I preached this sermon 3 times at the Kurume Christ Church and then once in the afternoon at the Isesaki Covenant Church on July 8th, 2018.
Mark 6:1-13
Jesus had been on the road for quite a while, going up and down the Galilean countryside with his disciples. Although they met with plenty of resistance along the way, by and large I think it had been an affirming trip for Jesus and his disciples. Everywhere they went large crowds gathered around them; always pressing to get closer. At last Jesus heads back to Nazareth, the place he called home. Nazareth, the place where he had grown up and where his family still lived. Nazareth, the place where all the older folks had known him since he was a little boy. Jesus is heading home. Normally this would mean a sigh of relief… a break from the busy routine, and a chance to just relax a bit. Or would it turn into something even greater. Clearly word of Jesus’ many amazing acts and news of the great crowds following him had reached the people of Nazareth. Would there be any chance of receiving a hero’s welcome? After all, Jesus was getting famous… possibly more famous than anyone from Nazareth in a very long time. But no… that isn’t what happened. READ v.2-3 Jesus gets a distinctly cold reception in his own home town. No hero’s welcome… only cynical doubt “What’s all this talk of great wisdom and amazing miracles?” “Come on! Who does this guy think he’s kidding? We know who he is. He’s just one of us.” And then they ended up getting angry… as if Jesus was playing them for the fool.
The lack of belief and acceptance seems to have hit Jesus pretty hard. It’s one thing to face opposition from people you don’t know… and Jesus had seen plenty of that. But here in his own home town; among friends, family and relatives… Jesus was not expecting that to happen. Jesus was amazed by these people of his own home town and their cold hearts. READ v.6a His statement about prophets and home towns probably only made things worse. READv.4 It definitely took a toll on Jesus. But what’s most surprising to me is that the lack of belief seems to have had a direct effect on Jesus’ ability to do miraculous works. READV.5 Sure, a few were healed there by him.. but clearly things weren’t going as they usually did. Which is surprising since we tend to think that there is nothing we can do to make miracles happen or to prevent them from happening. There are no magic formulas by which we can summon forth any sort of miracle. And by the same token, if the Holy Spirit decides to accomplish something in our midst, there is probably nothing we can do to prevent it. God is in charge, God is almighty, and God is the source of Jesus’ miraculous works. But in this case, it seems that a crowd of unbelieving townspeople were able to prevent Jesus from doing miracles. In other words, to some extent, Jesus’ miraculous works are dependent on the hearts of those he serves. I don’t really understand the theology of it all, but to put it another way, Unreceptive people will be prevented from seeing the signs of the kingdom. So, Jesus chooses to go elsewhere and receives a better reception. READ v.6b
In the second half of today’s reading we see another side of Jesus’ ministry. The time comes for Jesus to send out his disciples. Reading this far in the gospel account, it doesn’t really seem like they are all that well prepared. But Jesus sends them out anyway, in pairs. And it would seem that after his difficult time in Nazareth, he definitely doesn’t want them to suffer cold receptions. So, Jesus comes up with a plan. READ v.7-11 He tells them to be completely dependent on people’s kindness and generosity. In other words, he tells them to go out unprepared to make it on their own. He wants them to be completely reliant on the warm reception of people they encounter. And then, if they come to a place where people don’t receive them warmly, Jesus tells the disciples to get out immediately, rather than trying to win people’s approval or persevere in the face of a cold reception. If they took lots of supplies they might be able to last a while longer even if they got a cold reception. But Jesus doesn’t want that to happen. He wants them to be selective and only stay in the places where people want to hear what they have to say and quickly leave the places that don’t want to hear.
I am curious to know how missionaries of my parents’ generation read this passage. When my parents came to Japan soon after WWII they didn’t know what to expect. To be sure, General McArthur had said Japan was receptive to the gospel and called for lots of missionaries to come. But still, the ones who came didn’t quite know what to expect. So they came prepared. They came by ship so it was easy to bring lots of supplies. Many of them brought several years’ worth of basic food supplies. They brought all the clothes they would need for the first 4-5 years. Some of them even brought cars with them from the U.S. When missionaries from my denomination first began church planting in the city of Nagaoka, they brought their American car and it got a lot of attention because it was only the second car in the entire city. The first car was the one used by the mayor. And the very first family that came in 1949 didn’t know if they would be able to find a house so they actually brought a camping trailer with them on the ship, and lived in it for some time after arriving here. So perhaps you can see why I’m curious to know how they read this passage. The assumption was that they would be on their own. In one sense, this sort of explorative, adventuresome approach was needed to reach previously unreached places. Missionaries who went to more remote places like Africa had to take even more. They even took guns for hunting food! Personally, I don’t think we can use today’s passage to deny the efforts of those early pioneer missionaries. Without those pioneering efforts many parts of the world would not have heard the good news of Jesus Christ. But at the very least, I think we certainly can find precedent for the idea of seeking and targeting receptive audiences. Jesus’ method was to send them out in complete dependence on local kindness. If they didn’t find it they were to simply move on until they did. On the one hand I think this was Jesus’ way of protecting his disciples. He just didn’t want them to have to go thru what he did, especially in his home town. So he was trying to make their assignment easier, by telling them to just focus on the easy places.
At the same time, there is something to be said for doing evangelism in the places that are most receptive. In the world of missions we tend to sort of romanticize or make heroes of the missionaries who go to the incredibly hard places. When my father was a college student at Wheaton College he was already quite sure of his calling to become a missionary, but still didn’t know where he would be sent. One of his friends at Wheaton who also felt called to become a missionary was a man by the name of Jim Elliot. Elliot ended up going to Ecuador and arrived there in 1953. Two years later my father arrived in Japan. But Elliot and his follow missionaries faced a very different situation than did my father. They were trying to reach a previously unreached tribe in the jungles of Ecuador. Sadly, Elliot and four other missionaries were killed by the members of that tribe. The story has become quite famous and the happy part is that eventually Elliot’s wife and others were able to make meaningful contact with this tribe and share the good news of Jesus Christ with them. But there is a sense in which Jesus regularly seemed to choose to spend more time with those who were receptive. Rather than forcing himself on people who didn’t want to hear, he chose to share the good news with those who came to him. He chose to focus his work on those who were seeking help. Even though Jesus bravely stood up to the Jewish religious leaders who criticized him, when people asked him to leave that is usually what he did. He didn’t force himself on those who weren’t interested. People who preach with loud speakers on street corners or drive around town with big speakers on top of their car, supposedly preaching the good news don’t seem to understand that Jesus didn’t seem to like that style of evangelism. Perhaps the point is that you can’t shove the good news down anyone’s throat. I don’t think there is precedent in the gospels for us to force anyone to hear the good news. I might even go so far as to say that only when it is received openly and freely will it take root. Jesus instructed his disciples to seek people who were open to hearing the good news.
READ v.11 In some ways these are difficult words. They are particularly difficult for me because one might conclude that Christian workers should have left Japan long ago… but here I am. Protestant missionaries have been here for almost 150 years. The Catholic church came much earlier than that. And yet to this day, less than 1% of Japanese people have warmly received the good news of Jesus Christ. In some ways this would clearly seem like a place where preachers should shake the dust off their feet and move on to find more receptive audiences. And yet we are still here. Is that a mistake? Are we being disobedient to Christ’s instructions? This is only my personal opinion, but I really don’t think so. Here’s why. Even if the majority of people in this country refuse to accept the good news, churches such as this one are living proof that this is not a place to give up on. Each one of you is living proof that Christians should not give up on Japan! This is a place where you all have gladly and eagerly accepted the good news. The signs of the kingdom may be hidden from those who refuse to open their hearts, but to you they are clearly revealed! As long as you are here, the good news must continue to be preached as loudly as possible. You may see large numbers added to your church at some point; or the growth may come slowly, one by one. But in some sense, that really isn’t the most important thing. What matters right now, right here, today is that each one of you is here, and that you have opened your hearts to the good news of Jesus Christ. That is why we gladly and boldly preach God’s word here today.
And what do you think will happen when the Word is preached? The disciples sent out by Jesus were far less talented than Jesus. We can assume that many of them were not gifted public speakers. They were not particularly well trained or prepared. And yet here they were, being sent out with little or no provisions. And yet when these weak disciples were sent out by Jesus and told to focus on the places where people accepted them, great things happened. READ v.12-13 This church has been blessed with many wonderful preachers and pastors, and even though I respect all of them, in truth, none of them even begin to compare with Jesus Christ. Nevertheless, they have been sent here by Jesus and have been warmly received by all of you. As a result, God has accomplished many great things in and thru this congregation. Is there any reason why we should expect things to be any different in the future? Signs of the kingdom of God may be hidden from those who refuse to hear and accept the good news of Jesus. But to those of you who have opened your hearts to the gospel; much has been revealed, and much more will continue to be revealed. For the kingdom of God is being built right here, right now, in your midst; to the glory of God.
Amen
Speaking the Word 