Familiarity breeds contempt

“Jesus said to them, ‘Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a prophet without honour.’ He could not do any miracles there, except lay His hands on a few sick people and heal them. And He was amazed at their lack of faith.” Mark 6:4-6
In Mark 6 we see the response that Jesus received when He took His ministry to his hometown. Instead of the people celebrating and wanting to receive what He had to give, they criticised Him. They had seen Him grow up among them, and so to them He was nothing special. Their words are full of resentment (Mark 6:2-4). They were offended that He was trying to teach them spiritual things (Mark 6:4).
The saying, ‘familiarity breeds contempt’ is demonstrated here. You may have noticed this in your own life: the people you are closest to are often the hardest ones to reach with the gospel message, or with a warning from the Scriptures.
Just as we saw how Jesus was amazed at the faith of the centurion when he asked Jesus to just say a word to heal his servant (Matt. 8:5-13), here He is amazed at the lack of faith of the people in his hometown. Their familiarity with Him had blinded their eyes to the fact that He was indeed God incarnate, living and ministering among them.
We can also see this attitude in society as a whole. Many western nations, where Christianity was once strong, have now become so immunised to it that they now treat it with scorn. These ‘post-Christian’ nations are perhaps the hardest to reach with the gospel. “However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8).