Even though Jesus gave ample evidence that He was more than a mere man (4:35-5:43) those who knew Him best on the physical plane still refused to believe in Him (6:1-6a). This refusal led Jesus to turn increasingly from the multitudes to the training of His disciples (6:6b-8:30).
6:1 Mark mentioned the disciples' presence with Jesus, but Matthew omitted that detail. Mark evidently recorded this incident because it constituted another occasion of discipleship training, a particular concern of Mark's in this section of his Gospel. Jesus visited Nazareth as a rabbi preparing His disciples for their ministry. This was the second rejection in Nazareth that the synoptic writers documented. The first one came when Jesus left Nazareth to establish His base of operations in Capernaum (Matt. 4:13; Luke 4:16-31).
6:2-3 The reaction of the people in this synagogue contrasts with that of Jairus, the ruler of another synagogue (5:22). Mark recorded three questions the observers in Nazareth raised. They wondered where Jesus got the teaching and the authority that He demonstrated. They asked each other who had given Him the wisdom He manifested, and they questioned where Jesus had obtained His ability to do miracles. Obviously they had not concluded that they came from God. Their questions manifested unbelief and hostility. Their personal acquaintance with Jesus' family and Jesus' former manner of life among them made it hard for them to think of Him as anything more than a mere man. This is the only place in the New Testament where the writer referred to Jesus as a carpenter.
"It was the common practice among the Jews to use the father's name, whether he were alive or dead. A man was called the son of his mother only when his father was unknown."140
Formerly the people of Nazareth had referred to Jesus as Joseph's son (Luke 4:22). Evidently they now called Him Mary's son as a deliberate insult implying that He was an illegitimate child (cf. Judg. 11:1-2; John 8:41; 9:29). The Jews did not speak insultingly about such a person's birth if they believed he lived a life pleasing to God, but if that person became an apostate they spoke publicly and unreservedly about his illegitimate birth.141Consequently this appellation reflects the belief of the Nazarenes that Jesus was not virgin born and was displeasing to God.142
6:4 Jesus quoted or invented a proverb to reply to their rejection. It expressed a principle, namely familiarity breeds contempt. Jesus implied that He was a prophet, which He was. The people of Nazareth could not even appreciate this aspect of Jesus' character because they identified Him with themselves too closely.
6:5-6a Mark stressed that Jesus performed miracles in response to faith. Here we see the other side of that coin. The Nazarenes' refusal to believe in Jesus resulted in His not being able to do miracles among them. Unbelief limits God's working (cf. Acts 14:9-10). This is the only time Mark said that Jesus was amazed. He marvelled that the unbelief of the Nazarenes was as strong as it was. This implies that their decision not to believe was in spite of evidence adequate to lead them to another conclusion. They were morally culpable for their unbelief.
"The people of Nazareth represent Israel's blindness. Their refusal to believe in Jesus pictured what the disciples would soon experience (cf. 6:7-13) and what Mark's readers (then and now) would experience in the advance of the gospel."143
