Mark 6:1-6
Missed Opportunities
Outline:
I. \\#Mark 1:1-15\\ Introduction
A. \\#1:1-8\\ Jesus Was Announced
B. \\#1:9-11\\ Jesus Was Authenticated
C. \\#1:12-13\\ Jesus Was Proven
D. \\#1:14-15\\ The Bridge
II. \\#Mark 1:16-2:28\\ Meet Jesus
A. \\#1:14-2:12\\ Jesus’ Authority
1. \\#1:16-20\\ Jesus Has Authority over Men
2. \\#1:21-22\\ Jesus Has Authority in Doctrine
3. \\#1:23-28\\ Jesus Has Authority over Demons
4. \\#1:29-39\\ Jesus Has Authority over Sickness
5. \\#1:40-45\\ Jesus Has Authority over Disease
6. \\#2:1-12\\ Jesus Has Authority over Sin
B. \\#2:13-28\\ Jesus Cares for Sinners
C. \\#2:13-28\\ Jesus Is Not Like Others
1. \\#2:13-17\\ He’s not like everyone else.
2. \\#2:18-22\\ He’s not like the disciples of John or the
Pharisees.
3. \\#23-28\\ He’s not like the Pharisees.
III. \\#Mark 3:1-35\\ Things Are Changing
A. \\#3:1-6\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and the Pharisees
B. \\#3:7-12\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and the People
C. \\#3:13-19\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and His Disciples
D. \\#3:22-30\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and the Scribes
E. \\#3:31-35\\ The Relationship Between Jesus and His Family
IV. \\#Mark 4:1-10:52\\ The Words and Power of Jesus
A. \\#4:1-20\\ Bad Weeds Kill Good Seeds
B. \\#4:21-34\\ Parable Epilogues
C. \\#4:35-41\\ Faith
D. \\#5:1-43\\ The Tormented Delivered
1. \\#5:1-20\\ Tormented by Demons
2. \\#5:21-24, 35-43\\ Tormented by Death
3. \\#Mark 5:24-34\\ Tormented by Disease
E. \\#6:1-44\\ Opportunities
1. \\#6:1-6, 14-20\\ Missed Opportunties
2. \\#6:7-13, 30-44\\\\ Taken Opportunities
I am thinking I may have missed some of Mark’s groupings. It seemed
evident to me that Mark had skipped over some events in Jesus’ life,
perhaps so that he could group events to make different points.
1. Chapter 1 - He selected events to show Jesus’ Authority.
2. Chapters 1-2 - He selected events to show Jesus’ Care.
3. Chapter 3 - He selected events to show us things had changed.
After that, it seemed that Mark started doing what the other writers
were doing, just showing events to wow us. But looking back, perhaps
Mark was still selecting specific events for a purpose.
4. Chapter 4 - Perhaps Mark selected sermons to teach us about
parables.
5. Chapters 4-5 - Perhaps he selected events to show us Jesus’ power
to deliver the tormented.
a. \\#Mark 4:35-41\\ Deliverance from Fear (disciples in a storm)
b. \\#5:1-20\\ Deliverance from Demons (demoniac of Gadara)
c. \\#5:21-24, 35-43\\ Deliverance from Death (Jairus’ daughter)
d. \\#Mark 5:24-34\\ Deliverance from Disease (women with the
issue of blood for twelve years)
I don’t know if that is the case, but it seems to me that chapter 6
is about opportunity, mostly missed opportunities. Let’s divide the
chapter into three parts.
I. \\#Mark 6:1-6\\ Nazareth’s Refused Opportunity
A. \\#1\\ Jesus left "thence" (probably Capernaum \\#Mark 5:21\\)
and went to "his own country."
1. The Bible speaks of Jesus’ "own country" in six different
Bible verses.
2. Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell the story.
a. Jesus went to His own country, but they refused Him.
b. He could not do many miracles there.
c. Jesus made the statement, "A prophet is not without
honor except in his own country."
3. But the Bible never tells us which country was Jesus’ own
country.
a. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, taken to Egypt, then
raised in Nazareth.
b. What country did He call His home town?
c. Most believe it is Nazareth.
4. As I have said, because of the church’s kindness, I have
been to Nazareth twice.
a. It did not strike me as much of a city even to this
day.
b. But Jesus called it home and what an opportunity that
gave Nazareth!
c. That made this city the most blessed city in the
galaxy on that day! God was coming to it.
B. Jesus never did any miracles until AFTER He left Nazareth.
1. We know that because the Bible tells us that Jesus did His
first miracle in Cana of Galilee \\#John 2:11\\.
2. That must have really bothered the people of Nazareth.
a. Nazareth was a small village with everyone knowing
everyone else.
b. A lot of people would have been sick, had accidents,
even died during the years Jesus lived there, but He
did not heal any of them.
c. When the stories of Jesus’ miracles came, it must have
caused some bitterness and hurt among the Nazarenes.
3. But now Jesus was coming home and at least part of the
reason was to do mighty miracles there!
a. How do we know that?
b. Because He tried to do mighty miracles there and the
people refused the opportunity.
Mark 6:5 And he could there do no mighty work,
save that he laid his hands upon a few sick
folk, and healed them.
4. Nazareth refused the opportunity for healing and help
because they refused Jesus.
C. Notice WHY and HOW they refused Jesus.
1. The WHY is because they were too familiar with Jesus.
Mark 6:2 …and many hearing him were
astonished, saying, From whence hath this man
these things? and what wisdom is this which is
given unto him, that even such mighty works are
wrought by his hands?
3 Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary,
the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and
Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And
they were offended at him.
a. Nazareth refused the opportunity of Jesus because they
THOUGHT they knew Him.
(1) They would have known Joseph. They knew Mary.
They knew His brothers and sisters. They even
knew Jesus when He was a boy.
(2) How many people today are rejecting Jesus
because of what they think they know?
(3) At one time, they had a thought, heard a
statement, or met a hypocrite and now they
are the authority on Jesus.
(4) They will not go to a church, listen to a
sermon, read a track or the Bible, because they
know who Jesus is.
(5) Like the Nazarenes, they are refusing an
opportunity that will not pass that way again.
b. The HOW is that they refused to believe.
Mark 6:6 And he marvelled because of their
unbelief. And he went round about the villages,
teaching.
(1) How do you refuse Jesus and the opportunity He
offers?
(2) Just do not believe.
(3) Refusing to believe stops salvation, stops people
from trying, and eventually even the work of the
Holy Ghost.
2. As I have said, Mark summarizes many of the events he
records, but Luke gave us a few more details about how
adamantly the Nazarenes refused Jesus.
Luke 4:29 And (they) rose up, and thrust him out
of the city, and led him unto the brow of the
hill whereon their city was built, that they
might cast him down headlong.
30 But he passing through the midst of them went
his way,
D. Here Nazareth missed an opportunity by refusing to believe.
II. \\#Mark 6:14-20\\ Herod’s Refused Opportunity
A. This Herod was Herod the Great’s son.
1. Herod the Great was the king when Jesus was born and the
one who slew the babies in Bethlehem.
2. He died a few years later and his kingdom when to his
sons, two of them were Herod Archelaus who ruled most of
Israel and Philip who ruled in Samaria.
B. John the Baptist was arrested and eventually executed by
Herod. Mark gave us the basics:
1. Herodias was the woman in question.
a. She was Herod the Great’s granddaughter and niece to
both Herod and Philip.
b. She married Philip first.
2. History tells us that Herod went to visit his brother,
Philip, and had relations with his sister-in-law at that
time.
3. Herod later divorced his wife and married Herodias.
4. John the Baptist told the king that was sin.
a. I know in this sin-sick world adultery is accepted by
most everyone.
b. It is not acceptable to God.
c. Justify your actions all you wish, but John the
Baptist died to make sure one man knew his actions
were wrong \\#Mark 6:18\\.
d. Take note that they were married when John the Baptist
gave his life to tell Herod that he was wrong!
(1) I know that Jesus forgives, and He forgives
adultery just like He forgives all other sins.
(2) However, some think marriage makes all things
right.
(3) It doesn’t. It just seals all the things that
were wrong.
5. So Herod locked up John but respected him too much to do
anything more to him.
Mark 6:20 For Herod feared John, knowing that he
was a just man and an holy, and observed him; and
when he heard him, he did many things, and heard
him gladly.
6. Of course John will be killed as soon as Herodias figured
out a way to get it done.
C. Herod kept John in prison for period of time, perhaps as long
as two years.
1. \\#20\\ Herod kept John alive the Bible says because he
"feared John."
a. He knew John was a "holy" man, a man of God.
b. He knew John was a "just" man, who had told him the
truth.
c. He listened to John "gladly."
d. He "observed" John, did "many things" that John told
him to do.
2. What I am going to say about Herod may sound strange, but
think it was true.
a. Herod was a believer.
b. Now before you run me out of the church let me quickly
add, Herod was a believer but he was not a repenter.
(1) Herod believed John was God’s man.
(2) He listened to John, gladly.
(3) He even did some of what John told him to do.
c. Herod was the king, but it looks like he not only kept
John alive but treated him well and called for him
often.
(1) Why do that?
(2) Because, in his heart, he believed John was God’s
man, preaching the truth.
d. But ultimately, Herod refused his opportunity to be
saved because he would not repent.
D. Consider:
1. In the end, Herod’s faith did not get him one inch closer
to heaven than the Nazarenes who attempted to throw Jesus
off a cliff.
a. Why?
b. Because believing alone does nothing.
c. Faith must be accompanied by repentance or salvation
is still a missed opportunity.
2. In the end, attempting to throw Jesus off a cliff did not
push the Nazarenes one inch further from God than the
Herod who refused to repent.
a. I believe there are different degrees of torment in
hell.
b. However the bottom line is hell is still hell and no
is going to get a picnic table beside a babbling
brook.
c. You can go to church, tithe, read your Bible, be
morally pure; but if you refuse to repent, you will
end up in the same hell as the pedophile and
the homosexual.
E. Here Herod missed an opportunity because he refused to repent.
III. \\#Mark 6:7-13\\ The Disciples Accepted Opportunity
A. \\#Matthew 10:1-4\\ gives the impression that Jesus called the
twelve disciples just before sending them out on this
crusade.
B. \\#Mark 6:30\\ called them Apostles for the first time.
C. That means these disciples (or at least most of them) were
accepting several opportunities.
1. They had accepted Jesus as their Savior.
2. Now they were accepting His call to serve.
a. Mark only gives us a summary statement of what the
disciples experienced because of this opportunity:
Mark 6:30 And the apostles gathered themselves
together unto Jesus, and told him all things,
both what they had done, and what they had
taught.
b. But Luke gave a few more details:
Luke 10:17 And the seventy returned again with
joy, saying, Lord, even the devils are subject
unto us through thy name.
D. Understand two truths about God’s opportunities:
1. Every opportunity God gives is of His mercy and grace.
a. We aren’t owed the first opportunity.
b. We aren’t promised a second opportunity.
2. Every opportunity God gives is to our advantage and to His
glory.
Accept them graciously. Reject them sparingly.
<Outline
Index> <Close Window>
