Faith and Unbelief

Why Jesus Marveled

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Mark 6:6 tells us something surprising about Jesus: “He marveled because of their unbelief.” The Son of God was amazed. What amazed Him was a town that would not trust Him.

What unbelief did. “Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them” (Mark 6:5).

The reason. Matthew tells the same story. He says Jesus did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief (Matthew 13:58).

Not weakness. Jesus did not lose His power in Nazareth. He would not push His help on people who had pushed Him away. Still, He healed the few who came.

Faith just before. Not long before Nazareth, a sick woman reached through a crowd to touch Jesus. She said, “If only I may touch His garment, I shall be made well” (Matthew 9:21).

Jesus answered her faith. Jesus turned and said, “Be of good cheer, daughter; your faith has made you well” (Matthew 9:22). Her faith reached out to Jesus. Nazareth's unbelief held Him at a distance.

Only believe. On that same day Jesus told a worried father named Jairus not to be afraid, but only to believe (Mark 5:36). Then Jesus raised his little daughter from the dead.

Faith brings people close. Four friends once carried a man to Jesus through a roof. “When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, ‘Son, your sins are forgiven you’” (Mark 2:5).

What faith is. Faith is trusting Jesus and taking Him at His word. “But without faith it is impossible to please Him” (Hebrews 11:6).

Knowing is not trusting. Nazareth knew Jesus' family, His work and His miracles. But knowing about Jesus did not turn into trusting Him.

Empty hands. The sick woman and Jairus came to Jesus because they needed Him. The people of Nazareth thought they did not need Him. Faith begins when we see that we need Jesus, and then we come to Him just as we are.

Faith in a Person. Faith is not a feeling we work up. It is trusting Jesus Himself. Even small faith in a great Savior is real faith.

The first step. Jesus' first message was, “Repent, and believe in the gospel” (Mark 1:15). Repent means to turn from sin to God.

What to do. This week, read one story about Jesus in Mark each day. After each one, tell Him that you trust Him.

Mark says Jesus “marveled because of their unbelief” (6:6). It is rare for the Gospels to say Jesus was amazed. Here it was at His own hometown, the people who had known Him longest.

Apistia (Mark 6:6). The word for unbelief, apistia (say: ah-pis-TEE-ah), means without faith. Nazareth had information, history and miracles nearby, but no trust.

“Could do no mighty work” (6:5). This was not a limit on His power. Jesus would not perform for people who had already decided against Him. Even so, He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.

Matthew 13:58. Matthew gives the reason plainly: He did not do many mighty works there because of their unbelief. Unbelief does not make God weak. It refuses what He offers.

Faith in Mark 5. Just before Nazareth, a woman who had been sick for twelve years touched His garment, and Jesus said, “your faith has made you well” (Matthew 9:22). A grieving father was told to only believe (Mark 5:36), and his daughter was raised.

Two responses. The desperate woman and the grieving father came to Jesus with empty hands. The town that knew Him best came with folded arms. Faith is not about how much we know but whether we come.

Hebrews 11:6. Faith believes two things: that God is, and that He rewards those who seek Him. Nazareth would not believe that God was at work in the man in front of them.

Mark 2:5. Jesus saw the faith of four friends, shown by what they did. Real faith acts. It brings people to Jesus.

John 1:11-12. His own did not receive Him, but “as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God.” Faith is receiving Jesus as He really is.

John 3:36. “He who believes in the Son has everlasting life.” Faith is not a small matter of taste. It is the difference between life and death, because it joins us to the Son.

Faith's object. The power is not in our faith but in the One we trust. Faith is the empty hand that receives what Jesus gives.

Mark 1:15. “Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Turning from sin and trusting Christ go together like two sides of one coin.

Application. Ask yourself honestly: Am I like Nazareth, familiar with Jesus but not trusting Him? Or like the woman in the crowd, reaching out to Him? Talk to Jesus about it today.

From Unbelief to Faith

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Nazareth's unbelief is sad, but it is not the end of the story. The Bible shows that unbelief can turn into faith, even in Jesus' own family.

A hard heart. “Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God” (Hebrews 3:12). Unbelief is a heart problem, not just a head problem.

Keep your heart soft. The next verse says to encourage one another daily, “lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Hebrews 3:13). Sin lies to us and makes our hearts hard.

His own brothers. For a while, even Jesus' brothers did not believe in Him (John 7:5). They had grown up with Him.

Changed. After Jesus rose from the dead, His brothers were with the disciples, praying together with His mother, Mary (Acts 1:14). Unbelief had turned into faith.

Disciples with weak faith. Even Jesus' closest friends struggled. In a storm He asked them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” (Mark 4:40). He did not give up on them.

Help my unbelief. A father once told Jesus that he believed, and asked Jesus to help his unbelief (Mark 9:24). Jesus healed his son. You can pray that prayer too.

Thomas. Thomas said he would not believe until he saw Jesus' wounds. When the risen Jesus came to him, Thomas called Him, My Lord and my God (John 20:27-28).

Believe and confess. “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

Faith is a gift. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God” (Ephesians 2:8).

Jesus welcomes you. “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37). Cast out means push away. Jesus never pushes away anyone who comes.

He knocks. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him” (Revelation 3:20).

Looking to Jesus. Jesus is “the author and finisher of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). He starts our faith, and He will finish it.

What to do. If you have doubts, tell Jesus honestly. Ask Him to help you trust Him more, and talk with a grown-up who loves Jesus.

Mark 6 ends with unbelief, but the New Testament shows God turning unbelief into faith again and again, starting with Jesus' own household.

Hebrews 3:12-13. The warning is against “an evil heart of unbelief,” which departs from the living God. Sin is deceitful; it hardens slowly. The cure includes daily encouragement from other believers.

John 7:5. At one point even Jesus' brothers did not believe in Him. Living in the same house did not produce faith.

Acts 1:14. After the resurrection, His brothers are found praying with the apostles and with Mary. The risen Christ changed skeptics into worshipers.

1 Corinthians 15:7. Paul lists James among those the risen Jesus appeared to. Many Christians see this as the time James, the Lord's brother, came to believe.

Mark 4:40. “How is it that you have no faith?” Jesus asked His own disciples in the storm. Weak faith is real, and Jesus patiently grows it.

Mark 9:24. A father confessed belief and asked help for his unbelief in the same prayer. Jesus answered by healing his son. Honest weakness brought to Jesus is not unbelief; it is the start of growing faith.

John 20:27-28. Thomas moved from refusing to believe to confessing Jesus as Lord and God. Jesus met his doubt with His wounds.

Romans 10:9. Saving faith believes in the heart that God raised Jesus from the dead and confesses Him as Lord. The brothers who once doubted ended up praying to the risen Lord.

Honest doubt. Doubt brought to Jesus, like the father in Mark 9 and Thomas in John 20, is met with patience. Doubt kept away from Jesus can harden into unbelief. Bring your questions to Him.

Ephesians 2:8. Saving faith is “the gift of God.” We do not manufacture it by effort; God gives it as we hear His word (Romans 10:17).

John 6:37. “The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out.” The words by no means are very strong: never, ever. No one who comes to Jesus is rejected.

Revelation 3:20. Jesus knocks and waits. He did not force His way into Nazareth, and He does not force His way into a heart, but He keeps knocking.

Hebrews 12:2. Jesus is “the author and finisher of our faith.” He begins it and He completes it, so we keep looking to Him.

Application. If you are struggling to believe, do not hide it. Bring it to Jesus, keep reading His word, and stay close to believers who can encourage you.

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Read each section and answer the questions correctly.