The Life of Christ

Mk. 6:4-5 And Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.” 5 And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands upon a few sick people and healed them.

This means He could do no "mighty miracle."

• He did heal a few people, but nothing compared to what He was accustomed to do when coming to a city.

• Because of their unbelief Jesus could not do the quantity of miracles that the Nazarites had only heard about.

• Even today, unbelief still prevents Jesus from performing miracles of healing.

Mk. 6:6 “And He wondered at their unbelief. And He was going around the villages teaching….”

Other translations say, "Jesus marveled at their unbelief."

• As mentioned earlier, the only two times Jesus ever marveled were over issues of faith: (1) the great faith of the Centurion and (2) the unbelief of Nazareth

• So, as Jesus began His Galilean ministry in Nazareth, this is also where He brings it to an end.

SECTION 98

Mt. 9:35-37 But when He saw the multitudes, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were weary and scattered, like sheep having no shepherd. 37 Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. 38 Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into His harvest.”

By “ laborers ” He means shepherds to care for these sheep who have no shepherd.

• Jesus tells us that the number of shepherds is “few”! There are only a few willing to labor by providing pastoral care.

• This isn’t necessarily referring to “Eph. 4:11 ascension gift pas tors,” but rather kingdom saints who have pastoral hearts for people in the church.

• Most, if not all, congregations are “under - pastored,” leaving people feeling not properly cared for.

• A true pastoral pastor will make sure that everyone in the church is under someone’s pastoral care if he can’t do it himself.

• As Jesus moves in and out among so many people, it was hard for Him to leave without knowing these will be spiritually well cared for.

Mt. 9:38 “Therefore beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out workers into His harvest.”

To conserve the harvest the church must pray that the Lord would place pastoral callings upon His people.

• By praying for laborers, we are praying for people within our very midst who will cast aside human fears, self-interest, and a general unwillingness to take up the need.

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