Why could Jesus do no miracles in His home town?

Mark 6:5 has baffled Christians for nearly 2,000 years. Jesus Christ, our God, goes to His home town, and yet "...he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them."

If Jesus is Almighty God, it seems unfathomable that His miraculous power would be restricted by anything, least of all a lack of faith. Why is it, then, that a few healings, which Mark almost seems to downplay, are the best Jesus could do here? The key to understanding this apparent dilemma is to understand both the Incarnation, and the internal dynamics of the Trinity's relationship.

First, the Incarnation isn't as simple as God finds a random human body and crawls in through the nose like some cartoon ghost. Rather, Philippians 2:6-8 tells us that Jesus, "...though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross."

Notice, Christ emptied Himself, taking on the form of a servant, even to the point of being "obedient to death". Can God die? Of course not. Similarly, God cannot be restricted in His miracles by anything, even faith. However...

"...Jesus said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of his own accord, but only what he sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, that the Son does likewise." (John 5:19).

Death isn't the only thing Jesus was obedient to. He obeyed the Father perfectly, literally claiming He could do nothing, even miracles, of His own accord. He could only do what He sees the Father doing. So, if the Father performs no miracle, Christ could do no miracle. So, now we have to ask, could the Father do a miracle?

The obvious answer to that is "yes", but there is a difference between "could" and "would". There are many things that are within God's abilities, but not His plans. He could turn darkness pink. He could make the Earth as large as the sun. He could give every man on Earth an extra finger. These are all things He could do, but He does what He pleases. (Psalm 135:6; Ecclesiastes 8:3).

So, now we turn to Hebrews 11:6, where we read "And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him."

If it is impossible to please God without faith, then why would He permit Christ to perform many mighty works in the least faithful of all towns? Let's read the full story: "He went away from there and came to his hometown, and his disciples followed him. And on the Sabbath he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things? What is the wisdom given to him? How are such mighty works done by his hands? Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household.” And 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. And he went about among the villages teaching." (Mark 6:1-6).

This suggests there is something quite unique about the situation. "A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household." Of course, Jesus experienced rejection and hostility wherever He went, but here, it seems He faces a particularly marvellous level of scorn. The people scoff, because they know His mother and siblings. Elsewhere, we read that this unbelief actually extends to those brothers (Psalm 69:8; John 7:5)! Most astonishingly, Mark 3:21-35 indicates a degree of faithlessness in Mary, though of course she wouldn't have outright rejected Him.

So, first, while Christ is God, He does not flaunt it. Rather, He submits to the will of the Father, to the extent where He says He can only do what He sees the Father doing. Second, God can only be pleased by faith, which was so exceptionally low in Christ's home town that "...he marveled because of their unbelief". When we combine these facts, we see that the issue is Trinitarian. It's not that Jesus is not God, nor is it that God is limited by such trivial things as faithlessness. Rather, it is about the fact that the Son submits to the Father. The Son can do nothing apart from the Father, and so if the Father, displeased by faithlessness, empowers Him to heal only a few people, then the Son can heal only a few people.

AI usage

No AI was used to produce this article.