1. Lessons From the Lord’s Skeptics

2.  As the crowd argued with the disciples over their inability to cure the spirit possessed boy, Jesus marked them as an “unbelieving generation“  The boy’s father knew Jesus to be compassionate, but was doubtful that the Lord had the power to help.

3.  The people in Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth were unable to reconcile the greatness of Jesus with His overwhelming ordinariness: They “took offense” (MT 13:57)  Skandaliz ō – The idea is to put a stumbling block in front of someone and cause them to fall:  John the Baptist (LK 7:23) had to be admonished not to allow his idea of what the Lord should be doing cause him to stumble

4.  The frustrations of Jesus’ own family are seen in the actions they took to “take Him into custody” in Mark 3  Their opinion of Him is further highlighted in John 7 when His unbelieving brothers sarcastically question His authenticity

5.  A defining trait of the Pharisees was their great fear over anything that might cause them to lose what they had  Their fear of giving anything up led them to reject God’s purpose

6.  Jesus’ ministry with the 12 began and ended on a note of doubt  Despite Jesus plain statements, their failure to really listen led to a lack of growth and conviction