GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 6:3
The Two Faces of Familiarity
Many years ago, I enrolled in an American philosophy course. When the professor came into the classroom for the first time, I had a negative reaction. He was short and rotund, wore no socks, and his pants were short. As the class progressed, however, his insight and knowledge became obvious. After a few classes, I no longer noticed his physical features and looked forward to his lectures, which were more like discussions. By the end of the semester, I found myself stopping by his office with questions about our lessons. That experience represented one face of familiarity—familiarity can breed fondness, foster respect, and build connections.
In a fable by the Greek storyteller Aesop entitled “The Fox and the Lion,” a fox who had never seen a lion before was frightened by the lion’s size and sound. After seeing the lion several times, however, the fox grew increasingly comfortable with the lion, eventually deriding its size and roar. Aesop was trying to describe another face of familiarity; that is, familiarity can breed contempt.
Most likely, a desire to see his mother and other family members led Jesus to return to his hometown of Nazareth with his disciples. On the Sabbath, he went to the synagogue and taught. In this small village, there was perhaps only one synagogue—the synagogue that he attended for the thirty or so years he lived in Nazareth. The ruler of the synagogue had probably heard about the work of this hometown boy and gave him the opportunity to teach. Many in the congregation were amazed at his wisdom and by the miracles which accompanied his ministry. “‘Is this not the builder, the son of Mary and brother of James and Joseph and Judas and Simon? And are not his sisters here with us?’ And they took offense in him.” (Mark 6:3)
Joseph, Jesus, and, doubtless, his brothers had performed work for the people of Nazareth. The early Christian writer Chrysostom (c. 347-407) said that Jesus made plows and yokes for oxen. Without stepping into the nettlesome issue about whether these relatives were Jesus’ natural siblings, half-siblings, or cousins, everyone recognized their relation to Jesus—the carpenter or carpenter’s son, according to Matthew (13:55). Some in the synagogue audience were offended—offended that an ordinary laborer had such wisdom, offended that a hometown boy from a familiar family would perform such miracles, offended that someone who had performed manual labor for them would presume to teach them.
The word that Mark used for “offense” (σκανδαλίζω, skandalidzo, cf. English scandalize) refers to someone tripping over something in their path, stumbling. They knew him, they knew his family, they knew his carpentry work, and they were scandalized; they stumbled; they were contemptuous. This story describes one face of familiarity—familiarity can breed contempt.
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