Why Jesus ‘could do no mighty work’ in Mark 6:5
One of the favorite passages of the Word of Faith movement, or anyone who says our faith is what determines whether we receive a miraculous healing, is in Mark 6:
1 Then He went out from there and came to His own country, and His disciples followed Him. 2 And when the Sabbath had come, He began to teach in the synagogue. And many hearing Him were astonished, saying, “Where did this Man get these things? And what wisdom is this which is given to Him, that such mighty works are performed by His hands! 3 Is this not the carpenter, the Son of Mary, and brother of James, Joses, Judas, and Simon? And are not His sisters here with us?” So they were offended at Him.
4 But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own country, among his own relatives, and in his own house.” 5 Now He could do no mighty work there, except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. 6 And He marveled because of their unbelief. Then He went about the villages in a circuit, teaching.
“There, you see?” they say, pointing to verse 5. “Jesus couldn’t do miracles because of their unbelief.”
One writer even used this passage in a blasphemous article titled, stunningly, “Unbelief can stop the power of God.”
Some of you may be thinking, why are some Christians so adamant about the inability of Christ to do something? That’s a great question. To understand this, we need to get what they believe about healing.
If a Christian has some infirmity, it is always God’s will for them to be physically healed now, they say. It is promised and guaranteed because of Christ’s atonement on the cross. Therefore, if that person isn’t physically healed, there must be some other reason, and most often, that reason is a lack of faith. The Lord can’t heal us, they imply if not outright say, if we don’t have enough faith.
There are several Biblical problems with this viewpoint, but we’ll focus on how they proof-text this passage to support their claim.
Related article: You don’t need more faith to be healed
Related video: When Jesus destroyed two beliefs about miracles
The last time Jesus visited Nazareth
The passage takes place in Jesus’ “own country” — His hometown of Nazareth. They knew Him and His family, as we see in verse 3.
This is not the first time Jesus had preached in Nazareth. He was also there, in the synagogue, in Luke chapter 4. He read the beginning of Isaiah 61 and then said that He was fulfilling that Messianic passage. As the people reacted with astonishment, Jesus remarkably anticipated their desire to see Him perform the miracles He had been doing in Capernaum. He then referred to the ministries of Elijah and Elisha, and pointed out how they did not do miracles for Israel, but only for Gentiles. His point? He’s not going to do any miracles for His own countrymen, knowing they’re going to reject Him as the Messiah.
This enraged the crowd in the synagogue, and they tried to throw Jesus off a cliff.
That’s where Jesus returned in Mark 6.
This is critical context, because it shows that the people He was dealing with were not believers who were struggling with their faith. This is not like the man who said, “Lord, I believe; help my unbelief” (Mark 9:24). They “were offended at Him,” as verse 3 says.
These were hostile unbelievers. They had no relationship with Jesus aside from growing up with Him. They tried to kill Him.
Therefore, it is the height of hermeneutical incompetence to apply this passage to sick Christians who strongly, sincerely want to be healed but aren’t. That’s one of the wicked cruelties of that line of thinking. It’s spiritual abuse.
Mark 6:5 is irrelevant to genuine Christians with infirmities. Absolutely irrelevant.
A puny god
An even worse offense is depowering God the Son. That aforementioned article reads, “Unbelief is an awesome power. You either believe Him and He is allowed to operate in your life, or you do not believe Him and He is not able.”
The Creator of the universe “is not able.” Selah.
To that writer, unbelief is an even more “awesome power” than God Almighty.
He needs to lowercase his pronouns, because the god he’s talking about is a pathetic, impotent weakling. As if he is held captive by our low level of belief. As if he’s powerless to intervene in our lives unless we allow him.
How can anyone read the gospels, see the astounding power and authority of Jesus, and think He’s incapable of anything?
Demons obeyed Him.
Dead people obeyed Him.
Fish obeyed Him.
Plants obeyed Him.
The wind and sea obeyed Him.
Several times, He healed someone or performed a miracle with no expression of faith at all. He needed no one’s faith. He could do all that because of His identity as the Christ, the Son of the Most High God.
Then why couldn’t He do miracles this time?
“But, but,” they say, “the text says He COULDN’T do mighty works! COULDN’T!”
There are several possible reasons for that, none of which is His own lack of ability.
It’s an idiom
Haven’t there been times when you say you “can’t” do something when you really mean “won’t”? It’s an expression.
Check out this exegesis of the passage in question, which references other uses in Scripture of the phrase “could not” that suggest it doesn’t mean literal inability, but simple refusal.
The Father restricted Him
Jesus said repeatedly throughout His ministry that everything He did was in obedience to the Father. He could do nothing of Himself, He said (John 5:19). Therefore, only the Father could limit what the Son could do or exercise any authority over Him.
Jesus said this explicitly when Pontius Pilate tried to assert his authority over Him: “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above” (John 19:11).
Whether it was the Father or the Son who decided that Jesus wasn’t to do miracles in Nazareth (it was both, of course), it was judgment for their unbelief. Jesus’ power was deliberately withheld from them.
But maybe we don’t even need to answer which Member of the Trinity restricted Jesus, because there’s another logical, practical reason why He didn’t do miracles there:
They didn’t ask
“Say, Jesus, we know the last time You were here, we tried to kill You, but could You just do us a couple favors?”
Obviously, if you don’t believe someone’s the Messiah, if you are antagonistic toward him, you’re not going to sincerely ask him for miracles. Maybe demand them with sarcasm, as the Pharisees did and were likewise refused.
This theory is supported by the fact that, according to the same Mark 6:5, He did heal a few people there. He did have power there. Presumably, they asked nicely.
Many of the same people who abuse this passage would also say that Jesus healed all who came to Him. That’s true, and you can turn that right back on them — if He healed all who came to Him, then obviously the ones He didn’t heal didn’t come to Him.
It’s not about our faith
As for us, Jesus said those with faith the size of a tiny mustard seed can “move mountains” (Matthew 17:20). Therefore, quantity of faith is not the issue. We have as much faith as God gives us (Romans 12:3).
No one has any power against Jesus, including us. He does not require permission from anyone. Who can stay His hand? (Daniel 4:35)
So in Nazareth, whether by the Father’s will or His own, unbelief may have been the reason Jesus did no mighty works there, but it wasn’t the cause.
