Rejection, Reception & Resistance....

In Mark's Gospel, we encounter a very intriguing dymanic. In chapter 5, we read that the people who were the furthest geographical distance from Jesus’ hometown sought, invited, listened and obeyed Him with great faith. Conversely, the first few verses of chapter 6 record that those who were the closest to Jesus geographically and most familiar with Him were unimpressed, unmoved and uninterested.   In today's culture, we often see a similar pattern. For example, we sometimes see one person who grows up in a Gospel preaching church completely reject Christ while another individual, who has never attended a single church service,  immediately responds and receives Christ as Lord and Savior upon hearing the Gospel for the very first time. In a similar vein, it is very common for two siblings who grow up in a Christ-centered home to make very different decisions - one decides to embrace Christ and His Salvation message while the other outright rejects Him and His authority. Today's message, titled Rejection, Reception and Resistance, addresses these polorizing responses to Christ  and challenges those living today to properly respond to both Him and God's Salvation message. 

Archaeologists believe that Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth was approximately 60 acres and had a population of approximately 500 people. Despite this very small population which consisted of many Gentiles (non-Jews), there were enough Jewish families present for the Jews to have their own synagogue. In Mark 6:1-6, while teaching in this very synagogue, Jesus was met by the spiritual cousins of unbelief: cynicism, skepticism and sarcasm. The people who were present that day were astonished by His teaching. However, instead of this astonishment leading to belief, it did the opposite and led to unbelief. The locals knew Jesus’ family and His childhood and they acknowledged His unusual wisdom and exceptional power.  Furthermore, they had either personally witnessed or heard of many of the Messianic Prophecies being fulfilled.  Yet, they refused to believe that He was the Messiah or acknowledge that He was deity; hence, with rapid-fire unbelief, they asked five questions designed to undermine His credibility. Lastly, as scripture records, even His own blood relatives and household rejected Him. In summary, this rejection by those closest to Him was so profound that Jesus "marveled" at their unbelief. 

In contrast to those who rejected Jesus, scripture also presents the Roman Centurian who showed amazing belief. The gospel of Matthew records it this way: “When he had entered Capernaum, a centurion came forward to him, appealing to him, ‘Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.’ And he said to him, ‘I will come and heal him.’ But the centurion replied, ‘Lord, I am not worthy to have you come under my roof, but only say the word, and my servant will be healed. For I too am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. And I say to one, ‘Go’, and he goes, and to another, ‘Come,’ and he comes, and to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it. When Jesus heard this, he marveled and said to those who followed him, ‘Truly, I tell you, with no one in Israel have I found such faith’” (Matthew 8:5-10). Notice here, that Jesus, once again "marveled", but for a very different reason – because of this man’s overwhelming and embracing faith!  

Although the specifics may be very different, this same dynamic also very much exists in today’s culture as Jesus is also rejected, received and resisted today. Unbelief often occurs by outright rejecting the Gospel. It may sound like this: 1) “Faith alone in Jesus is just too easy. Surely I must add something to my salvation to earn my way to heaven”. Or, another person may say “That’s just too narrow; Jesus cannot be the only path to God”. Others may question Christianity by saying that it does not align with the teachings of science. Friend, if you are rejecting Christ for these or any other reason, will you listen and accept God’s call as the Roman Centurian did? Your earthly peace and eternal destiny depend on it. For those of us who have already accepted Christ as Savior, we too, can be guilty of unbelief in a more passive way. For example, while your eternal destiny is secured, you may not fully believe in the power that God’s word has to transform your life. As a result, you do not read it regularly or live with daily dependence upon it. Perhaps you do not believe that God will answer your prayers like He will for others; thus, you have a sporadic rather than thriving prayer life. Brothers and sisters, If either or both of these are true in your life, you are missing out on the dynamic relationship that your Lord has for you!   If you do not already do so, will you begin saturating your life with God’s word and believing in the power it brings? Will you also set aside time each day to pray fervently? Doing so will revolutionize your Christian walk as you more fully glorify God! ....

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