It is one thing to be rejected by strangers. However
rejection by friends, relatives and family members are harder to take.
Jesus had a hard time in Nazareth. After his first sermon in his own
synagogue, the members tried to kill him by throwing him off the cliff
at the edge of the town! Such drastic action in respond to his sermon.
And these will be friends, relatives and the townspeople who knew Jesus
well. They would have watched him grow up. Joseph’s son he would have
been known. And some nasty gossip about his mother being pregnant before
the wedding. I wondered how Jesus would have felt. I am sure it would
have hurt him badly. But his mission would have sustained him. He quoted
“Only in his hometown, among his relatives and in his own house is a
prophet without honor.” (Mark 6:4) This quote showed that Jesus is aware
of his role as a prophet.
Even James, his half brother, did not understand
Jesus until after his death and resurrection. James went on to be a
leader in the Jerusalem church. Rejection by your own family members!
His own brothers, sisters and even his mother at one time thought that
he was mad. In Matthew 12:46, his family came to take him home.
MT 12:46 While Jesus was still talking to the
crowd, his mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to him.
47 Someone told him, "Your mother and brothers are standing outside,
wanting to speak to you."
Jesus used this as a teaching moment that “whoever
does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and
mother” (Matt. 12:50). This statement did not meant that he rejected his
family but that he used his mission to deal with the heartbreak he must
have felt.
The betrayal kiss by Judas Iscariot must have hurt
terribly. Judas who was such a trusted member of his disciples that they
even appointed him to be treasurer. Yet, at the moment of this kiss in
the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus must have known that his friend had
betrayed him to torture, humiliation and death.
Being rejected by our own parents, friends, relatives
and community is very painful. We will be racked by self doubts. There
is also feel a sense of betrayal. Must of all, we would be filled with
agony of our rejection. Sometimes it is preferable to be rejected by
strangers than by those we love. At such times we often feel lost,
nursing our pain and even angry. We despair of ever be understood again.
Yet someone does understand. In another garden, God’s creatures rejected
their creator. Many years later, these same creatures crucified God
incarnate. God’s heart must be broken with pain and sorrow. Yet he still
loves us. In the pain of our rejections, let us cling onto him who will
never reject us.
