Re:Verse reading–Luke 4:14-30 (day four)
V. 18 – Jesus reads from the scroll of Isaiah…in our Scriptures, it is Isaiah 61 and 58. This passage was written following the Babylonian exile. It was a passage recognized by the Jews as a messianic passage. The Jewish concept of the messiah was a warrior who would exalt Israel and free their nation from their oppressors. In Luke 4, the Jews of Nazareth waited to hear what Jesus, one of their own, would say about this passage. “It is fulfilled today in your hearing…” Not what they expected to hear! Jesus was giving a view into His ministry in Galilee. (He would meet spiritual needs as well as a physical needs.) He was claiming to be the messiah, but He did meet with their expectations. They rejected His claim.
How do you reject Jesus? If Scripture does not say what you think it ought to say…do you reject it? Or ignore it? Or justify it? We are quick to condemn the Jews of Nazareth, but are we guilty as well?
We see rejection in many fronts! We may feel this sense of rejection in a family, community, church, social, cultural and organizational setting. It can be obvious or hidden but we can feel and observe when we are rejected by others. People reject others or reject a thing when their expectations are not met! People reject others because they have certain expectations, personal perceptions and have limited view of those they reject.
For example, if a belief that one does not fit in a particular role or position, that person will not be given an opportunity to be in that position. If the people in the town of Nazareth had a mindset that Jesus was the son of Joseph, they would not accept that Jesus was the Son of God. Socially and spiritually, Jesus was rejected as He did not fit in the mental model that they would expect of their Messiah!
People reject what they hear or what they read because what they hear or read does not meet their mental model or criteria, does not suit their own situations, or does not provide an answer to their particular issue or problem. People of Nazareth admired Jesus for the words coming out of his mouth and that was it but they did not accept Jesus was the Messiah because they had their own expectations of who the Messiah would be! It is normal for human beings!! We set our own expectations and standards as we see fit!!
It is a good practice to evaluate and to re-examine our own mental model or our expectations to ensure that we are fair to others and to ensure that we don’t miss opportunities that can change our lives for the better. Rejection can be the result of our limited and narrow view of the world around us! It is more about us than them.
Jesus was rejected in His home town of Nazareth because He was the son of Joseph in the minds of people of Nazareth; and we can experience the same way. Have you experienced any rejections in your lives because of irrelevant factors, such as race, sex, color, national origins, occupations, personal and family background, educational background and so on? Have you experienced a rejection in a social setting or your church because of labeling? Have you experienced a rejection because you don’t provide what folks want to hear? Or have you experienced a rejection because of men’s biased judgments?
Jesus was rejected; and we, human beings, will be rejected. Rejection is a form of suffering. We can learn from Jesus how he handled rejection and follow His leadership to minimize pain and suffering. Always ask ourselves, “Are we fair or are we just in our rejection of others or a thing?”