We return this week to the Gospel of Mark. Our series title in Mark is “seeing Jesus.” And this week’s text helps us see Jesus through the eyes of people who probably thought they knew him better than almost anyone: his friends and family from his hometown of Nazareth. But, the Jesus they think they see, the Jesus they think they know, isn’t a Jesus they respect or worship. Instead they call him a derogatory name, they make fun of him, and even try to kill him. What is it about Jesus that evokes this response from those who should have been among the first to worship him?
The Gospel of Mark is known for its quick pace. Jesus, as Mark tells it, does everything “immediately.” The picture of Jesus we get from Mark isn’t of a languid guru, but of a man on a mission. As we return to our spring sermon series in the Gospel of Mark, we’ll give special attention to the picture of Jesus Mark is conveying to his readers. For in Jesus, God’s king and God’s kingdom has come…and nothing can ever be the same again.
