The Intolerance of Tolerance
One of the chief virtues of our society is tolerance. Our culture teaches us that we must tolerate all people and all ideas. In one sense, tolerance is good and necessary. In a pluralistic society like ours, with great diversity of ethnic groups, value systems, languages, cultures, and religions, we must learn how to live with people who’re different than us. We must be tolerant. Using the language of the Bible, we must “love our neighbor.”
But over the last several decades our culture’s understanding of tolerance has changed. In his book The Intolerance of Tolerance, D. A. Carson describes the old and the new tolerance. He says, “The old tolerance is the willingness to put up with, allow, or endure people and ideas with whom we disagree…The new tolerance is the social commitment to treat all ideas and people as equally right, save for those people who disagree with this view of tolerance.”
In other words, tolerance now means that we have to affirm that everyone is right and no one is wrong, that no one view is exclusively true, and that all ideas and lifestyles are equally right. Accepting all ideas as equally true is the great virtue of our society. Rejecting any idea as false the great sin. Our culture preaches a gospel of acceptance because it believes that no one deserves to be offended.
The only people who’re wrong in this new view of tolerance are the ones who disagree with the new view of tolerance. If you believe that some things are true and others false, some things right and others wrong, you’re intolerant. Our culture will tolerate anyone except the person who rejects their notion of truth. It’s the intolerance of tolerance.
This is why confessional Christianity is increasingly under attack by our culture. If you believe, for example, that Jesus is the only way to heaven, it’s assumed that you hate people from other religions. If you believe that homosexuality is wrong, you’re labeled a “homophobic, right-wing, religious radical.” If you believe that gender is created by God and not fluid you’re called a “transphobic, unloving, hateful, bigot.” Only those who conform to our culture’s definitions of truth and morality are tolerated. Everyone else is marginalized and even persecuted.
Intolerance is Nothing New
This should not be surprising because it’s not anything new. There’s always been a conflict of interests between the kingdom of God and kingdoms of this world. What God loves isn’t usually what the world loves. What God hates isn’t usually what the world hates. The world’s intolerance of God’s truth is nothing new.
Jesus himself experienced the rejection of the world because he clung to the truth of God. Jesus, the perfect Son of God, was hung on a cross because his culture couldn’t tolerate him any longer. Jesus knew well the pain of rejection, the sting of unjust criticism, and the hate of intolerance.
Context of 6:1-13
The last section of Mark’s Gospel (4:35-5:43) showed us Jesus’ power over nature, demons, disease, and death. In order to prevent his readers from having a one-sided view of Jesus’ ministry, Mark then shows us that Jesus and his associates faced the intolerance of their culture.
In 6:1-13, Mark puts two incidents side-by-side in order to show us that Jesus’ ministry wasn’t always accepted. Verses 1-6 tell us that Jesus was rejected. Verses 7-12 tell us that Jesus’ disciples will also be rejected. Mark’s point is that the kingdom of God always advances in the context of rejection and unbelief. Yes, there’s restoration and deliverance. Yes, there’s faith and repentance. Yes, there are signs and wonders. But, as John the Baptist’s death makes clear, there’s also conflict and rejection and unbelief wherever Jesus and his followers go.
Jesus Rejected at Nazareth
In verses 1-6, Jesus takes his disciples to this hometown. It’s not mentioned here, but elsewhere Mark tells us that Jesus’ hometown was Nazareth (1:9, 24). He was born in Bethlehem but grew up in Nazareth, a small and obscure village about 25 miles southwest of Capernaum. It was built on a rocky hillside and only covered about sixty acres. Only around 500 people lived there, so Jesus probably knew everyone.
On the Sabbath Jesus “began to teach in the synagogue” (v. 2). The congregation responded with “astonishment” (v. 2). They were “amazed” at what Jesus taught and that it was Jesus teaching. Wherever Jesus taught, people recognized a unique authority and authenticity to what he said. He preached simply, clearly, graciously, and powerfully. He wasn’t boring like the scribes.
But their astonishment was primarily due to the fact that it was Jesus doing the teaching. They saw Jesus teaching like a rabbi and training disciples like a rabbi, but he wasn’t a rabbi. They knew he hadn’t studied under the great rabbis of the day. They knew he didn’t have the proper credentials to be a teacher.
In verse 3, they point out that Jesus was “the carpenter.” The word for “carpenter” can mean “carpenter,” “stone mason,” or anyone who builds things. Builders were considered menial laborers and didn’t have much prestige. The people are amazed that a builder is teaching them with wisdom and power.
They also ask if he’s “the son of Mary” (v. 3). At that time, even if your father was dead, you were known as “the son of your father.” Why don’t they say this? Most likely because they’re making fun of Jesus, saying that he’s an illegitimate son who was conceived out of wedlock. It’s a disparaging comment meant to ridicule Jesus. It’s as if they’re saying, “Isn’t he the son of that woman? We know that family.” They’re raising doubts about his mother’s character.
Then they mention Jesus’ siblings. Some people argue that Mary remained a virgin after Jesus’ birth, but this text and others refute that notion. Jesus had many half-brothers and sisters. We don’t know a lot about them, other than that they were unbelievers during Jesus’ ministry, calling him crazy and trying to stop him (3:21, 31). After Jesus’ resurrection, he appears to James, and James becomes the leader of the church in Jerusalem and writes the book of James. His brother Judas is most likely the Jude who wrote the book of Jude.
But at this point Jesus’ siblings didn’t understand or support him. Joseph is most likely dead by this time, which is why there’s no mention of him after the narrative of Jesus’ birth. The only person in his family who believed in him at this point was his mother, Mary – the woman whose character was being called into question.
Jesus, His Mommy, and Yours
Jesus loved and honored his mother until the very end of his life. As he hung on the cross, some of his last words were to arrange for the care of his mother by his disciple John (Jn. 19:26-27). Jesus’ life is bookended by his mother, there at his birth and there at his death.
Russell Moore, President of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention, wrote an article this week titled, “Why Do Dying Men Call for ‘Mama’?” He talks about how many, though not all, men (and women) call out for their mother in their last moments, usually using a name of familiarity like “Mama” or “Mommy.”
Moore compares this common experience with Jesus’ experience on the cross, with his mother right there while he dies. About those last moments of Jesus’ life, he says, “(Jesus) could see in (Mary) an important part of his own personal story, a story that testified to the faithfulness and loving-kindness of God. In the moment of his greatest desolation, Jesus could see the invisible outline of God’s mercy and presence there in the one from whom, in his human nature, he learned to trust a fathering, nurturing God.”
Moore concludes, “Maybe the way so many think of their mothers—even when those mothers are long deceased themselves—at the hour of their deaths is itself a grace of God—reminding us in our dependence that we were dependent before, and yet we were loved. In our culture, Mother’s Day is a time in which each of us thinks about the woman who gave us life. As we honor her, perhaps we can remember that we will one day, should the Lord not return before, lay dying. We will carry our cross right to the valley of the shadow of death. And we just might end this earthly life crying out for ‘Mama.’ Like Jesus, that just might be God’s gracious way of reminding us we are not alone, that we are loved and known, even when we cannot help ourselves at all.”
Jesus loved and honored and provided for his mother until the very end. She was a clear testimony to the power and grace of his Father. When we come to the end of our lives, we also will be reminded just how dependent we are, not just on our moms, but on God. God uses our mothers in countless ways for our good. Perhaps the last way he’ll use her in our lives is by reminding us yet one final time of his goodness and faithfulness and love.
Honor your mother today. She is where your life started. She is likely one of the only people in the world who accepts you no matter what and will never reject you. She tolerated you when you were intolerable. Praise God for her. Pray for her. Forgive her. Do whatever you can to serve and help and encourage her. She’s not perfect, but she is your mom.
Scandalized by Jesus
The people of Nazareth hear Jesus teach and basically say, “Who does he think he is? He’s just a carpenter and an illegitimate son.” The end of verse 3 says that “they took offense at him.” The word for “offense” is the word where we get our word “scandal.” These people were “scandalized” by Jesus. They wanted him out of there. They were ashamed that he was from their town. He was an embarrassment to them.
Is Jesus an embarrassment to you? Are you ashamed to be identified with him? Is he like an old friend or family member from your hometown that you’d rather not ever be caught in public with? Are you an undercover Christian, not wanting people to know what you really believe for fear that they’d reject you? Do you fear people more than you fear the Lord?
The people of Nazareth couldn’t tolerate someone who was from among them and yet was so different from them. They didn’t know what to do with his authoritative teaching. So they rejected him. Jesus became a victim of intolerance.
A Prophet without Honor
Jesus responds with an ancient proverb in verse 4. Prophets were honored everywhere except where they were from. Why? Because those people knew what they were like before they were prophets. I have no doubt that many of my friends from high school would be shocked to find out that I’m a pastor. They know who I was then and would thus be skeptical of who I am today. Jesus was without sin, but the people knew his background as a carpenter and his family, and that was enough for them to reject him.
We also often reject, or look down our noses on people based on what they do or where they’re from. People in business look down on tradesmen. People with no education look with scorn on those with education. People from the city look down on people from the country and people from the country look down on people from the city. As C. S. Lewis says, as long as we’re looking down on people, we won’t be able to see what’s above us. May we not be like the people of Nazareth, judging and questioning and scoffing at people based on what they do or where they’re from. That’s the way of the world, not the way of Christ.
Jesus Marveled at their Unbelief
Verse 5 says that Jesus “could do no mighty work there.” This doesn’t mean that Jesus suddenly lost his ability to do miracles. It says that he did heal some people. It means that God mostly withheld his power from those people because they held Jesus in contempt. Blessing them with great signs and wonders would’ve been spiritually inconsistent. As I said last week, only those who trust the word of Jesus get to see the glory of Jesus. King Jesus doesn’t share the joy and life of his kingdom where he’s rejected.
Verse 6 says that Jesus “marveled because of their unbelief.” Jesus encountered unbelief everywhere he went, so why did he “marvel” at the unbelief of the Nazarenes? Jesus was surprised at the depth of their callousness. Their unbelief was so great that they were offended by him. Their unbelief led to hostility, even name-calling. Jesus couldn’t believe that the people he’d grown up with, the people he’d built cabinets and tables for, were so disgusted by him.
Why did they not believe in Jesus? For the same reason why your next-door neighbor doesn’t believe in Jesus. No one believes in Jesus until the Holy Spirit invades and regenerates their hearts, giving them new spiritual eyes to see the glory of Jesus and new spiritual ears to hear his word as true and good. Unless and until the Spirit renews a person’s heart, Jesus will remain a stumbling block to them. Before the Spirit opened your eyes and gave you a new heart, you were ashamed by Jesus. He was a stumbling block to you. You rejected him just as strongly as these people in Nazareth. You thought you didn’t need Jesus.
Or, more dangerously, you believed the pervasive lie in the Bible-belt South, that you could pray a prayer and make a decision and be baptized, without ever actually falling in love with Jesus, and yet still be saved. But saving faith, according to Scripture, is evidenced by a heart that’s been transformed by the love and glory of Jesus, not merely the result of a decision or a prayer or a baptism. Jesus said, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God” (Jn. 3:3).
Disciples Will Be Rejected
Verses 1-6 tell us that Jesus was rejected. In verses 7-12, Jesus says that his disciples will also be rejected. Up to this point, the disciples listened to and watched Jesus perform his ministry. Jesus was preparing them for ministry. Now he sends them out to minister. This is the fulfillment of what Jesus had already told his disciples (1:17, 3:14-15).
They were sent in pairs because the truthfulness of someone’s testimony, according to the law, could only be established by two witnesses (Deut. 17:6). It says that Jesus “gave them authority,” meaning that they were extensions of Jesus’ own ministry. Under Jewish law, someone sent carried the authority of the one who sent them.
We also have been sent by Jesus and thus have the responsibility of representing him properly. This is why, in our public worship services, we adhere to the regulative principle. This means that we only do things clearly warranted by Scripture. We’re responsible to represent Jesus in the ways Jesus tells us to represent him. So, for example, we’re committed to prayer, singing songs full of truth not just popular songs, reading and preaching the Bible, and observing the ordinances. The church says something about Jesus to the world every time we gather. We want to make sure we’re representing him well in the ways that he’s prescribed.
In verses 8-9, Jesus tells the disciples to pack light for their mission trip. He’s telling them that they need a radical dependence on God to accomplish this mission. They would not eat or have shelter unless God provided. Anyone who’s sent out on mission must go with a radical dependence on God to meet their every need.
In verse 10, Jesus instructs them to accept any hospitality that’s offered to them. When they were welcomed into a village, they should stay in the same house until they left, not bouncing from house to house, going wherever the food and lodging was the best. Jesus is telling them that they’re not going on vacation. There’s a time for rest while on mission, but this wasn’t going to be one of those times. Everything they were to do should reflect the urgency and seriousness of the message that they brought.
Verse 11 is an ominous warning that not every village will receive them. Jesus is telling them to expect the same kind of rejection he just experienced in Nazareth. It may be that he took them to Nazareth before sending them out in order to prepare them to receive rejection themselves. There will always be conflict and rejection and unbelief wherever Jesus and his followers go.
When this happens, Jesus tells the disciples to “shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them” (v. 11). When Jews traveled outside of Israel and returned home, they would “shake off” the dust from the pagan lands they were in. They didn’t want any Gentile contamination to come home with them.
In an analogous way, the disciples were to “shake off the dust” of any village that rejected them, thus declaring that those villages are no different from the pagan nations and are under the judgment of God. Jesus was saying that a town that was geographically within God’s covenant people could be spiritually outside of his covenant and under his judgment. It would be a not-so-subtle way of saying that those who rejected their message would have to answer to God.
Rejected by Jesus
What was true of those villages can also be true of denominations, churches, and individuals. All who reject the authorized message of Jesus which comes to us through the word of God reveal themselves to be outside of God’s true covenant people. The litmus test is always this: how do we respond to the message of Christ? To his authority? Are we willing to repent or are we offended by Jesus and full of unbelief?
The great danger of being offended by Jesus is that, if we persist in our offense, Jesus will one day be offended by us. All who’re scandalized by Jesus will receive his offense in return. All who reject Jesus will be rejected by Jesus.
Rejected for Us
The good news is that Jesus willingly came to die for people he knew would reject him. He knew he would be rejected by his hometown, his family, his own disciples, the nation of Israel, you and me, and even the Father himself. Yet he came anyway. When he was rejected by men and God, he stayed the course, obeyed his Father, and humbly and joyfully went to the cross.
On the cross, Jesus was rejected so that we may be accepted by God. God is the holy Creator of all things. He made us in his image but we’ve all rebelled against his righteous rule. We all deserve his righteous judgment. But, in mercy, God sent Jesus to die for our sins. The cross is where God “shook off” the contamination of our sin so that there’d be no testimony of judgment against those who repent and believe.
Jesus, the perfect Son of God, was hung on a cross because his culture couldn’t tolerate him any longer. Jesus and his first followers knew well the pain of rejection, the sting of unjust criticism, and the hate of intolerance. Why should we expect anything less?
The rejection of men is guaranteed for those who follow a Christ who was rejected, but the acceptance of God is also guaranteed for those who follow the Christ who was rejected for them.
May we be willing to be rejected for the sake of him who was rejected for us.
