In the world we live in today, thousands of children are rejected by their families. The court system is overrun with children no one wants. In the state I live in, there are more than 6000 children in the foster care system. In our nation, children suffer from their own families; 16% suffer physical abuse, 10% sexual abuse, 6% emotional abuse, and 2% experience medical neglect. I cannot imagine being rejected by my own family, but it happens everywhere. Rejection is not just relegated to children; adults suffer from rejection because they become Christians. Some are ostracized and forced to have nothing to do with their family. Jesus knows how they feel, not just because He is an all-knowing God, but because He was rejected by His family also.
In John chapter 7, we see Jesus in Galilee because the Jews in Judaea were seeking to kill Him. They wanted no part of a man who cured someone on the Sabbath. His brothers were so jealous and full of disbelief that they tried to encourage Him to go to Judea. They were so envious that they wanted Him dead.
John 7:1-5 “After these things Jesus walked in Galilee: for he would not walk in Jewry, because the Jews sought to kill him. Now the Jews’ feast of tabernacles was at hand. His brethren therefore said unto him, Depart hence, and go into Judaea, that thy disciples also may see the works that thou does. For there is no man that doeth anything in secret, and he himself seeks to be known openly. If thou do these things, shew thyself to the world. For neither did his brethren believe in him.”
Jesus knew the feeling of rejection by His own brothers. In Matthew 13:57-58, His family was offended by Him. He was teaching, and news of His miracles had spread abroad. He was a popular person among many. His brothers knew of His humble birth and may have even laughed about Him being born in a cave where livestock was kept. They were too proud to be taught by one they considered inferior to.
Matthew 13:57-58 “And they were offended in him. But Jesus said unto them, A prophet is not without honor, save in his own country, and in his own house. And he did not many mighty works there because of their unbelief.”
Again, in Mark 3:21, His friends and family went to remove Him from the crowd because of His preaching. Their goal was to remove Him from the area, which would not only be from those He was preaching to but from His home. They thought he was deranged and delirious. He was an embarrassment to them.
Mark 3:21 “And when his friends heard of it, they went out to lay hold on him: for they said, He is beside himself.”
Jesus understands abandonment. In Matthew 26:56, after His arrest, all His disciples left Him. Peter lingered in the shadows, but he also denied that He had known Christ three times.
Matthew 26:56 “But all this was done, that the scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled. Then all the disciples forsook him, and fled.”
Jesus is well acquainted with rejection by family and friends. There is not a sorrow He has not experienced. He knows everything we experience and wants to help us in those times. For all those children who are not wanted by their family or their family has chosen an addiction over them, they need to know that they are not alone. God loves them, and He longs to be there for them as much as He is for anyone. Think of someone today who has been rejected and reach out to show the love of Christ. It may be an elderly person whose family seems too busy to visit, a child who has no direction or love from parents, or it may be someone who has lost their way and needs someone to show they care. Whatever the need may be, seek to be the hands and feet of Jesus.
Isaiah 53:3 “He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
