Revealed in Rejection

January 31, 2010

Background Scripture: Matthew 11:20 – 24; 13:54 – 58; Luke 4:16 – 30
Lesson Passage: Matthew 11:20 – 24; 13:54 – 58

Jesus contrasted Israel’s rejection of him as their Messiah to what would have been the reaction of former communities that were destroyed for their wickedness without having the benefit of what these communities had seen and experienced. Although these communities could see the results of the miracles Jesus performed, they were still blind to the message Jesus proclaimed along with the miracles. This was especially true of those who were leaders and the religious citizens of those communities. On the other hand, the simple, unlearned, and poor were benefiting both physically and spiritually through Jesus’ ministry. Not only were they being blessed in receiving healing and physical restoration, they were also blessed because they simply accepted by faith the words that Jesus spoke. While those who were religious debated the merits of Jesus’ claims and sought to dismiss them altogether, the poor and disenfranchised embraced Jesus. They accepted the miracles as proof of the message. They did not pretend to know the scriptures or the prophecies concerning the Messiah therefore they had nothing to debate. For them, “the proof was in the pudding”. No man had ever been known to do the things that Jesus did therefore Jesus’ explanation of those things was accepted at face value. Although many were receiving and being blessed, the communities as a whole were rejecting the message Jesus proclaimed along with the miracles. Jesus verbally chastised the indifferent in the regions that had been witnesses to his miracles. Their condemnation was based on their reaction versus what others would have done had they been given the same opportunity. Jesus said that cities that were destroyed would have repented and been spared had they witnessed the same miracles. This is no light indictment! Jesus stated that Sodom would have remained standing for thousands of years—even to that date—had they been allowed to witness the same works! The Sodomites would have repented? One would think that their destruction was based on their being too far gone in terms of moral corruption to be spared. Yet, Jesus said they would have remained if they had witnessed the same works he performed in Capernaum. Capernaum’s judgment would therefore be much more severe because of their indifference to Jesus’ mighty works. Jesus encountered the same form of rejection in his home town of Nazareth. Perhaps here he was too familiar to them. They knew him, his parents, and his siblings. They could not imagine him being the Messiah because they thought they already knew so much about him. Here, even many of his miracles were also rejected along with his message. This led Jesus to declare that a prophet is not given honor by those who are the most familiar with him but rather by those who know very little or nothing about him. Even in the midst of rejection, Jesus took time to rebuke those who would not accept him or his message. Jesus used their rejection of him as another opportunity to provide evidence that he is the Messiah. He did so by declaring the reaction that past communities would have had if they had been given those present opportunities. Only the Messiah could have known such a thing.

Robert C. Hudson
January 18, 2010