Rejection Based on the Past

Scripture: All spoke well of him and were amazed at the gracious words that came from his mouth. They said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” He said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Doctor, cure yourself!’ And you will say, ‘Do here also in your hometown the things that we have heard you did at Capernaum.’” Luke 4:22-23

Observation: Jesus is known to the people of Nazareth, his childhood home. It is here and now that he declares he is the Messiah fulfilling the prophesy of Isaiah, but also will be immediately rejected. He gives two reasons of logic for being rejected. The second is a direct test ... the people have heard he has done miracles, so show those miracles now. This is a challenge to "prove it" and the Lord (almost) always rejects such challenges because he has already proven it through actions that are being rejected or ignored.

However, the first logical rejection is about Jesus being known to the people. "Doctor, cure yourself" is a statement that says ... we saw you grow up, and we may have had issue with your or your family, so now that you declare you are a great man of God, prove it by correcting everything about your own life and family. This is a challenge that, if fact, tells God to prove his power by logically concluding he has only limited power. For if the Lord has power, he can change a person through by his Spirit and thus the person is 'new' from that moment ... the first challenge however dismisses the idea of life transformation for a person of God.

Application: Many government CIOs lament that we cannot succeed at our jobs because "we are just the stupid people who work here." Our ideas are rejected by peers simply because they know us and have experienced issues with the technology we run ... so we can't be all that smart. So we hire consultants, we tell the consultants our objective, the consultants tell our peers the ideas, and they think it's brilliant. (It is so nice now to be that external consultant who gets listened to!)

When it comes to Christianity, people don't listen to us because they have seen the bad stuff we've done. Sometimes we mess up in public, certainly we messed up in the past. They reject our discussions about how Jesus can change their life because they don't like us and/or our actions of the past. This is a problem I have with many old friends who knew me before I accepted Jesus ... they know the 20 year old version of me and know he wasn't good, so what could I know of 'holy'.

In the face of such rejection - professionally or especially with regards to my faith - it is reassuring to know how common this is, and that even Jesus experienced it. The more my faith journey resembles Jesus, the better I feel about it. If the people of Nazareth can reject Jesus even though Mary and Joseph likely tried to tell them something was special about their son for decades, the less personal I can take it when someone rejects me because they know I'm stupid.

Prayer: Lord, it would be wonderful if no one ever rejected the good news of Jesus. It is sad when one of their reasons for rejecting it is because of me and my past, or even my present poor decisions. May everyone see much more of you, and much less of me, in my life. Amen.