Mark 6:5-6

[danielw]

"And he could do no mighty work there, except that he laid his hands on a few sick people and healed them. And he marveled because of their unbelief." Mark 6:5-6

The interesting thing to me is that the text says Jesus was unable to do (οὐκ ἐδύνατο) any works of power (δύναμιν) because of the unbelief of the people in Nazareth. Both the verb and the noun in that sentence are rooted in δύναμις, which means "ability" or "power". It seems that Jesus was *unable*, rather than *unwilling*.

Is there any underlying Hebraic meaning behind this passage that would help shed any light on it?

[Elizabeth]

I can't speak to anything from a Hebraic perspective, but

"Call to me, and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and mighty things which you do not know."
Jeremiah 33:3

Maybe they weren't calling to Him and seeking Him, so He simply didn't answer. Maybe they weren't ready for Him in their hearts so it would have been futile or would have served the wrong purpose.

I think the point of the miracles is important.  Yeshua didn't come here just to awe and amaze.  He came here to lead us to G-d, save us from sin,  and give us His strength. There are several times Yeshua eludes to someone being healed because of their faith.  There is also a relationship between being healed and forgiven as people are often said to be made clean when healed. It seems the miracles were about reconciling people to G-d, but everyone's heart needs to be in the right place for reconciliation.  I think their hearts were too far from Him for G-d's purpose to be served.

I think the He uses miracles to also help distinguish between the believing and unbelieving as well as the repentant and unrepentant.  It may have been useless to perform them for the unbelieving and unrepentant. . . .. just my thoughts.  Our Yeshua wasn't a show-off.   Everything He did was for our good.

[jimmie]

Hosea 4:6 My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.

Matthew 21:42 Jesus saith unto them, Did ye never read in the scriptures, The stone which the builders rejected, the same is become the head of the corner: this is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes?

They reaped in accordance with their sowing.

[alon]

First, look at the partial Hebrew back-translation and you get a better feel for the true meaning of the scripture. (Note: I did add some to the parenthetical interpretations of words to add clarity).

Markos 6:5-6 (OJB) 5 And he was not able there to do many nissim (miracles), except on a few cholim (sick people) he laid (his) hands and administered refuah (healing) to them. 6 And he wondered on account of their lack of emunah (firmness, faith, belief; root emun- confidence, trust). And he was going around the shtetlach in a circuit, saying shiurim (shiur, pl. shiurim; in deapth lesson on any topic, such as Mishnah, halakha, Tanakh, etc.).

Now we'll go to the KJV so we can use the Strongs references for a couple of the Greek terms.

Mark 6:5-6 (KJV) 5 And he could there do no mighty work, save that he laid his hands upon a few sick folk, and healed them. 6 And he marvelled because of their unbelief. And he went round about the villages, teaching.

could- G1410 δύναμαι dunamai doo'-nam-ahee Of uncertain affinity; to be able or possible: - be able, can (do, + -not), could, may, might, be possible, be of power.

mighty work- G1411 δύναμις dunamis doo'-nam-is From G1410; force (literally or figuratively); specifically miraculous power (usually by implication a miracle itself): - ability, abundance, meaning, might (-ily, -y, -y deed), (worker of) miracle (-s), power, strength, violence, mighty (wonderful) work.

So in the Greek translation to Christian understanding, Yeshua was not able to do miracles. The reason- their lack of trust in Him as HaMoshiach, and possibly even to God as they understood Him. They did not respond to His teachings on , the TNK, or His besorah that God was making THE way for man to be reconciled to Him. As Elizabeth pointed out, the purpose of miracles is to lead us to God. It is a two way commitment, and those unwilling to trust in Yeshua broke that connection.

Dan C

[danielw]

Thank you, Alon! That's what I'm still in the process of learning... not relying on the assumption that the Greek of the NT is the 'buck-stop' of deriving the meaning of the text.

[alon]

May 29, 2015 12:45:39 GMT -8 danielw said:

Thank you, Alon! That's what I'm still in the process of learning... not relying on the assumption that the Greek of the NT is the 'buck-stop' of deriving the meaning of the text.

www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Gen+1.1&version=OJB

I find a lot more understanding using texts like the Orthodox Jewish Bible which have many of the important of difficult words or concepts in Hebrew. Using the Hebrew words, you can get a fuller, clearer idea about what is being said. The above site also has many other useful translations, such as:
* Young's Literal Translation
* The Complete Jewish Bible
* The English Standard Version (very readable)
* The New American Standard Version ( very accurate collaborative effort Bible, though it and the ESV are both from a strictly Protestant Christian viewpoint)
* King James Version (handy if you are wanting to use most concordances)
* many others, useful for comparison (though some, like the New International Version, are seriously flawed; so use discernment)

Dan C