One of people’s greatest fears is the fear of rejection. Rejection can come in many forms:
• This month my car has to be inspected. If it doesn’t pass the inspection, I’ll get a sticker on my car that says, “Rejected.”
• When I play basketball, sometimes one of my shots gets blocked. In basketball lingo, that’s called getting rejected.
• When a single guy asks a girl to go on a date with him, he doesn’t want to be rejected. Many guys are even afraid to ask because of the fear of possible rejection.
• Of course, there are more serious forms of rejection, especially rejection from family and friends.
Mother Teresa said, “We have drugs for people with diseases like leprosy. But these drugs do not treat the main problem, the disease of being unwanted…. The sick and poor suffer even more from rejection than material want. Loneliness and the feeling of being unwanted is the most terrible poverty.”
We long for acceptance; we dread rejection.
3 Facts to Remember About Rejection:
1. Remember that Christ knows how it feels to be rejected.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering (Isa. 53:3; cf. Mark 9:12).
a. He was rejected by His nation.
He came to that which was his own, but his own did not receive him (John 1:11).
• The innkeeper rejected Him. Mary placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn (Luke 2:7b).
• King Herod rejected Him. He tried to kill Jesus (Matt. 2:13, 16).
• The leaders of the Jews rejected Him. Jesus predicted, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life” (Luke 9:22).
b. He was rejected by His town.
“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Simon and Judas? Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at him (Matthew 13:55-57).
c. He was rejected by His family.
When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, “He is out of his mind” (Mark 3:21).
For even his own brothers did not believe in him (John 7:5).
d. He was rejected by His friends.
Judas betrayed Him; Peter denied Him; the others deserted Him.
e. He is rejected by many today.
Christ experienced one rejection after another. He knows how it feels to be rejected.
2. Remember that Christ warned that you might be rejected for following Him.
“Blessed are you when men hate you, when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil, because of the Son of Man. Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, because great is your reward in heaven” (Luke 6:22-23a).
“He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me” (Luke 10:16). When you are rejected for living for Jesus, it’s really Jesus who is being rejected.
3. Remember that Christ promised never to reject you.
Whoever comes to me I will never drive away (John 6:37b).
At age 17, W. F. Thompson joined the Marines and emerged from boot camp a savage fighter who craved blood. “In combat, I enjoyed killing,” he recalled, “especially with a bayonet.” After the war, Thompson moved to Raleigh, North Carolina, where he went into business. One Friday a man entered his office and, brandishing a gun, demanded money from the firm’s safe. Thompson pursued the man from the building and down the street, but the gunman turned and fired, striking Thompson in the chest and arm. Thompson clung to life through the weekend, but on Monday the doctors urged his wife to call the undertaker. Thompson clung to life and at length opened his eyes and glanced around the room. He spied a Bible open on the bedside table. Reaching over with a groan, he closed it and sank back into a stupor. The next time he opened his eyes he saw the Bible opened. He managed to slam it shut. When his eyes opened the third time, the book was open again. Summoning his strength, he seized it with his good arm to hurl it across the room. But as the Bible hovered over his head, its pages opened to John 6, and the words of verse 37 hit him like a hail of bullets. Whoever comes to me I will never drive away. Thompson later became a preacher, and he shared this verse when he preached his first sermon (Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook: 2003 Edition, p. 17).
Christ will absolutely never reject anyone who comes to Him.
a. Christ will never reject those who have come to Him.
I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord (Rom. 8:38-39).
You may be rejected on earth, but you are always accepted in heaven.
The reason why many of us are crippled by a fear of rejection is because we care more about what people think than what God thinks.
b. Christ will never reject those who will come to Him.
(1) “Whoever”
For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Whoever includes you!
Some people feel unworthy of Christ, thinking their lives are too messed up.
A man once came to evangelist D. L. Moody, feeling that his life was so messed up that not even God could help him. Moody quoted John 6:37 (KJV): “Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” The man said, “But brother Moody, I am an alcoholic and a drunkard.” Moody replied, “It does not say, ‘Him that cometh to Me who is not a drunkard I will in no wise cast out.’” The man said, “But I have abandoned my wife and children.” “That is a dreadful thing,” said Moody, “but it does not say, ‘Him that cometh to Me who has not abandoned wife and children I will in no wise cast out.’” The man said, “But I have stolen; I have been in jail.” “Still,” said Moody, “it does not say, ‘Him that cometh to Me who has never stolen, who has never been in jail, I will in no wise cast out.’ That covers you without argument or exception.” The man was convinced (Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook: 2003 Edition, p. 17).
Christ has a history of receiving people who were rejected by others:
• He received Matthew. Because Matthew was a tax collector, he was despised. But Jesus made him one of his twelve disciples.
• He received a blind man named Bartimaus. When he heard Jesus was passing by, he began to shout, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!” (Mark 10:47). His friends told him to keep quiet, but Jesus heard his voice and healed him.
• He received Mary Magdalene. She was a demon-possessed woman who was scorned by her own people, but Jesus made her into a new person.
• He received the thief on the cross. [The thief] said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.” Jesus answered him, “I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:42-43).
Years ago there was an old farmer by the name of Klein. He was an ungodly man. Although he lived across the street from a church, he never went in; and, of course, he did not believe the message of salvation. To his way of thinking, the faith in Christ was for other people, not for him. One day, however, the Bible school began to teach the children a song that goes:
Saved by grace alone!
This is all my plea:
Jesus died for all mankind,
And Jesus died for me.
From his listening post across the street, Mr. Klein heard the children singing. He heard most of the words clearly. But when they came to the line “Jesus died for all mankind,” he thought they were singing, “Jesus died for old man Klein.” The thought that Jesus died for him personally finally sank into his heart. Klein crossed the street to the church, attended services, and eventually committed his life to Christ.
This is the message of John 6:37. Put your name in that song and say, “Jesus died for Mary Jones, John Smith, Paul Brown, Betty Harris”—or whatever your name might be. Jesus died for you (adapted from James Montgomery Boice, The Gospel of John, vol. 2, pp. 493-494).
(2) “Comes to me”
What does it mean to “come” to Jesus?
• “C” stands for “Confess your sins.”
• “O” stands for “Open your heart.”
• “M” stands for “Meet the Master.”
• “E” stands for “Enter into everlasting life.”
Charlotte Elliott of Brighton, England, was an unhappy invalid. Hoping to help her, a Swiss minister, Dr. Cesar Malan, visited her. Over dinner, Charlotte lost her temper and railed against God. Her embarrassed family left the room, and Dr. Malan, alone with her, stared at her across the table, saying, “You are tired of yourself, aren’t you?” “What is your cure?” asked Charlotte. “The faith you are trying to despise,” answered Malan. As they talked, Charlotte softened. “If I wanted to become a Christian and to share the peace and joy you possess,” she asked, “what would I do?” “You would give yourself to God just as you are now.” Charlotte did come just as she was. Her heart was changed that day. As time passed, she found and claimed John 6:37 as a special verse for her. Charlotte later wrote a poem which became the words of the famous invitational hymn, “Just As I Am” (Nelson’s Annual Preacher’s Sourcebook: 2003 Edition, p. 15).
Just as I am, Thou wilt receive,
Wilt welcome, pardon, cleanse, relieve;
Because Thy promise I believe,
O Lamb of God, I come, I come!
When you come to Christ, you will always find acceptance; you will never find rejection.
If you fear rejection, remember…
• Christ knows how it feels to be rejected.
• Christ warned that you might be rejected for following Him.
• Christ promised never to reject you.
Dear (your name),
You are cordially invited to come and enjoy the delicious banquet of my salvation. Serving will begin at My House and will continue for eternity. I’d love for you to come and get to know Me personally. This feast is free to you because the cost has already been paid by My precious Son, Jesus. You are receiving this invitation simply because I love you. Please join me…and you may come just as you are.
Sincerely,
God Almighty
Will you accept God’s invitation? If you would like to accept God’s invitation, I invite you to pray a prayer like this:
Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner.
I believe that You died on the cross
and rose from the grave
so that I could be forgiven of my sin
and given eternal life.
Today I am turning from my sin
and turning to You.
Please become the Lord and Savior of my life.
Amen.
