Jesus Was Rejected All Through His Life
Jesus’ first area of ministry is in the south of Israel around Jerusalem. After John the Baptist is imprisoned and later killed, Jesus moves His ministry arena about 60 miles north to Galilee. After Jesus’ home town of Nazareth (in Galilee) rejects Him, Jesus relocates to Capernaum on the Sea of Galilee. As Jesus ministry continues to unfold, amazing power is released by Jesus. Many people are healed of grave sicknesses and diseases and many are delivered of oppressive spirits. Additionally, Jesus manifests His raw power over nature (calms the storm, water to wine, walks on water, multiples food and more). Power, unprecedented in human history, is manifest by Jesus in the world of men and women. Jesus also declares truth and reality about God that has never been known. You would think everything is going well.
Parallel to the power growing and people being helped, the resistance and opposition of the Pharisees and Teachers of the Law grows. They find fault with Him for helping people on the Sabbath (healing & deliverance). They don’t find fault with themselves for taking their animals out to water them on the Sabbath, but they accuse Jesus of breaking the Law by healing someone on the Sabbath. It’s crazy. (John 15:25 says, “They hated me without reason.”)
Then things intensify. Not only are they resisting Jesus but they begin attacking Him. In Matt 9:34 and especially Matt 12:24, after Jesus demonstrates great compassion and heals a man that was both blind and mute, the Pharisees counter attack and begin accusing Jesus of helping people not by God’s power but by Satan’s power. The Jewish leadership, who has been anticipating the coming of the Messiah, completely rejects Jesus, His testimony and His wonderful miracles!
You know, it is one thing for someone to call you names and reject you at that level. When I was in Junior High just like everyone, I got that level of rejection. It’s painful. It is another thing for people to reject your business or work or your passion: “I don’t like what you are doing! It’s worthless!” I understand that kind of rejection as well. What if you reached out to people with great compassion, touched them and healed them? Then in the next moment leaders attack you in the saying, “You’re not of God! Everything you are doing is motivated by Satan himself!” Ouch! I haven’t faced that level of rejection… especially for the beautiful works that Jesus was doing. He faced this rejection for the entire three and a half years of public activity!
Fascinatingly Jesus never cut off relationship with the Pharisees. If someone attacked me like this I would probably say, “Enough! I am not enduring this any longer! I am pouring my heart out to these hurting people and you are attacking me day and night. Were done! I never want to talk to you guys again!” Jesus, however, continues convicting the Pharisees to lead them to change (repentance) and divorce themselves from evil. Jesus is radically patient and bears with them constantly. Isaiah 42:4 says, “… He will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.”
Well the leadership is one thing. What about the people? As Jesus continues His actions in Galilee, He preaches what we call the Sermon on the Mount. He may have preached this or some version of it many times. He reaches out to the general population of Galilee. Jesus feeds the crowd of 5,000 men (about 15,000 men plus women and children?) When this multi-day event concludes, Jesus sends His disciples in the boat to the other side of the Sea of Galilee. He ends up walking on the water and meeting them about three to three and a half miles into the Sea (John 6:19). They arrive on the other side and the Galilean crowd finds them sometime later. Jesus confronts them by saying that they are not looking for Him for truth or because they saw the miracle of multiplying the food, but they want the physical food itself. Jesus directly tells them that He is the real food they need for life. The people don’t understand and neither do the disciples. However, John 6:66 says that after this confrontation that “… many of His disciples turned back and no longer followed Him.”
The Galilean population at large rejects Jesus.
To summarize, you have the Jewish leadership rejecting Jesus as “being of the Devil.” The general Galilean population rejects Jesus as well when He claims to be the Bread of Life. (The amazing thing is that Jesus presses on towards the cross to sacrifice Himself for everyone even in the face of so many openly rejecting Him! He is the beautiful God!)
Isaiah 53:3 describes Jesus accurately:
“He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.”
Let me leave you with one of the most amazing texts in the New Testament:
“Although He [Jesus] was a son, He learned obedience from what He suffered…” Hebrews 5:8
Therefore, whatever we suffer in this life, may we identify with the innocent and powerful One who, also, suffered greatly! Let us not feel sorry for ourselves (I struggle in this), but let us feel the struggles of Jesus and walk in His footsteps.
This Weeks Text:
Matt 9: 27-34
As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him. They called out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!” 28 When Jesus went indoors, the blind men came to him. He asked them, “Do you believe that I can do this?” “Yes, Lord,” they replied. 29 Then he touched their eyes. He said, “It will happen to you just as you believed.” 30 They could now see again. Jesus strongly warned them, “Be sure that no one knows about this.” 31 But they went out and spread the news. They talked about him all over that area. 32 While they were going out, another man was brought to Jesus. A demon controlled him, and he could not speak. 33 When the demon was driven out, the man spoke. The crowd was amazed. They said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel.” 34 But the Pharisees said, “He drives out demons by the power of the prince of demons.”
Matt 12:14
A man controlled by demons was brought to Jesus. The man was blind and could not speak. Jesus healed him. Then the man could speak and see. 23 All the people were amazed. They said, “Could this be the Son of David?” 24 The Pharisees heard this. So they said, “This fellow drives out demons by the power of Beelzebub, the prince of demons.”
John 6:60-69
Jesus’ disciples heard this. Many of them said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?” 61 Jesus was aware that his disciples were complaining about his teaching. So he said to them, “Does this upset you? 62 What if you see the Son of Man go up to where he was before? 63 The Holy Spirit gives life. The body means nothing at all. The words I have spoken to you are from the Spirit. They give life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” Jesus had known from the beginning which of them did not believe. And he had known who was going to hand him over to his enemies. 65 So he continued speaking. He said, “This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless the Father helps him.” 66 From this time on, many of his disciples turned back. They no longer followed him. 67 “You don’t want to leave also, do you?” Jesus asked the Twelve. 68 Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, who can we go to? You have the words of eternal life. 69 We believe and know that you are the Holy One of God.”