Jesus’ Rejection
It was a mid-day morning in 1990-something when there was a knock on my office door. My secretary, DeeAnn stepped in and asked, “Can I talk to you about something?” “Sure, what’s up,” I inquired. She sat down on the other side of my desk, hesitated, and then said, “This is really difficult for me. But I feel I have to talk to you about this.” Okay, I was getting nervous when she continued. “I think you have a problem with… rejection. You need to figure out how to handle rejection.”
I don’t remember the circumstances that led DeeAnn to mentioning my problem. I don’t remember what prompted it. I do remember thanking her, and since that day I have been working, studying, and growing in how to handle rejection.
A while back the following notice was found in the classified section of a London newspaper: “Found, brown kitten with white paws and bib. Very affectionate. Answers to the name, ‘Go away.’”
I suspect that all of us in some way can relate to that kitten. All of us have faced rejection, and all of us have answered to the name, “Go away.”
The question is, how do we keep rejection—or the fear of rejection--from destroying us?
There is a story from the life of Jesus—a story my Bible titles, “Jesus’ Rejection”—that offers some answers regarding rejection:
“Reports about him spread quickly through the whole region. He taught regularly in their synagogues and was praised by everyone. When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read the Scriptures. The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favor has come.” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant, and sat down. All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. Then he began to speak to them. “The Scripture you’ve just heard has been fulfilled this very day!” Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips. “How can this be?” they asked. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Then he said, “You will undoubtedly quote me this proverb: ‘Physician, heal yourself’—meaning, ‘Do miracles here in your hometown like those you did in Capernaum.’ But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown…When they heard this, the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff…”
Luke 4:14-29 (NLT)
Jesus faced rejection. This might have been his first bout with rejection, and it was quite severe. They tried to throw him off a cliff.
Jesus’ life and ministry was filled with rejection. So what did he do? What should we do to handle rejection?
1. Expect some rejection.
Did you notice how Jesus was not surprised by the rejection? He actually anticipates it. He knows it is coming. “I know what you’re going to say,” he predicted.
In boxing, they say the punch that knocks you out is the punch you didn’t see coming.
Marilyn Monroe cried, “Sometimes I feel my whole life has been one big rejection.”
If they rejected Marilyn Monroe, they will probably reject you.
If they rejected Jesus, what should we expect? Some rejection.
2. Expect some rejection even when you don’t deserve it.
What did Jesus’ do to deserve being thrown off a cliff?
Nothing.
Look back at verse 22: “Everyone spoke well of him and was amazed by the gracious words that came from his lips.”
Luke 4:22 (NLT)
Sometimes we are rejected when we don’t really deserve to be. We should actually have made that team. We have a better track record and resume and people skills than the guy who got the promotion over us.
3. Expect some rejection from people close to you.
Every now and then, I will hear that someone doesn’t like me, and I’ll respond, “How can they not like me, they don’t even know me? I don’t know them enough to not like them.”
But what really hurts is when those close to us, even those closest to us, turn on us.
Pepper Rodgers had a special way of facing rejection. Rodgers was the football coach for the UCLA Bruins in the early 1970s. One year UCLA was suffering through a miserable season. Rodgers was rejected on all sides. The media was after him, the fans wanted him fired. Even his family was mad at him. Rodgers said his dog was his only friend. So, he went to his wife and said, “Honey, a man’s got to have at least two friends.” So she bought him another dog.
Jesus was rejected and mobbed, and dragged out of town to the edge of a cliff by his homies!
Look at Jesus’ response:
“But I tell you the truth, no prophet is accepted in his own hometown.”
Luke 4:24 (NLT)
Jesus did not want us to miss this. Do you realize that this statement is found in all four of the gospels?
When we get rejected by those who are closest to us it can really mess with us.
Expect some rejection. But there’s another, critically important step in handling rejection, look at the conclusion to the story.
“…the people in the synagogue were furious. Jumping up, they mobbed him and forced him to the edge of the hill on which the town was built. They intended to push him over the cliff…”
Luke 4:28-29 (NLT)“…but he passed right through the crowd and went on his way.”
Luke 4:30 (NLT)
4. Don’t let rejection stop you.
Jesus didn’t let rejection stop him. He didn’t let a snub prevent him from doing what he needed to be doing. He didn’t say, “That’s it, I’ve had it with you people, I quit.” He didn’t say, “Time out, Green Bay” and then give up. He hung in there until he could say, “It is finished.”
“But Jesus slipped through the crowd and got away.”
Luke 4:30 (CEV)
Many of us have a tendency to let rejection paralyze us. We let those who reject us control our lives.
We call up a girl and ask her out for a date Friday night. She says, “I can’t, I’ve got to wash my hair Friday.” Then we don’t ask anyone else out for six months. We let one girl with dirty hair control our life for half a year! We let rejection stop us cold.
“A lot of people ask me, 'How did you have the courage to walk up to record labels when you were 12 or 13 and jump right into the music industry?' It's because I knew I could never feel the kind of rejection that I felt in middle school. Because in the music industry, if they're gonna say no to you, at least they're gonna be polite about it.”
Taylor Swift
5. Move On
“Then Jesus went to Capernaum…”
Luke 4:31 (NLT)
It is okay to move on. When someone tries to throw you off the cliff, it’s acceptable to move on from them. If they want to push you off the edge, feel free to stop walking along the bluffs with them. Sometimes it is advisable to leave town.
DeeAnn wasn’t the only friend to confront me about my rejection issues. I distinctly remember three others asking me these questions:
“Why are you friends with him?”
“Do you want this to end on their terms, or yours?”
“Why are you giving those unhealthy people so much power in your life?”
Jesus faced rejection, so will you and so will I. Jesus handled it, we can too.