Jesus knew what rejection felt like. When he preached his first sermon in his hometown of Nazareth, things went well in the beginning. But after he was finished, the people ran him out of town. They even tried to run him off a cliff, but he managed to escape. That was the first time Jesus experienced rejection for what he was trying to do for God, but it was not to be the last.
Many of us know how it feels, even though the circumstances may not be as dramatic. An excellent student minister was rejected by a search committee simply because he could not work full time. The church was in denial believing that they could support a full-time pastor. They did not extend the call, so both the church and the student minister missed out what might have been a good experience for both of them.
In the story from Luke's Gospel, Jesus is on a journey to Jerusalem. But rather than take the normal route most pilgrims took at the time, Jesus decided to go straight through Samaria. This was an unusual decision. Samaria was located in between Galilee in the north and Judea in the south. There had been a long-standing disagreement between the Jews and Samaritans. So the route Jesus took was not an easy shortcut. As a Jew, it placed him in the face of direct opposition. To be exact, religious pilgrims had long been hindered by the Samaritans for trying to pass through their territory on the way to Jerusalem. Jesus was almost certain to encounter hostility, and he did.
Why Samaria anyway? One possible answer would seem to be that Jesus was reaching out to them. He was trying to extend the olive branch of friendship as he moved on his way to the Holy City. Jesus was certain that God was calling him to go to Jerusalem to usher in the kingdom. Maybe he felt that the Samaritans were a test case. Perhaps, if they were to accept his graceful overture, it would be a sign to others that his mission was worthwhile, and might even turn out to be successful.
But the Samaritans wanted no part of it. If the Jews felt that the Samaritans were half-breeds, the Samaritans felt that the Jews were worshiping in the wrong place and using the wrong Bible. The Samaritans worshiped at the temple on Mount Gerizam, and they only recognized the first five books of the Hebrew Scriptures. The Jews, of course, felt that worship at Jerusalem was central, and they revered many more writings of the law and the prophets. This long-standing quarrel was not to be overcome in a day, and Jesus was to find that out. Nevertheless, he "set his face to go to Jerusalem." Evidently, the Samaritans could see it in his face. They could see his will and determination. As far as they were concerned, it would be over their dead bodies.
How did Jesus react to this rejection? It's hard to tell because even before he has a chance to act on his own, two of his disciples, James and John, decide to take matters into their own hands. When they saw that Jesus was not being well received by the Samaritan village, they asked Jesus if he would let them "bring down fire from heaven to consume them." They must have been thinking that Jesus would do what Elijah, the prophet, had once done in a similar situation. Little did they know just how far off they were from what Jesus had in mind. Luke tells us that Jesus turned and rebuked the disciples. What they wanted to do was not in accord with God's kingdom. Right there on the spot, Jesus met rejection with firmness toward his disciples on the one hand, and with respect and tolerance for his enemies on the other. And, he made sure that he taught his disciples a lesson. This was not the way to go about solving anything. It was to be the first of many lessons the disciples would have to learn as they made their way to Jerusalem. Had they been listening to what Jesus had been saying all along, they would have known what to expect. After all, Jesus was just putting into practice what he had taught earlier in the Sermon on the Plain. But as is so often the case, these disciples let their innate passions take over. So angry were they at the reception Jesus had received from the Samaritans that they were ready to let out all of that stored-up national hatred that was inside them.
I will show you a much better way, a way more like Jesus. There once was a man who ran for a local government position. He was well thought of and many felt he was a shoe-in. However, when the votes were counted, the race was very close, but he lost. Many were urging the candidate to ask for a recount. A recount was well in the realm of possibility, but as the candidate reasoned, the people had spoken and since the vote was so close he would not have the support he needed to carry out his duties, so he gracefully conceded the election. Many still say that he would have made the best elected official the town could have had. Such is one way to react to rejection.
As Jesus and his disciples went along the road, they began to collect a number of people who were interested in joining up with them. One person, in particular, was extremely enthusiastic about the prospects. This person ran up to Jesus all on his own and said, "I will follow you wherever you go" (Luke 9:57b). Jesus was never one to attract followers on false pretenses. Jesus always made sure from day one that anyone wanting to take part in his mission would know what they were getting into. So he said to this eager, would-be disciple, "Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head" (Luke 9:58).
There's a possibility that Jesus may have been speaking on more than one level. "Fox" was a derogatory word used for Gentiles. Jesus, himself, once called King Herod "that old Fox." Then again, maybe all that Jesus was asking the man to do was to take another look at Jesus. "Look at me. I have no job, no home, no family, no place to lay my head. Why, animals have more security than I do. Are you absolutely certain that you want this kind of life?"
Luke does not tell us what the man's reaction was, only that Jesus made it abundantly clear what was involved in being his disciple.
While the first seeker came of his own initiative, the next one was personally invited by Jesus to join the group. Evidently, the man was curious enough about what it might mean to give it serious thought, but he still had a few things that he felt he needed to take care of. Actually, he had one big one; he had to bury his father. Then, as now, seeing that your parents have a decent burial is an act of sacred trust. It is not something to be taken lightly. Likewise, Jesus considered following him to be equally important. No matter how you interpret it, Jesus' words may sound harsh and unkind. "Let the dead bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:60). Jesus put the choice clearly before the man as a matter of life and death. Again, Luke does not tell us what the man's reaction was to these strong words of Jesus. We can only infer that the man went away feeling rejected.
The third offer to follow Jesus is a combination of the other two. Like the first, this offer is a spontaneous gesture, full of enthusiasm. But like the second, it has some reservations. The man says, "I will follow you, Lord; but let me first say farewell to those at my home" (Luke 9:61). When writing this story, Luke may well have had in mind a similar occasion that took place between the prophet Elijah and his successor, Elisha. When Elijah taps Elisha on the shoulder, and throws his cloak over him, Elisha says in response, "Let me kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow you" (1 Kings 19:20b). In this story from 1 Kings, Elijah gives his permission. He agrees that it's only right for the newly chosen prophet to say farewell to his family before he leaves to take up his new occupation. On the contrary, Jesus will not allow this man so much as a thought about all this. Jesus draws the line in the sand and tells the man that he has to make a decision then and there whether or not he's going to work for God's kingdom. "No one who puts a hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:62). Now, I'm not a farmer, but as a matter of fact, I know that it's impossible to plow a straight row if you're always looking back over your shoulder when you should be looking ahead. Or in more modern terms, it's difficult to arrive at your destination if you're always looking in the rearview mirror. Determination, not just enthusiasm is required to proclaim the gospel of Christ.
When we look at these stories about Jesus and rejection, we can see a common thread running throughout. Jesus knew how to accept rejection and move on. When faced with opposition, he went to another village and preached there. He did not just say, "I quit." Jesus found a way to move on. While the rejections we experience are rarely as intense as the ones Jesus had to face, nonetheless, in our everyday lives, each of us has to decide what we're going to do with the rejections that come to us. In a word, we have to move on. And when we do, we are following Jesus, whether we know it or not.