He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them — the could not is one of the most startling statements in Mark. Jesus could not do miracles in Nazareth — not would not but could not. The constraint is the absence of faith: miracles are not coercive displays of divine power independent of human response but require the cooperation of faith. This does not mean that faith generates the miracle's power; it means that faith is the necessary channel through which the kingdom's power is received. The few healings that do occur (those who brought themselves to Jesus, presumably with some faith) confirm that the constraint is not absolute inability but the absence of the faith that receives healing.

COMMUNITY REFLECTIONS

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