It requires a miracle that goes against nature for human beings to doubt God.

“What are these remarkable miracles he is performing? Isn’t this the carpenter? Isn’t this Mary’s son and the brother of James, Joseph, a Judas and Simon? Aren’t his sisters here with us?” And they took offense at him. Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honour except in his own town, among his relatives and in his own home.” He could not do any miracles there, except lay his hands on a few sick people and heal them. He was amazed at their lack of faith. (Mark 6:2-5)”

Miracles are very hard to believe in – and so they should be. David Hume was a Scottish philosopher long ago when men wore powdered wigs. He said that the only time you should believe in a miracle is when the falsehood of the evidence proving the miracle is even more miraculous than the miracle itself.

Why is it so hard to believe in a miracle? Because a miracle, by definition, goes against the nature of things. By nature, people don’t walk on water. By nature, water doesn’t turn into wine. It is not natural that dead people come back to life again. These things are unnatural and therefore they are miracles. They should not be believed in unless to reject the evidence for them is itself unnatural.

This is why so many of the supposed ‘miracles’ we hear about today, especially the ones that happen after lots of singing, lots of dimmed lights, and lots of atmosphere ought to be viewed with great scepticism. The natural explanation for these ‘miracles’ is easier to believe than the ‘miracle’ itself. The natural explanation is that people genuinely believe they saw a miracle because they wanted to believe they saw a miracle and they believe if they don’t believe a miracle happened they sinfully lack faith. So according to Hume we shouldn’t believe these miracles.

But none of this applies to Jesus. It is not at all surprising or unnatural that if God was on earth He could do miracles. He could do things that are unnatural because logically God is above nature. He is supernatural by definition. 

In our passage the people did not want to believe Jesus. After all, how could He be special? We know His family, His brothers and sisters are all here amongst us. We remember when He fell out of the tree He was climbing. How can Jesus possibly be special? He’s just an ordinary bloke like us. 

But Jesus did miracles. Amazing miracles that friends, relatives, enemies, religious folk, non-religious folk, sceptics, learned, unlearned, rulers, peasants… absolutely everyone saw. Miracles that happened in every day occasions, not in settings of religious frenzy. To disbelieve the evidence for Jesus’ miracles requires an amazing miracle. 

And this is what Jesus finds hard to believe. How on earth did human beings, created by God for God, start to disbelieve Him? What an incredible miracle! Human nature, designed to find such joy and peace in adoring its Creator, miraculously changed into hard, callous, disbelieving hearts that refuse to believe God. Jesus was amazed at this miracle. And sad.