The Divinity of Jesus Rejected

What is worth fighting for?

The book of Mark is a book that is emphasizing that Jesus is the Son of God ().

Mark 1:1 KJV 1900

The beginning of the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Son of God;

The way John Mark has done is for the original readers is by cataloguing several things. He opens up with the fulfillment of the forerunner of Jesus, John the Baptist. After John is put in prison, Jesus begins to manifest His authority through the preaching of the gospel of the kingdom (). This is the good news of the kingdom of God.

Jesus then accompanies the message if the kingdom with many miracles so that people would believe in Him as the Son of God. Jesus shows forth how powerful this kingdom is by subduing demons ().

Mark 1:27 KJV 1900

And they were all amazed, insomuch that they questioned among themselves, saying, What thing is this? what new doctrine is this? for with authority commandeth he even the unclean spirits, and they do obey him.

Jesus also calls forth certain disciples to come and be fishers of men ().

Mark 1:17–18 KJV 1900

And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him.

Of course, the ministry of Christ is not without opponents. The authority of Jesus Christ as the Son of God is challenged by the leading religious authorities of his time. This is first seen when Jesus Christ claims to be able to forgive sins ().

Of course, the ministry of Christ is now without opponents. The authority of Jesus Christ as the Son of God is challenged by the leading religious authorities of this time. This is first seen when Jesus Christ claims to be able to forgive sins ().

Mark 2:7 KJV 1900

Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?

Later, Jesus is accused of performing these miracles by the power of Satan. ().

Mark 3:22 KJV 1900

And the scribes which came down from Jerusalem said, He hath Beelzebub, and by the prince of the devils casteth he out devils.

What is he saying?

Even Jesus’ own friends and family do not initially believe who he is. ,

Mark 3:21 KJV 1900

And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.

Mark 3:32–34 KJV 1900

And the multitude sat about him, and they said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answered them, saying, Who is my mother, or my brethren? And he looked round about on them which sat about him, and said, Behold my mother and my brethren!

In spite of this opposition, John Mark continues to catalogue how Jesus “amazed” those who were observing Him:

Jesus calms the storm ,

Mark 4:39 KJV 1900

And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm.

Mark 4:41 KJV 1900

And they feared exceedingly, and said one to another, What manner of man is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?

Jesus heals the maniac of Gadara -

Mark 5:15 KJV 1900

And they come to Jesus, and see him that was possessed with the devil, and had the legion, sitting, and clothed, and in his right mind: and they were afraid.

Jesus heals the woman with the issue of blood -

Mark 5:33 KJV 1900

But the woman fearing and trembling, knowing what was done in her, came and fell down before him, and told him all the truth.

Jesus raises Jairus’ daughter from the dead -

Mark 5:42 KJV 1900

And straightway the damsel arose, and walked; for she was of the age of twelve years. And they were astonished with a great astonishment.

The original readers must have been challenged in their thinking. If they were Roman, they would have been challenged to consider this Jesus to be the true God and that Caesar was not a god at all.

They would have been somewhat perplexed to see that the way Jesus showed his authority was by serving and not by force.

But as we come to our current passage, we must ask ourselves the question, “Is the divinity of Jesus really that important?” By “divinity”, I mean the fact that Jesus is God and not merely a man. This is one of the staple claims of the scriptures about Jesus Christ, and for Mark to be continually emphasizing these teachings and miracles of Jesus, you cannot argue that Mark is proving the case for the divinity of Jesus.

Also, the kind of authority Jesus had was unparalleled because it was an authority that not only dominated the physical realm, but clearly Jesus and the kingdom of God was over the spiritual realm.

There are several possible positions people today may have about the “divinity of Jesus Christ”. First, there are those who purely reject the divinity of Jesus Christ.

Matthew 27:40 KJV 1900

And saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross.

One of the key objectives that we see in Jesus ministry, if not the key objective, is that his disciples would come to believe the fullness of who Jesus is. Several of the miracles are performed with this intention. Even the interpretation of some of the parables are given only to the disciples.

This opening part of is a preparation for the disciples. First, Jesus will be rejected, and then Jesus will send forth his disciples with clear instructions on what to do when their message is rejected.

What is he saying?

The setting is in the synagogue Nazareth in Galilee

is a reference to Nazareth where Jesus Christ was brought up. This was a small city in Galilee. Some estimates of the population put it at 150 - 200 people in the village, and it is typically identified as religiously conservative. Notice carefully how John Mark catalogues that the disciples “follow him”. This is important in understanding this chapter.

The conflict is about Jesus’ teachings and works

Mark’s use of the Sabbath day should call us to remember Jesus’ prior teaching about the Sabbath Day, that He [Jesus] is the Lord of the Sabbath Day; but on this occasion, Jesus is bringing astonishment again through his teaching. The conflict is not difficult to see. Notice the questions that the people bring forth. There are at least 4 questions that are all designed to point to the HUMANITY of Jesus and to downplay the DIVINITY (define and explain importance) of Jesus. ,

Mark 6:2 KJV 1900

And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?

Mark 6:3 KJV 1900

Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary, the brother of James, and Joses, and of Juda, and Simon? and are not his sisters here with us? And they were offended at him.

John 5:18 KJV 1900

Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.

Philippians 2:6 KJV 1900

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

The climax happens when they are offended by Jesus

The breaking point begins at the end of . The people felt scandalized. They were hearing what Jesus was saying, but they were unwilling to accept that Jesus was anything more than the little human, Jewish boy they’d always known.

The resolution is Jesus’ limited work in his hometown

Jesus then identifies their rejection of him and does not do any mighty works (dynamis) there.

The new setting is that Jesus proceeds to other villages to teach and work

Jesus leaves his hometown and proceeds to other villages to teach.

The Rejection of Jesus’ Divinity by his hometown

Why is he saying this?

For the disciples, this would have set forth an example before them of the rejection they would face for the message of Jesus’ divinity.

Jesus endures the most intimate type of rejection. It is the rejection of those whom are his friends, his family. Yet, the truth of the “gospel” and the kingdom are of such great importance that Jesus continues on to other places.

For the original readers, this account would have called them to accept Jesus as uniquely the Son of God and to persevere for this truth.

This is reminiscent of the letter that Paul wrote to Timothy, in which Paul is continually encouraging Timothy to continue and to endure: ,

2 Timothy 1:13–14 KJV 1900

Hold fast the form of sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. That good thing which was committed unto thee keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us.

2 Timothy 2:3 KJV 1900

Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ.

Paul encourages Timothy to Remember Jesus Christ -

2 Timothy 2:8 KJV 1900

Remember that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was raised from the dead according to my gospel:

And this here in is where Christ himself is setting forth himself before the disciples as the ultimate example of One who is rejected, but one who will still go on.

The Requirement of Perseverance for Jesus’ Divinity

We must not expect that the divinity of Jesus Christ will be readily accepted by everyone.

Quote #1

One of the greatest enemies of the divinity of Jesus Christ in our lives is familiarity with the humanity of Jesus.

Quote #2

This familiarity with the humanity of Jesus causes us to not see a Jesus who is worthy of sacrificing everything for.

This is common for those who have grown up hearing all the wonderful stories of Jesus, seeing all the wonderful flannel-graphs of Jesus.

Quote #3

If Jesus be the Son of God, then He is worthy of following in spite of the rejection by those closest to us.

What is the point? (proposition)

Because Jesus is indeed the Son of God, we can and must persevere for His divinity.

What is the problem?

First, let me say that we have gotten the doctrine of Christ’s divinity correct within the historical doctrine of our church.

Second, as a church we have sent forth several who have been willing to give up everything for this truth.

Third, there are people in our midst who so clearly believe this truth about Jesus that they are unselfishly loving each other.

The problem arises on several fronts though:

(1) The first question of the people reveals to us the cause or kind of rejection that Jesus needed to persevere through .

Mark 6:2 KJV 1900

And when the sabbath day was come, he began to teach in the synagogue: and many hearing him were astonished, saying, From whence hath this man these things? and what wisdom is this which is given unto him, that even such mighty works are wrought by his hands?

Their question reveals that they were not believing because they did not know the origin of these teachings and this power. Their inability to know led them to further reason away from faith in Jesus Christ.

They were a people who, though religious — as they were in the synagogue, they had faith in knowledge rather than faith in the Lord. Their security was built upon their ability to make sense of things. Thus, anything that did not rationally make sense was to be questioned, and Jesus did not make sense to them. Why?

(2) This leads to the second problem. As the questioning progresses, it is noted that Jesus was a carpenter.

This means that Jesus earned a living like everyone else. He was known as the son of Mary, thus Jesus was human like everyone else (so they thought). He had siblings like most other Jewish children.

The problem here is that Jesus did not make sense to them because of what they did know. What they did know was in conflict with what they apparently did not know. Thus, they were offended or scandalized by Him.

Illustration: Have you ever tried to get home owners insurance? You tell the agent everything that you can possibly tell them about the home. They tell you that they will submit it to underwriting. UW comes back and requests photos of the fence around the pool or the lot…etc. You submit the proof. UW comes back with a request for additional inspections…etc What UW is trying to do is weigh the risk by getting more information. In this case, they are skeptical because of what they don’t know, and they are skeptical because of what they do know. In like manner, the people of Jesus hometown were trying to avoid having to believe, and there is no way around this. If you will be a part of the kingdom of God, this will require faith in Jesus Christ.

This further shows how much faith they had in their own certain knowledge. What Jesus was saying and doing was showing them that they did not know everything about Him, but they resorted back to what they knew and believed it to be in conflict what what He was now saying and doing.

It is this kind of rejection that Jesus needed to persevere through, and the disciples needed to see this; for following Jesus certainly meant a rejection of even those closes to them.

Luke 14:26 KJV 1900

If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.

This kind of perseverance is difficult because it is extremely personal. The sinful human tendency is to possibly be discouraged from continuing on with the message of Jesus because we feel like those in our own home or those closes to us reject us, but the truth is that in our sinful condition, we are no better than the people of Jesus’ hometown.

(2) The second problem is that we often don’t understand what this means for us as disciples who are going forth with this message.

(3) The third problem is that we don’t really know how Jesus has addressed these sinful tendencies.

The sinful condition of Jesus family/friends is really the sinful condition of mankind. It is an unwillingness to accept by faith the Person of Jesus as the Son of God, but the good news is that Jesus Christ as dealt with this sinful condition.

Where is Christ & how did He address this problem?

(1) The rejection of Jesus would find climax on the Cross. ()

Mark 6:4 KJV 1900

But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honour, but in his own country, and among his own kin, and in his own house.

* The rejection of Jesus on the Cross (by Israel) was for his claim to divinity

The ultimate dishonoring of Jesus took place when He hung on a cross as a curse. ,

Mark 15:32 KJV 1900

Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.

Galatians 3:13 KJV 1900

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

Galatians 3:13 KJV 1900

Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:

* The rejection of Jesus on the Cross (by the Father) was for the sins of mankind.

Mark 15:34 KJV 1900

And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani? which is, being interpreted, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

Even this account elicited from a centurion the admission that Jesus was the Son of God.

Mark 15:39 KJV 1900

And when the centurion, which stood over against him, saw that he so cried out, and gave up the ghost, he said, Truly this man was the Son of God.

(2) The divinity of Jesus is vindicated by the Resurrection -

Acts 17:31 KJV 1900

Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.

(3) The acceptance of Jesus is evidenced by the Holy Spirit’s coming.

Acts 2:33 KJV 1900

Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear.

Jesus Christ persevered through the greatest rejection and now has ultimate acceptance.

This is what the preaching of repentance and the gospel of the kingdom entail. It means that we refuse and turn from sin and turn to the true Son of God.

It is in the acceptance we have in Jesus that we find the strength to persevere through rejection for Jesus.

This is an important truth. Living and persevering for the divinity of Jesus Christ is not merely the work of a Christian in his own flesh; but it is the work of God within the Christian. In the subsequent passage in , we will see how Jesus sends out the disciples and empowers them.

2 Timothy 1:7–8 KJV 1900

For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;

Because Jesus is indeed the Son of God, we can and must persevere for His divinity.

How does the finished work of Christ lead to application of this truth?

To the professing Christian, who is familiar with Jesus:

This account should be a warning to you. Because you are so familiar with Jesus, you may have never taken time to consider what it means that he is the Son of God. This would then show itself in your life in several different ways. First, you will live your life religiously but not by true faith. You will attend the place of worship, here are the stories, and believe that Jesus is a real person; but He won’t really be your God. This leads to the second major symptom that is since Jesus is really not your God, you will have a life that is characterized by persevering for who or what is really your god. Rather than struggling against idolatry, you struggle for those idols. You will sacrifice for what you genuinely believe will bring your maximal fulfillment. The danger for you is that you’ve rejected Jesus as your god, but you are very familiar with Him.

To the Christian senior saint:

You’ve been a believer in Jesus Christ for a long time, the danger you may run into is that you will think that your time of service is over. You’re wrong. If Jesus be your God, persevere through any and all rejection. Some of you are maintaining your lives for yourselves, but you are not persevering for the Lord. Listen to the response of a senior saint who was killed for Jesus Christ.

Finally, when he came up, the proconsul asked if he were Polycarp. And when he confessed that he was, he endeavored to persuade him to deny, saying, 'Have regard for thine age,' and other like things, which it is their custom to say: 'Swear by the genius of Cæsar; repent and say, Away with the Atheists.' But Polycarp, looking with dignified countenance upon the whole crowd that was gathered in the stadium, waved his hand to them, and groaned, and raising his eyes toward heaven, said, 'Away with the Atheists.' But when the magistrate pressed him, and said, Swear, and I will release thee; revile Christ,' Polycarp said, 'Fourscore and six years have I been serving him, and he hath done me no wrong; how then can I blaspheme my king who saved me? [Eusebius. The History of the Church (The Church History of Eusebius) (p. 173). Neeland Media LLC. Kindle Edition.]

Eusebius. The History of the Church (The Church History of Eusebius) (p. 173). Neeland Media LLC. Kindle Edition.

Eusebius. The History of the Church (The Church History of Eusebius) (pp. 172-173). Neeland Media LLC. Kindle Edition.

To the Christian widow/widower:

How are you persevering for the divinity of Christ? If anyone knows the pain of loss, it is God your Father, who suffered the ultimate loss of His son.

In addition, the scripture leaves examples of how the Spirit enables even widows to persevere in Christian living. ,

Luke 2:36–38 KJV 1900

And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.

1 Timothy 5:5 KJV 1900

Now she that is a widow indeed, and desolate, trusteth in God, and continueth in supplications and prayers night and day.

The Christian widow who perseveres for the divinity of Jesus is not only part of the church to be served, but she is to trust God and continue in supplications within the church.

To the Christian college single:

You are living in a world that has two philosophies of which I warn you:

(1) “Knowledge is power” leads you to an endless pursuit of more knowledge which leads to pride.

This passage shows how humility is required to accept Jesus as the Son of God. They must accept Him by faith. Thus, be careful with the idea that you can make sense of everything. You are I are not gods.

(2) “Truth is relative” which leads to a skepticism about everything that claims to be absolute.

The fact that Jesus was rejected by those closest to him does not mean that Who Jesus is less True. Some of you live in “Christian” homes where you are encouraged in Christian activities but when you make a decision to serve Jesus as God, you are discouraged from it. You get verbal support to a certain point but no practical support.

Know assuredly that a life lived in sacrificial service for God is never a waste, whether that is serving as a lay person in a church or serving in full time gospel ministry.

Take leaps of faith for your God: (a) Go on missions trips through your local church while you can (b) learn to give time and resources to the cause of Christ (c) devote a portion of your day to unhindered, undistracted time to Jesus — Believe and live out that Jesus is your God. (d) Be as involved as you can be in your local ministry

To the teenager, who has grown up around it:

Persevering for the divinity of Christ does not seem to bring the fun that other things in your life seems to bring. But, if you will please take time to stop your distracted mind from all that you know and all that you want to do and consider Who Jesus is. If Jesus is the Son of God, then complete joy can only be found in Him and NOT in anything else.

1 John 1:4 KJV 1900

And these things write we unto you, that your joy may be full.

Learn to savor bite size truths about our great God. Today it is, “Jesus is the Son of God.”

To the Christian parents with young children:

The tendency of our children is not towards the true God. Knowing this about them is critical.

Psalm 51:5 KJV 1900

Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me.

So as much as you love them, you must learn quickly that your children are in the same bondage into which you were born. The god of “self” manifests itself early, and there are days where it will seem like you just don’t want to continue to persevere for the divinity of Christ in the life of your child, but be not weary in well-doing.

Ephesians 6:4 KJV 1900

And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.

(1) Use the word of God to help shape the divinity in their lives. This means that you must make it a top priority to have your children in a place where Jesus is preached/taught as the Son of God.

(2) Use your words to help shape the truth of Jesus in their lives - Jesus is the Son of God

(3) Use your life to help shape the truth of Jesus in their lives. Let them see that Jesus is the Son of God in your life.

(4) Use your decisions as opportunities to lead your children to Jesus as the Son of God.

Because Jesus is indeed the Son of God, we can and must persevere for His divinity.