2. What do they mean by calling Jesus "Mary's son?" (You would identify a man by his father, not his mother. This is the old charge of illegitimacy.)


      3. Why should they "take offense?"


    3. Read Mark 6:4-6. Consider this very unusual statement "He could not do any miracles there." Why not? Why not do great miracles in His hometown so that they would be properly impressed? That they would know that a "hometown boy" succeeded?


      1. Was Jesus doing the miracles to create faith or was He doing miracles in response to faith? (Jesus was not doing magic. He was teaching about God's response to faith.)


        1. Is there a lesson about faith in this for us?


  1. Not Understanding God


    1. If you do not know the general story of the death of John the Baptist, read Mark 6:17-28. Let's pick some verses for study. Read Mark 6:18-20. What can Bible teachers learn from John's teaching? (Don't back away from teaching the truth. Don't compromise.)


      1. What response will you get to teaching the "straight" truth? (Recall our study from last week about the importance of a heart open to truth. Some, like Herod, will have a semi-open heart and others, like Herodias, will want to kill you.)


    2. Read Mark 6:21-23. Were the guests more important than Herod? (No. He was the king.)


      1. What does Herod's offer, based on a dance, tell us about Herod? (He lacked self-esteem and common sense. He wanted to impress people he did not need to impress. This offer, based on a dance was "over the top.")


    3. Read Mark 6:25-28. Why did John die? (Because of Herod's character defects.)


      1. What was the struggle in Herod's mind? (We learned in Mark 6:20 that Herod believed John to be a "righteous and holy man." He weighed this against losing "face" - his pride and vanity( Mark 6:26). Pride won.)


      2. Is a similar struggle going on in your heart? Are there some Bible truths that you reject because of pride and vanity?


    4. Read Mark 6:29. Imagine that you are a disciple of John. What have you been doing about his imprisonment? (Praying mightily.)


      1. You hear the story of what happened second-hand. What reason do you think John died? (You would not have the insight into the character of Herod. You would think he died because a young girl danced and asked that he be killed.)


        1. What are your thoughts of God for allowing this?


        2. In Matthew 11:11 Jesus says "among those born of women there has not risen anyone greater than John the Baptist." How could God let such a great man be killed over something as frivolous as a dance? (Read John 3:27-30. John died because his mission had been accomplished. If it seems that God is acting frivolously in your life, look deeper. If you still cannot see, then (as we discussed last week in connection with Mark 5:36 "Don't be afraid, just believe.")


    5. We are going to skip the story of the feeding of the 5,000. If you do not know this story, read it in Mark 6:34-44. Let's Read Mark 6:45-46. What kind of an attitude would the disciples have after the feeding of the 5,000? (What a day! Jesus had shown His power to create food.)


    6. Read Mark 6:47-48. After this high day, what kind of situation do the disciples find themselves? (Difficult. There was a storm and they were "straining" to make any progress. The fourth watch would be 3:00 in the morning. They had been rowing for eight or nine hours and made it only half way across the lake.)


      1. Is your life like this sometimes? A very high spiritual experience followed by an experience in which you are straining?


      2. What is Jesus doing? (He is watching them.)


        1. Why doesn't He intervene? Why leave them straining for all this time?


      3. Notice Mark 6:48 again. When Jesus finally appears to be doing something, we read that He was going to "pass them by." Why would Jesus walk past them? (Jesus is watching and concerned. He begins to act on the problem before He is asked for help. But, it appears He is not going to actually intervene without some sort of request.)


        1. What lesson is there in this for us?


    7. Read Mark 6:49-50. Do the disciples recognize Jesus? (No!)


      1. What happens in that situation? Jesus wants us to call on Him, He comes close so that we can call on Him, and then we do not recognize Him. Have the disciples "blown it?" (Friend, notice this. Jesus helps based on compassion, not based on a formal request for help.)


    8. Read Mark 6:51-52. The disciples "had not understood about the loaves." What did they fail to understand? (Notice the sequence here. Jesus performs an extraordinary miracle in which they are coworkers. Immediately after, they get into some major trouble. Jesus is watching them, but they are simply straining through it. They do not call on Jesus, but He comes near anyway. Finally, they are completely terrified and He rescues them. They are amazed because they do not understand about the loaves.)


      1. What is loaf understanding? (That Jesus can master any problem in your life. They should have called upon Him at the very beginning of the problem. They should not have been amazed that He was the solution to their problem.)


        1. How about you? When do you call on Jesus to help? Only after you have been "straining" for eight or nine hours?


  2. Not Understanding Priorities


    1. In Mark 7:1-5 Jesus gets into a dispute with the Jewish leaders over the failure of His disciples to wash their hands before they eat. (Thankfully, they became fishers of men instead of opening a restaurant.) Read Mark 7:6-8. What is Jesus' defense of His disciples? (The Jewish leaders do not have the priorities right. They follow the traditions of men on minor things and ignore the commands of God. This gets back to Deuteronomy 4:2. They were both adding and subtracting from what God said.)


    2. Read Mark 7:14-15. Why do the things that "come out" of a person make that person unclean? (Read Matthew 12:34-35. What comes out of our mouth reflects what is in our heart.)


    3. Read Mark 7:17-23. What lesson is there in this for Christians who focus on "health reform?" (If health reform is the focus of your Christian walk, then you have the wrong priority. You need to refocus on God's priority which is the condition of the heart. (For further discussion, read Acts 10:14 and Romans 14:14.)


    4. Friend, how about you? Do you recognize Jesus as God, turn to Him when in need, and understand His priorities?


  3. Next week: The Passion Predicted.
* Copr. 2005, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. All scripture references are to the New International Version (NIV), copr. 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society, unless otherwise noted. Quotations from the NIV are used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. The lesson assumes the teacher uses a blackboard or some other visual aid.

© 2013 Bruce N. Cameron, J.D.
Website by Blake Cameron, M.D.
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