We know from scripture that Jesus was fully God and fully man. Some people think that since he was fully God, he somehow escaped the humanity part. That being God he didn’t completely experience human emotions or the weakness of the flesh. That somehow, he escaped the pain, rejection, and sorrow he faced. But we see this isn’t the case.
Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being.
Philippians 2:6-7 NLT
He did not escape the flesh, he did not escape the pain, rejection or the sorrow, but fully and willingly became like us and lived as we do. He has already gone through everything you and I can possibly face. He dealt with emotions and weakness just like we do.
Jesus faced rejection time and again throughout His ministry, yet he never let it define Him. He faced persecution and betrayal, yet he still chose love.
Rejection is one of the most difficult things we face, and all of us at some point have experienced it. Maybe as a child by a parent, or by a spouse or close friend. These types of wounds can go deep and shape how we react and treat others. Jesus faced rejection many times, in fact, it’s something He knew well.
In the beginning of the second year of Jesus’s ministry, he traveled to His hometown of Nazareth. He entered the synagogue and read the passage from Isaiah 61:1-2. Then he said today this has been fulfilled in your hearing. Any Jewish believer in that time would have known that scripture taught of the coming messiah. They understood he was implying that he was the promised Messiah. To which, they responded by being offended and trying to push him off a cliff…. tough crowd.
But Jesus didn’t take this offense to heart, he chooses love and forgiveness and even returns to Nazareth in His third year of ministry. However, again the people are offended and refuse to listen. These are the people he grew up with, his friends and family, the people who should have believed in him most. And yet, if was their knowledge of him that kept them from believing in him. . They could only see Him as a carpenter, so they were offended at His claims and refused to believe. In fact, it says Jesus marveled at their unbelief.
Jesus went to his hometown twice and both times his friends and neighbors rejected him as just a carpenter’s son and were offended by Him. He came to proclaim the good news, to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim freedom to the captives and release for the prisoners, to say here I am! I’m making a way to the Father for you! In order for Jesus to do this he had to be willing to suffer rejection. But even so, the depth of that rejection caught Him by surprise.
Judas Iscariot was one of the twelve chosen by Jesus to be a disciple. Jesus personally poured himself into Judas allowing him into the inner circle. He was treasurer and was trusted. One day a woman broke open a very expensive jar of perfume and anointed Jesus’s feet. This annoyed Judas who complained to Jesus about it, who in turn, told him to leave her alone, it was fitting what she was doing. At this point we see something change in Judas, he became offended. This change, began the downward spiral that turned Judas into a betrayer.
The night when Judas betrayed Jesus in the garden of Gethsemane, he did it with a kiss. But not just any kiss. It wasn’t like a handshake or a peck on the cheek to say “hi”. This was a symbol of deep friendship. Something reserved for family and only the closest of relationships. It signified deep love, affection, obligation, and covenant. When Judas greeted Jesus in this way, is said to everyone around them, they shared a close friendship. This was betrayal. If rejection is like a slap in the face, betrayal is a knife in the back. We can be sure Jesus felt deep pain as one of his closest friends turned his back on him.
The common theme in these stories, is that people became offended. The people of Nazareth became offended by words Jesus spoke. likewise, Judas became offended by what Jesus allowed to happen. The offense, left undealt with, became rooted in their hearts and the result was rejection and betrayal.
Maybe you have been rejected by people close to you, or worse, you have been betrayed by someone you allowed into your heart. We must allow the Lord to help us heal and forgive. The deeper the wound, the longer it may take, But the Lord will walk with us through the healing, gently guiding and holding us securely.
We can take heart knowing that Jesus has already faced and overcame every negative emotion we can experience. Even though rejection and betrayal can be painful, we do not have to let it define who we are. We can choose to allow God to use those painful circumstances to form His character in us.
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