More Like Jesus Part 3: The Blessing of Rejection (Matthew 13:53-58, Luke 10:13-16)


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Sermon Notes

After being rejected in Nazareth, the city of his childhood, and Capernaum, the city of his adulthood, and after his disciples had endured rejection in Samaria and in the villages… Jesus does something extremely revealing.  He prays, praising God and thanking him for who he has chosen to reveal himself to and who he hasn’t. This is very different than us who would just be mad at God for who he had not chosen to reveal himself to. He recognizes that he has a gracious will, and then he gives this blessing which has become a comfort to Christians for thousands of years; “come to me all who labor”– all who labor to give the message and preach the Gospel. Come to me all who are bearing the weight of the lost they are trying to reach and I will give you rest.

Listen, we don’t worry, fret, or become anxious about those who reject Christ… because it is Christ’s burden to carry. We are not responsible for those who are saved, we are merely responsible for doing what Christ has called us to do… and after doing so now we rest in his promise of peace.

How do we find blessing in rejection? Because we know that every time we share the Gospel and someone believes we are blessed in their salvation… and every time we share the Gospel and someone rejects it we are blessed in knowing we’ve been obedient and are not responsible for that burden any longer.  Blessed are the rejected in Christ for they will never be rejected by Christ.  Sometimes being more like Jesus means not only embracing the blessings he received but also the rejections he endured.