When Salvation Is Impossible - part 5
028 When Salvation Is Impossible – part 5
INCREDIBLE DISBELIEF
Mark 6:1-6
March 22, 2026
This morning we conclude this segment in Mark’s gospel in which we have talked about the impossibility of salvation.
Thus far we have looked at 4 virtually impossible scenarios.
The first was IMMINENT DANGER
We saw the disciples in a boat with Jesus asleep.
· A storm blew in which Matthew called an earthquake on the sea
· Luke called it a LILOPS and Mark called it a MEGAS LILOPS
· These men were about to die.
Mark 4:38-40 “Jesus Himself was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” And He got up and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Hush, be still.” And the wind died down and it became perfectly calm. And He said to them, “Why are you afraid? How is it that you have no faith?”
It was a situation in which salvation was impossible, but not for Jesus.
With a word He calmed the sea and saved the lives of the disciples.
And He warned that fear should never be allowed to sink our faith.
Don’t be like the rocky soil that falls away during in scary situations.
The second was INNUMERABLE DEMONS
Jesus crossed the sea and was met by a demoniac
· The people of that region had tried relentlessly to contain him.
Mark 5:3b-4 “And no one was able to bind him anymore, even with a chain; because he had often been bound with shackles and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him and the shackles broken in pieces, and no one was strong enough to subdue him.”
We later found out why.
· Jesus exposed that this man didn’t have 1 demon, he had an army of demons.
· The number must have been 2,000 since that’s the number of pigs that drowned when the demons were permitted to enter them.
And then we read the statement
That we thought was absolutely impossible.
Mark 5:15 “They came to Jesus and observed the man who had been demon-possessed sitting down, clothed and in his right mind, the very man who had had the “legion”; and they became frightened.”
That was impossible, but not for Jesus.
He delivered this man from his demonic host.
Unfortunately the people of the region
Revealed themselves to have weedy hearts.
· While they were certainly glad to have the demoniac delivered
· They didn’t want Jesus making any other changes in their lives and they asked Him to leave.
We were warned not to have weedy hearts,
But to trust in Jesus to do all the cleansing in our lives He desires.
The third scenario was INCURABLE DISEASE
We met a woman who had been hemorrhaging for 12 years.
· Mark gave us her true condition as well.
Mark 5:25-26 “A woman who had had a hemorrhage for twelve years, and had endured much at the hands of many physicians, and had spent all that she had and was not helped at all, but rather had grown worse”
· She was incurable, but not for Jesus.
· This woman snuck up behind Jesus, touched His garment and was instantly healed.
Jesus then called her out and exposed what she had done
And the faith with which she did it.
Mark 5:33-34 “But the woman fearing and trembling, aware of what had happened to her, came and fell down before Him and told Him the whole truth. And He said to her, “Daughter, your faith has made you well; go in peace and be healed of your affliction.”
And we again saw the power of Jesus to save when no one else can.
We also were amazed to find that even a faith as small and timid and silent as this woman’s was enough to motivate Jesus to respond.
Her faith wasn’t impressive to look at,
But it was real and Jesus responded.
We learned to give Jesus faith, even if your faith is small.
And then Sunday night we saw the 4th scenario: IMPENDING DEATH
The man Jairus had a daughter and she died as Jesus stopped to identify the woman He had healed.
But Jesus gave instruction to Jairus
Mark 5:36 “But Jesus, overhearing what was being spoken, said to the synagogue official, “Do not be afraid any longer, only believe.”
· Jesus then entered the house and pulled that girl out of death as easy as you and I awaken someone from a nap.
Death is impossible for us, but it was nothing for Jesus.
He saves when no one else can save.
And we learned that faith is all that is required.
Jesus told that man, “only believe”.
The last two weeks have been quite a thrill ride.
· A storm
· A demonic army
· A 12 year incurable disease
· A dead little girl
And Jesus delivered in every single one of those situations.
He saved when salvation was otherwise impossible.
The entire segment has certainly solidified that
Jesus can be trusted and should be trusted for He alone can save.
There is no situation He can’t redeem.
AND BY NOW WE ARE FLYING HIGH.
Perhaps even daring to bring many more hard cases to Him
To watch Him deliver more in dramatic fashion.
But that is what makes this 5th scenario so mind-boggling.
For this morning we read:
Mark 6:5 “And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.”
How can that be?
· He calmed a storm
· He cast out a demonic army
· He cured an incurable woman
· He called a little girl out of death
“could do no miracle there”
does not seem like the type of thing we were expecting to read.
One has to wonder what type of dilemma was occurring in Nazareth that hindered even Jesus from delivering?
· What did they have that was scarier than that storm?
· What did they face that was more powerful than that demonic army?
· What did they suffer that was more debilitating than that illness?
· What did they have that was worse than death?
And the answer is: UNBELIEF
Unbelief is the most dangerous, scariest, and worst dilemma
That can manifest in your life.
It is the one condition that Jesus ignored.
He stilled waves, He silenced demons, He stopped illnesses,
He summoned even out of death,
But when He faced unbelief He marveled and walked away.
The point is sobering and real.
You must believe in Jesus Christ.
Your faith may be small, it may be weak, it may be timid and afraid,
BUT IT MUST BE REAL.
Hebrews 11:6 “And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.”
And that point is going to be made incredibly clear this morning
As Jesus returns to His hometown.
THIS MORNING: The 5th scenario, except this one yields no salvation
It is INCREDIBLE DISBELIEF
We’re going to break this segment down into 3 main points this morning.
#1 THE OFFER
Mark 6:1-2a
Here we find Jesus now returning to “His Hometown”.
This is Nazareth.
It is the place where Joseph settled with his family after returning from Egypt.
· It was that town that was famously insignificant.
· We all remember Nathanael’s famous statement when he learned that Jesus
was from Nazareth:
John 1:46 “Nathanael said to him, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.”
· Nazareth was a small and insignificant town.
· It doesn’t even show up in historical accounts outside of the Bible and the
population is only thought to be around 500 people.
And yet for 30 years the Son of God lived in this small town
Doing nothing more than flawlessly obeying God’s Law
And remaining in subjection to His parents.
BUT NOW JESUS IS RETURNING.
This is NOT His first trip back.
Luke records the first trip which did not go well.
· In Luke 4 we learned how following His temptation in the wilderness He came to Nazareth,
· He entered the synagogue and declared that Isaiah 61:1-2 was about Him.
He offered salvation to that small town and they would not believe.
They only wanted miracles and Jesus would not oblige.
After warning them about their unbelief and the ramifications of it,
The town tried to throw Jesus off a cliff.
But now Jesus is returning for the final time.
Once again we find Him doing what He came to do,
And that is to preach the gospel.
“Jesus went out from there and came to His hometown; and His disciples followed Him. When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue…”
While the details of what Jesus taught here are not included by Mark or Matthew
It is not difficult to figure out what He has been teaching.
Mark summed up for us the message of Jesus
As He went throughout the region of Galilee.
Mark 1:15 “and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand; repent and believe in the gospel.”
The message of Jesus has been clear and concise.
It is a message that God’s kingdom has arrived.
· The time for Satan’s dominion is over and the Messiah has come.
· The requirement for entrance into this kingdom is repentance from sin and faith
in the good news of the gospel.
The gospel has also been proclaimed by Christ.
· We saw Him grant forgiveness to the paralytic lowered through the roof.
· Likewise He forgave the tax collector Matthew and all of his friends when they
gathered with Jesus at Matthew’s house.
· He has rejected legalism as that which cannot save.
· He has declared Himself Lord of the Sabbath and that the Sabbath is for man.
· He has revealed that He came to save lives and not destroy them.
Mark 2:17 “And hearing this, Jesus said to them, “It is not those who are healthy who need a physician, but those who are sick; I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”
Mark 3:34-35 “Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! “For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”
Though His message in Nazareth is not revealed,
We know what He has been preaching.
1. He is calling men to repent of their sins.
2. He is calling men to leave the kingdom of darkness.
3. He is calling men to believe in Him as the Messiah.
4. He is calling men to find in Him the forgiveness for having been a part of that enemy kingdom.
That is what He is offering here.
“You can leave Satan’s kingdom and be forgiven of your rebellion
If you’ll repent and believe in Me as the Messiah.”
What a great and merciful offer that is!
“You can leave the losing side and join the winning side
If you’ll confess your failure and pledge allegiance to the new King.”
That is the offer also in Nazareth.
#2 THE OBJECTION
Mark 6:2b-3
When you stop and think about all that Jesus has done
Even here in the first 5 chapters of Mark’s gospel
This is really an unthinkable response.
It ends in verse 3 by saying, “And they took offense at Him.”
“offense” is SKANDALON
“It is where we get our word for scandal or scandalous”
But it is even more than that.
· The SKANDALON was “the trip stick in a common trap.”
· It is what the prey “tripped over” and thus sprung the trap.
Think of other places you’ve seen the word used.
Matthew 18:6-9 “but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea. “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. “If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.”
Jesus uses the word over and over as that which trips people up
And causes them to fall into sin and destruction.
And that is what makes it such a potent word here.
Jesus is calling for men to believe He is the Messiah
Who can save them from their rebellion against God,
But there are a few things that kept His hometown from believing.
There were a few things they stumbled over.
They actually reveal why they will not believe in Him nor follow Him.
1) THEY DON’T LIKE HIS MESSAGE (2a)
“When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue; and the many listeners were astonished, saying, “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him…”
So first we read that they were “astonished”.
That can sound like a good thing, and sometimes it is,
But here it is not.
“astonished” is (ek-PLACE-o)
It means “to strike out; to be struck by a blow”
Or “to strike one out of self-possession”
We might say “they were beside themselves.”
It can certainly be a positive thing where someone is totally astonished and amazed at the wonderful things they have seen.
But it can be negative too, if you are offended by the way someone talks to you or by what they do in your presence.
(i.e. “I can’t believe they just said that to me!!!)
Remember when His parents forgot Him as a young man and later found Him in the temple?
Luke 2:48 “When they saw Him, they were astonished; and His mother said to Him, “Son, why have You treated us this way? Behold, Your father and I have been anxiously looking for You.”
· That was NOT a mother who initially was so amazed to find her son in the
temple.
· That was a mother who was offended and angry that her son had worried her
so greatly.
Or remember when the Rich Young Ruler left and Jesus said that rich men would have a hard time entering the kingdom?
Matthew 19:25 “When the disciples heard this, they were very astonished and said, “Then who can be saved?”
· They were bothered by that statement.
· It offended them.
HERE IN NAZARETH IT IS THE NEGATIVE ASPECT.
1. Jesus has come highlighting their rebellion against God as citizens of the kingdom of darkness.
2. He has revealed to them that they are slaves of the enemy and captives to sin.
3. And He has called them to freedom and forgiveness through repentance and belief in His gospel.
And they are utterly offended!
They are astonished that He would talk to them like this.
Do you remember the response Isaiah received when he confronted the sin of his people?
Isaiah 28:9 “To whom would He teach knowledge, And to whom would He interpret the message? Those just weaned from milk? Those just taken from the breast?”
In other words, “Who does he think he is and who does he think he’s talking to, to speak to us like that?”
· It is seen in Ahab calling Elijah “the troubler of Israel”
· It is seen in those youths calling Elisha “you old bald head”
We remember Amaziah confronting Amos
Amos 7:12-13 “Then Amaziah said to Amos, “Go, you seer, flee away to the land of Judah and there eat bread and there do your prophesying! “But no longer prophesy at Bethel, for it is a sanctuary of the king and a royal residence.”
“You don’t know who you’re talking to, you greedy carpet bagger! Go home and leave the king alone.”
THAT IS THIS.
The people of Nazareth hate His message.
Look at what they say.
(2b) “Where did this man get these things, and what is this wisdom given to Him..?”
· THEY AREN’T enamored with how smart He is.
· THEY AREN’T blown away by the wisdom with which He speaks.
They are asking who He thinks He is to come into Nazareth
And preach a message like this to us?
“Where did this man get these things..?”
· What did they teach that boy in college?
· Who has been influencing Him?
· When He left He was a fine young man and now He’s come back spewing the strangest ideas?
They hate this notion that they are sinners
And that He has come to be their Savior.
They hate His message.
· They don’t want to acknowledge their sin, their rebellion, or their slavery.
· They don’t want to repent.
· They don’t want to believe.
But that’s not all that is causing them to stumble.
2) THEY DON’T BELIEVE HIS MIRACLES (2b)
“and such miracles as these performed by His hands?”
Nazareth has not been privy to seeing His miracles.
Remember in that earlier visit that Luke recorded
Jesus knew what they would want.
Luke 4:23 “And He said to them, “No doubt you will quote this proverb to Me, ‘Physician, heal yourself! Whatever we heard was done at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.’”
· They had heard all these stories about His miracles in Capernaum.
· Surely word had traveled, but the inhabitants of Nazareth had not seen them.
Remember when His family came to Capernaum to seize Him?
They thought He had (3:21) “lost His senses”.
In short, the people of Nazareth don’t believe the stories.
They don’t believe all the commotion about Him.
SO WHEN HE SHOWS UP IN TOWN
· Preaching like He’s the King
· Calling them to repent,
THEY BALK.
They don’t think He is as impressive as everyone else seems to think.
“I don’t know who You think You’ve become since You left home,
But I remember you when You were here.
You’re nothing special to come home claiming to have all this power.”
They didn’t like His message
They didn’t believe His miracles
3) THEY KNOW HIS MOMMA (3)
“Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, and brother of James and Joses and Judas and Simon? Are not His sisters here with us?” And they took offense at Him.”
Can you hear them?
“Messiah? Yeah right, You ain’t no Messiah. You’re that skinny kid that used to work as a carpenter. We know your family!”
And even apparently Your family secret.
Notice they call Him “the son of Mary”
· Which was a very peculiar title to give a man unless it was widely known that
the child was illegitimate.
“You think You’re the king,
And yet You don’t even know who Your dad really is.”
Besides that, we know all of Your family, “James and Joses and Judas and Simon” We know your “sisters” too.
They think He’s delusional.
· They had watched Him grow up.
· They had used His carpentry services.
· There was nothing about Him that stood out as kingly.
Isaiah 53:1-3 “Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.”
They are NOT interested and they will NOT believe.
And that leads to the response of Jesus.
#3 THE OBSERVATION
Mark 6:4-6
He begins with a prediction He made the first time He came back home.
NOW IT IS FULFILLED.
(4) “Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and among his own relatives and in his own household.”
In modern day terms we would say,
“Familiarity breeds contempt”.
Remember how Joseph’s brothers hated him because he had a dream that one day they would bow to him?
They scoffed at the notion of one day bowing to the boy
They used to pick on in the hallway.
Nazareth feels the same way about Jesus.
“You were a fine young man, but don’t think You’re going to come back here and claim to be our king.”
Jesus knew those who were most familiar with Him
Would have the most difficult time honoring Him as king.
AND THEN WE READ the shocking statement that we talked about in the opening.
(5-6) “And He could do no miracle there except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them. And He wondered at their unbelief.”
Many have read that verse and sort of tried to do a little gymnastics as if to say, “It really means WOULD do not miracle.”
They point out that Jesus often healed people who did not believe.
· And that’s true, He did.
· The demoniac would have been a recent example.
· So also was the girl who was dead and incapable of faith.
But regardless of what you might think
The phrase says, “He could do no miracle”.
NOW IT’S NOT AS THOUGH Jesus was suddenly out of power.
· Or that without your faith to accompany Him, He is inadequate in and of Himself.
He didn’t need your help creating the universe
He doesn’t need your help in life’s matters either.
The point here is that He is bound by His own will.
SOMEONE ONCE ASKED THE QUESTION,
“Don’t you think God is powerful enough
To save someone apart from faith in Jesus?”
That is actually a stupid question.
It’s not a matter of God’s power, it’s a matter of His will.
He is certainly powerful enough to do anything He wants,
But He has decreed what He will and won’t do.
He will not save apart from faith in Jesus
And thus He cannot save apart from faith in Jesus.
And that is the point here.
Jesus will not violate His own fundamental will.
· He cannot save those who will not believe.
· It would be to violate His own sovereign prerogative.
Similar to when Scripture says that God cannot lie.
It’s not a matter of weakness, it’s a matter of will.
Jesus here “could do no miracle”
Now Mark does include “except that He laid His hands on a few sick people and healed them.”
His power was certainly available to use at His discretion,
And even in the midst of unbelief He was still merciful to the plight of humanity.
But what Jesus would not do is save anyone.
A few people did get healed, no one got saved.
And we read:
“And He wondered at their unbelief.”
“wondered” is (thow-MOD-zo)
It means “to marvel.”
Scripture only records Jesus doing it twice.
One was at a great demonstration of faith.
· When the Centurion recognized Jesus’ authority.
Matthew 8:10 “Now when Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those who were following, “Truly I say to you, I have not found such great faith with anyone in Israel.”
The other is here
· When Jesus was blown away by the lack of faith in His hometown.
And I hope you pick up on that.
Jesus marveled; Jesus was amazed; Jesus wondered at unbelief.
In our day skepticism and unbelief are almost heralded as virtues.
Our world sees belief as naïve and undiscerning and foolish.
But Scripture sees faith as obvious or fitting.
In fact, have you ever noticed the type of names
That Scripture uses to describe those who don’t believe?
Psalms 14:1 “The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good.”
· There unbelievers are called fools.
Psalms 95:8-11 “Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, As in the day of Massah in the wilderness, “When your fathers tested Me, They tried Me, though they had seen My work. “For forty years I loathed that generation, And said they are a people who err in their heart, And they do not know My ways. “Therefore I swore in My anger, Truly they shall not enter into My rest.”
· There they are referred to as people “who err in their heart”
Acts 13:40-41 “Therefore take heed, so that the thing spoken of in the Prophets may not come upon you: ‘Behold, you scoffers, and marvel, and perish; For I am accomplishing a work in your days, A work which you will never believe, though someone should describe it to you.’”
· There they are called “scoffers”
Acts 19:9 “But when some were becoming hardened and disobedient, speaking evil of the Way before the people, he withdrew from them and took away the disciples, reasoning daily in the school of Tyrannus.”
· There they are referred to as “hardened and disobedient”
Romans 10:21 “But as for Israel He says, “All the day long I have stretched out My hands to a disobedient and obstinate people.”
· There called “disobedient and obstinate”
1 Timothy 1:13 “even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief;”
· There unbelief is seen as ignorant.
Titus 1:15 “To the pure, all things are pure; but to those who are defiled and unbelieving, nothing is pure, but both their mind and their conscience are defiled.”
· Titus there refers to them as “defiled”
Hebrews 3:12 “Take care, brethren, that there not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.”
· The writer of Hebrews says an unbelieving heart is “evil”.
1 John 4:3 “and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.”
· John uses the term “antichrist”.
Revelation 21:8 “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
· The book of Revelation throws in “cowardly and abominable” and ultimately condemned.
What a list of words to describe people who won’t believe
Fools who err in their heart;
hardened, disobedient, stubborn, defiled evil scoffers who are antichrist,
Cowardly abominable, and ultimately condemned.
Let me just remind you that unbelief is neither wise nor noble,
Despite what the world may tell you.
Unbelief is evil and foolish.
It is stupid, ignorant, evil, cowardly, and abominable.
And Jesus is blown away that anyone would choose unbelief.
· Is it not obvious that He is the Messiah?
· Has He not proven it time and time again through His works?
· Has His message not proven true throughout the ages?
What audacity a man has
To hear the message of Jesus and still choose unbelief.
It takes some kind of gumption and gall to refuse to believe in Jesus.
You’re saying that His message is not true.
You’re claiming that “You are neither a sinner nor a slave to sin.”
· I would invite you to prove that.
· I would invite you to live a righteous life and prove you aren’t a sinner.
· I would invite you to examine God’s Laws and prove you can obey them.
You are claiming that “You are not at enmity with God and do not need the forgiveness Jesus offers.”
· That’s a bold claim for a person who can’t prove they have not broken any of God’s commands.
You’re saying that “You don’t believe Jesus was righteous, or that He died on the cross, or that God raised Him from the dead.”
· What are you going to do with the many eye-witnesses?
· What are you going to do with the testimony of the apostles who died proclaiming what they saw?
You think it makes you wise and discerning
That you are slow to believe in Jesus,
But it does no such thing.
It only proves you are a selfish, stubborn, cowardly, fool.
Your heart is evil, your will is enslaved, your mind is ignorant,
And your destiny is destruction.
Ephesians 2:1-3 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins, in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest.”
Unbelief is not a noble thing.
It is the enemy of salvation.
Jesus saves men in a storm.
Jesus saves men overrun by demons.
Jesus saves women in incurable diseases.
Jesus saves people captured by death.
But He does not save unbelievers, even if they’re from His own hometown
IN THAT CASE SALVATION IS IMPOSSIBLE.
This morning, I would tell you to repent of your unbelief.
· Beg Christ’s forgiveness for being so slow of heart to believe.
· Believe in Him and call on His name.
Hebrews 4:1-3a “Therefore, let us fear if, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you may seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard. For we who have believed enter that rest…”
That is the calling.
Believe in Jesus Christ and be saved.
Romans 10:8-10 “But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart”—that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.”
DO YOU WANT TO BE SAVED?
Believe in Jesus Christ.
· Confess Him as your Lord.
· Repent of your rebellion.
· Repent of your pride.
· Bow the knee to Him and believe that His kingdom is the kingdom which will endure.
He can save you and He will save you.
Believe in Him.
John 3:16-21 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. “He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. “This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. “But he who practices the truth comes to the Light, so that his deeds may be manifested as having been wrought in God.”