Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 935
Delivered on Lord’s-Day Morning, June 12, 1870
“And He marvelled because of their unbelief.” Mark 6:6.
THAT Jesus marvelled was in itself a marvel. We never read that either science or art, Nature or Providence excited His wonder. We do not find that He marvelled at the grandeur of the Temple, although His disciples were evidently wonder-struck, for they said, “Master, see what manner of stones and buildings are here!” Little did His mind dwell upon the gigantic size of the stones, or the antiquity of the pile, or the grandeur of the architecture. But His sympathetic soul mourned as it foresaw the destruction of the whole, and of those who dwelt around it—and He uttered the prophetic words, “There shall not be left one stone upon another, that shall not be thrown down.”
I do not find the Redeemer marvelled at the force and majesty of the Roman empire, and yet it wielded a very remarkable power, an all-pervading and irresistible influence. Out of utter insignificance the Roman empire had developed itself into a universal monarchy which locked the entire world in its embrace of iron. Scarcely a dog dared move his tongue without the leave of Caesar. In every place, whether sacred or profane, the insignia of the empire were conspicuous. In every nation, whether polite or barbarous, the tramp of the imperial legionaries was heard. And the eagles of Rome were fluttering on every hill and in every dale.
And yet I do not find that Jesus ever marvelled at all the pomp and energy of the rule of the Caesars. Neither do I find that He was ever struck with any wonder by the knowledge of the sages and rabbis of His time, or of any other. There were in His days rabbis who, according to the opinion of their fellow countrymen, were renowned beyond all others. So far as rabbinical literature was concerned, our Savior may be said to have lived in an Augustan period, and yet, however profound the doctors of the Law might be, they were very shallow as compared with the Christ of God. No, Jesus never saw any cause in all their wisdom to marvel.
There were but two occasions when our Lord Jesus is recorded to have marvelled at all, and both of these were concerning faith. First, he marvelled at the centurion—“I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.” And on the second occasion, He marvelled at the absence of faith where it might have been expected to be found namely, in His own fellow townsmen—“He marvelled because of their unbelief.”
In the case of the centurion, who said that he was not worthy that the Lord should come under his roof, he said he relied upon the potency of the Master’s word spoken at any distance to chase out the fever—on the ground that a word from himself was sufficient to command a soldier to obedience—and therefore a command from Christ would call diseases to obedience, too. On the most slender ground comparatively, this Roman, this Gentile, believed in Christ to a very high degree—ascribing to Christ the full power of the Omnipotent God—who says to the forces of Nature, “Do this, and it is done.” Jesus, therefore, marvelled that not in all Israel had He found the faith which He had discovered in this Gentile who had comparatively slender opportunity of knowing Him, of hearing His teaching, or of searching into the evidences of His mission as they were contained in the sacred Books.
On the second occasion our Lord marvelled at His fellow townsmen’s unbelief. So you see that in both instances it was faith, or the absence of it, that caused Christ to wonder. Ah, my Brethren, see the importance of faith! Never place that precious Grace in a secondary position. That which can make Jesus marvel! That which seems to Him to be both in its presence and in its absence, a thing to be marvelled at, ought to be a very great point of consideration with us. It should be frequently thought upon, and always estimated at the highest rate. Have you believed? No man ever asked you a weightier question. Are you still in unbelief? No tongue can ever suggest a more solemn enquiry.
Do you believe on the Son of God, or are you yet in the gall of bitterness and in the bonds of iniquity, wrapped up in your unbelief? O Heart, that shall soon stand before Him that judges both the quick and dead, let this question judge you
this day! Turn not aside from the Judgment Seat of the Gospel, lest you be bound to hear your condemnation from the Judgment Seat of the Law hereafter!
Let us look for a moment or so into what it was, in the particular case of unbelief recorded in this chapter, which so remarkably caused the Savior to marvel. Were not these some of the circumstances? Our Lord had come into the district where He had been brought up and where He was well known. He had come there, no doubt, with the most generous intentions towards His fellow citizens, willing to make their town His headquarters, and to display His miraculous power in acts of beneficence towards all their maimed and sick.