The Scandal of Belief (Mark 6:1-6)

Message preached at Covenant Reformed Baptist Church 2/20/2019 - Audio: https://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=22119549470

Thesis: Christ is the Rock of our belief, yet at the same time is the stone which makes all men stumble.

Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.

But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.

A little background

Christ's 2nd rejection in Nazareth

Though this is an exposition of Mark, I have referenced the 1st rejection in Nazareth at least four times before! (Luke 4:23-30) This is due to the first rejection being a prophetical event referenced in Isaiah 61:1-2. This 2nd rejection is over a year later...

Familiarity Breeds Contempt

An...example of a shared axiomatic truth within rabbinic and New Testament literature is “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country” (Exod. Rab. 4:18; Matt 13:57; Mark 6:4; Luke 4:24; John 4:44). Mk 6:4. (also Matt. 13:57) (Lexham Bible Dictionary)

A Prophet without honor?

Jeremiah 11:18–21 records the account of the Men of Anathoth plotting against Jeremiah.

¹⁸ Now the Lord gave me knowledge of it, and I know it; for You showed me their doings. ¹⁹ But I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had devised schemes against me, saying, “Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more.” ²⁰ But, O Lord of hosts, You who judge righteously, Testing the mind and the heart, Let me see Your vengeance on them, For to You I have revealed my cause. ²¹ “Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth who seek your life, saying, ‘Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, lest you die by our hand’

 You might wonder why this is relevant - Read Je 1:1, “The words of Jeremiah the son of Hilkiah, of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin”

Consider the case of Moses in Exodus 4:18, So Moses went and returned to Jethro his father-in-law, and said to him, “Please let me go and return to my brethren who are in Egypt, and see whether they are still alive.” And Jethro said to Moses, “Go in peace.”

Listen to Jesus giving his Woes in Matthew 23:29-36.

²⁹ “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, ³⁰ and say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets.’ ³¹ “Therefore you are witnesses against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. ³² Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. ³³ Serpents, brood of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? ³⁴ Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, ³⁵ that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. ³⁶ Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.

The Stone of Stumbling

The word offended in our passage is σκανδαλίζω in the Greek. It can mean cause to sin, or cause for stumbling depending on its context. If it sounds familiar - our word Scandal is derived from it. In the case of this reference it was a refusal to believe in Christ because they were offended.

The theme of a rock that causes men to stumble is replete throughout Scripture.

Let’s do a survey of passages:

Isaiah 8:14–15

¹⁴ He will be as a sanctuary, But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense To both the houses of Israel, As a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. ¹⁵ And many among them shall stumble; They shall fall and be broken, Be snared and taken.”

Matthew 15:12 Then His disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?”

Matthew 21:42–44

⁴² Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone. This was the Lord’s doing, And it is marvelous in our eyes’? ⁴³ “Therefore I say to you, the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a nation bearing the fruits of it. ⁴⁴ And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.”

Luke 2:34–35

³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them, and said to Mary His mother, “Behold, this Child is destined for the fall and rising of many in Israel, and for a sign which will be spoken against ³⁵ (yes, a sword will pierce through your own soul also), that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed.”

John 6:61–66

⁶¹ When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? ⁶² What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? ⁶³ It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. ⁶⁴ But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. ⁶⁵ And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” ⁶⁶ From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

Romans 9:32–33

³² Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. ³³ As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, And whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

1 Corinthians 1:22–25

²² For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.

1 Peter 2:7–9

⁷ Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,” ⁸ and “A stone of stumbling And a rock of offense.” They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed. ⁹ But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;

A Promise to Hold

While this stone causes all men to stumble - those who get back up again are given blessings. Consider the following verses:

Proverbs 24:16 For a righteous man may fall seven times And rise again, But the wicked shall fall by calamity.

A sheep may fall into a ditch, but it is the swine who wallows in it. - William Gurnall

Matthew 11:6 & Luke 7:23 “And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear;

Think of some of the great men and women of the faith - We might think of Noah, or Abraham & Sarah, Isaac, Jacob (the schemer), Moses, Samson, Eli, Samuel, David, Solomon, Peter - Which of them did not fall? 

Compare these with Cain, or Saul, or Judas? How is it that we are really no different than men such as this? Faith.

The Difference? Faith.

Review the previous messages.

Remember the imperfect faith of the anonymous woman with the issue of blood? Remember the crowds pressing in upon him?

Remember how he bears with these people? This is our God! Doesn’t it encourage you that we have a God who loves us so much that he went to the point of condescending to our low estate to show us this love. Paul puts it this way in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

Recall with me once again the theme of Mark - to present Christ, the suffering servant. Now - this suffering servant is not some masochist - God has his plan. It’s God’s purpose to teach us by way of example but also by way of trial. James tells us -

James 1:3–4 knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. ⁴ But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.

Trials come - but woe to those who don’t look for, in the trial, what God is teaching. It could be that you are being sifted by the adversary, even like Peter. Are you treating Christ with contempt?

Do you get back up when you fall  - or do you use your fall as an excuse to accuse the Lord of Glory?

Do you see the difference?

Close with Scandalon:

The seers and the prophets had foretold it long ago,

That the long awaited one would make men stumble.

But they were looking for a king to conquer and to kill,

Who'd have ever thought He'd be so weak and humble.

Along the path of life there lies a stubborn Scandalon,

And all who come this way must be offended.

To some He is a barrier, To others He's the way,

For all should know the scandal of believing.

It seems today the Scandalon offends no one at all.

The image we present can be stepped over.

Could it be that we are like the others long ago,

Will we ever learn that all who come must stumble.

He will be the truth that will offend them one and all,

A stone that makes men stumble,

And a rock that makes them fall.

Many will be broken so that He can make them whole,

And many will be crushed and lose their own soul.