Redemption from Rejection

Redemption from Rejection | Luke 4:16-30

A Hometown Hero

This past summer on our bus stop bench out there on 32nd street, I saw a sign that said, “Good luck to Rebecca Smith! 2024 Olympian!” I had never heard that name before that. But when I passed that sign, I thought, “Wow that’s cool! In our medium sized city of Red Deer, we have an Olympian!” The city of Red Deer put that sign up because we’re proud of our hometown hero. We root for our hometown hero. And we welcome back our hometown hero at any time. It’s exactly what you would expect from the city of a hometown hero, like Rebecca Smith.

An Unexpected story

However today, we hear a story about Jesus, our hero. And he returns to his hometown and it’s far from what you would expect. There wasn’t a sign that said, “Nazareth. Home of Jesus. The Savior of the World.” But instead, there was a mob of people who tried to run him out of town. There was a mob who rejected him to his face and tried to push him off a cliff! But as Jesus pushed through that crowd he had one goal, one mindset, and one purpose... to redeem you. To redeem means to buy back. Jesus bought you back from all of your sins, including those of rejecting God’s Word. So today, Jesus gives you redemption from rejection. The same Jesus who was rejected by us went on to be rejected for us.

Part I: Jesus was rejected by us. (vv. 28, 29)

Jesus was rejected by us

It would have been quite the experience to be in the synagogue that day. Imagine with me that you’re a son or daughter of a Jewish family living in Nazareth in the first century. It’s Saturday otherwise known as the Sabbath day. It’s the day of rest and worship. You’ve heard that there’s a man named Jesus coming to the synagogue that day. Your parents told you about the amazing things he’s done in Capernaum. And as you and your family sit down in your usual spot in the synagogue, Jesus walks up to the front and he picks up a scroll written by the prophet Isaiah. And Jesus who grew up there in Nazareth begins to read it. He proclaims the coming Messiah who will give good news to the poor and sight to the blind, and free the captives from their imprisonment.

You are amazed at these words. You smile at your parents as Jesus hands the scroll to the official. He sits down to signal that he’s going to speak some more. Your anticipation builds as you wait to hear what Jesus is about to say next. And as you wait, you notice everyone around you with their eyes fixed on Jesus. And then, out of his mouth come eight words that you would never expect from the man who grew up in the same town as you. “Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.” Mic dropped. You’re stunned! With these words, Jesus just said that he is that Messiah. That he’s the one who’s going to give good news to the poor, sight to the blind and freedom to the prisoners. This man is the answer! He’s the fulfillment of all that was prophesied!

But then you hear a voice from behind you. “Isn’t this Joseph’s son?” Isn’t this the same guy who grew up here? Isn’t this the guy who made chairs with his father? He’s a normal guy! Surely, he can’t be the Messiah. At this, Jesus says, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown.” And as he’s about to go elsewhere to proclaim the good news. The people around you start to boil with anger. With great fury, they run towards him. They grab him by the arm and they drag him three miles away where they were planning to throw him off a cliff. Now, really think about this. Put yourself in the shoes of that Jewish child. Do you join the mob? (pause) Do you reject Jesus?

And at this point, you’re probably saying, “No, of course not! I don’t reject Jesus! I love Jesus!” But what about the parts of Jesus that you don’t like?  What portions of Jesus and his Word are you tempted to push to the edge of a cliff? What about that portion of God’s Word which tells you to forgive your neighbour time and time again? Are you tempted to push that part over a cliff when your neighbors are incompetent, inconsiderate and rude? (forgive 77 times) What about the part where he tells you to give up your idols and follow him? Are you tempted to push that part over a cliff when your boss is telling you to work on a Sunday? (Young rich ruler) What about the part where he tells you to use your gifts for his kingdom? Are you tempted to push that part over a cliff when you’re afraid to use them? (Tenants) And what about the part where he encourages us to give generously? Are you tempted to push that part over a cliff when you’re worried that giving might just bankrupt you? (Widow’s Mite) Or what about the part where he tells you to deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow him? Are you tempted to push that one over a cliff when your temptations seem too good to pass up? (Deny Yourself) We might hear the word “reject” and immediately think to ourselves, “that couldn’t be me.” Yet, any time we run from God’s Word, any time we bristle at God’s Word, any time we go against God’s Word, we’re really rejecting him.

Part II: Jesus was rejected for us. (v. 30)

According to our sinful natures, all we can do is fight against God’s Word. And when we realize that, we’re convicted. And we realize our need for redemption from rejection. But as we look to Jesus, we see the Savior who bought us back from all of our sins, including our sins of rejection. We see the redeemer who walked through a mob of rejectors to be rejected on a cross. We see the Son of God who was rejected in our place to bring us to a better place. We see Jesus who was rejected for us.

Put yourself back into the shoes of that Jewish child. You’ve just seen a mob of people drag Jesus up to a cliff. And this mob is on the verge of pushing Jesus off that cliff to his death. And then... something unexpected happens. Something amazing happens. Something that no one has ever seen before happens. The same Jesus whom everyone thought was a normal guy. The same Jesus who wasn’t grand enough according to human standards to be the Messiah. This same Jesus walked right through the mob and he went on his way. Jesus made use of his divine power. He walked right through a brick wall of rejection. Talk about a “woah” moment! See, Jesus knew that it wasn’t his time. He knew he had to carry on with his life to proclaim the gospel and to live a perfect life in your place. He knew he would ultimately have to die on a cross to pay for the sins of all people. He knew he had to ultimately be rejected for you and for me.

And maybe that’s the most surprising part of it all. See, Jesus could have ended the mission right there if he wanted to. But he didn’t, instead he passed through. The verb used here actually the idea of passing through an obstacle. And here Jesus passes through an obstacle. What was the obstacle? A crowd of people who were rejecting him. And the reason Jesus passed through that obstacle was to be rejected... on a cross... by his Father! To pay for the sins of the entire world including the people who were about to push him off of a cliff.

And do you know what that means? Jesus passed through that crowd to be rejected for you too! To pay for all of your sins! To give you redemption from rejection. And he did that. By passing through the obstacle of a crowd, Jesus went on to live a perfect life in your place. And by passing through the obstacle of a cross to be rejected by his own father he insured that you wouldn’t be rejected. And by passing through the obstacle of death, he assured you that he truly bought you back from your sins.

All your sins. Including your sins of rejection. For all the times you refused to forgive your neighbour, Jesus redeemed you from that rejection. For all the times you pushed God’s Word to the edge of a cliff and neglected it, Jesus bought you back from that rejection. And for all the times you rejected Jesus by pursuing worldly passions, Jesus pursued you all the more and he passed through those rejections to buy you back for good. For every single time that you pushed a portion of God’s Word to the edge of a cliff, Jesus bought you back from it. No refunds.

Just as Jesus passed through rejection to get to the cross, he passed through rejection to get to you. The fact of the matter is that on our own, we can’t do anything but fight against God’s Word. But, Jesus loved you so much that he pushed through your rejection and gave you faith. Faith that clings on to the truth. Through the Word, through baptism, Jesus has opened your eyes to see the truth that you have redemption from rejection.

Now, with God-given faith, you no longer want to push back or fight against what God says to you in his Word. Instead, you want to humbly yield to it. Now, you gladly forgive your neighbor because your Savior gladly forgave you. Now, you joyfully run to God’s Word and hear the joy that’s there for you. Now, you confidently walk in the fact that God has set you apart. Through God-given faith you’re not opposed to anything that God tells you, but instead you walk in-step with him as he gives you strength to do so.

Jesus was rejected in his hometown of Nazareth, but he passed through that crowd to make sure that you won’t be rejected when you go to your home. Because on the final day, you will go to heaven. Your Father will not reject you. Instead, he’s going to welcome you. He’s going to roll out the red carpet for you and walk you to your eternal place of rest. And who knows, maybe as you walk through the streets of heaven, you’ll see a sign that says, “Heaven. Home of you. A redeemed child of God.”

Amen.