Skip to main content

Rejected

How do you handle rejection? As a kid, it was my worst nightmare. I like to be accepted. I hate to be rejected. I feel rejected when I'm rejected. 

Jesus was rejected. Isaiah says that he was "despised and rejected." That is even worse than just rejected. He was the most despised person in History. Weird when you think about it. He who when he spoke the crowd marveled, was totally rejected. 

On His homecoming, in a town of 300, the people listened as he read from the Word. He was handed the Isaiah scroll. He opened it to the exact spot for the moment and read. He read of the Messiah, and he stopped just before the "Judgement" part. As he rolled it up, he said something that didn't win him any "acceptance" points. "This day, this scripture is fulfilled in your ears."

He could have said just about anything else and not been troubled. However, when he said that, the people were livid with rage! "This carpenter man, this son of Mary, this brother to those lugs we know as José, James, Judas. Who does Jesus think that he is? He's poor just like us!"

With that, Jesus was yanked from the synagogue and pushed to the cliff. Their intention was not a touristic view. They wanted to kill him! Why? He was despised and rejected! It was God's will for him. 

So, how did he handle it? He did a few miracles and left. He helped the few who believed in him. Then he went to surrounding villages and taught the Gospel of the Kingdom. 

I would have been tempted to quit. I would have quit! No doubt. I don't like rejection, especially by my kin. My kin and I are close in a weird, "Jewell-like" way. We love each other, but we don't spend much time telling each other. Funny, isn't it. More weird than funny. 

However, I believe that all of my kin love me. They support me in prayer. Some even with monetary gifts. If they rejected me, I would be depressed. I might crawl into my hole and bury myself. Maybe. 

Jesus is my example. Funny really. Just after he was rejected, he went and taught. He then called His disciples and sent them out with nothing but their smiles and his message. 

Do you think that he was preparing them for rejection? I do because they were. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

God Made Clothes

And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them. Gen 3:21 I have always heard the following explanation of this verse.  Because Adam and Eve had sinned, they died spiritually. They also lost the right to be in the Garden of Eden and were cursed in other ways. For example, they had made clothes out of fig leaves, but God sacrificed a lamb; thus, God shed blood and made clothes. This sacrifice of an innocent lamb symbolized what Jesus Christ would do in the distant future.  Is this what you have heard? I don't know; it seems like this interpretation is stretching what Moses wrote in the above text. The text says that  God made clothes for Adam and his wife from skins.  We see no blood, we don't know what kind of skins, nor can I imagine God making an animal sacrifice. Did God have to skin animals to make these clothes? Or could he have just made them like he had everything else in the universe just a little while earlier?  To th...
Post a Comment
Read more

What Are You Worth?

What are you Worth?  Have you ever thought about what you are worth? In investing circles there is a term used to gauge this exact question, it's called Net Worth. You take all of your assets, like property owned, funds in your bank account, clothes, jewelry, car, etc.. You total all of these things. You then take everything you owe, like mortgage, car loan, and credit card debt, and you subtract these items from the first total. This gives you your net worth. That number represents where you are financially. Most people never stop to think about this number because they don't understand anything about it. They never have two nickels to rub together. They live from hand to mouth and know (or at least believe) nothing will ever change so, they fall into the "daily grind" mentality. Psalm 49 should be a great encouragement to such as these. The sons of Korah write about them. These sons write about all of us. They call all people everywhere to listen to their wisdom. Bo...
Post a Comment
Read more

Who did What?

We see Abraham lying at times. He twice told people that his wife was his sister. He was worried that someone might kill him because his old wife was so beautiful. In the text that I read today, he comes into territory ruled by Abimelek and tells the great fib. Not too long afterward, the king takes Sarah into his harem.  Lately, I have become interested in real estate investing and have learned quite a bit in the last few years. One crucial lesson acquired was that I need to treat investing as a business and not have too many sentimental attachments. Years ago, I would rent with a "charitable" mindset. I kept the rent low on my only rental because I was "helping people (friends) out." I kept that rent low for 20 years. For those years, that rent never moved from $650 a month.  Granted, we could keep the property and barely pay the maintenance and taxes, but the rent was low. It wasn't until I turned that property over to a property manager that I realized what ...
Post a Comment
Read more