Rejection Proof

Rejection Proof

Introduction - Jai Jang is an author and speaker who realized he had a problem with responding negatively to rejection and after he read a book on rejection therapy, set out to conquer his fear of rejection by embracing rejection intentionally for 100 days. On day 1 one he asked a random stranger to borrow $100, on day 2 he asked for a burger refill at Five Guys, on day 3 at Krispy Kreme he asked them to make a donut that looked like the olympic rings, this time they actually did it! He Wrote a book, Rejection Proof, to share his observations of how rejection is not all that bad and in fact can cause us to learn and grow. His secret is seeing rejection and yourself differently. 

You know, as much as we try to avoid rejection in our lives, or as good as we can get about surviving rejection the more important question is how do you respond to Jesus. When Jesus says “follow me” what is your response? Do we reject Jesus?

Few in history have experienced as much rejection as the Son of God. In our passage today in Mark 11 and 12 we will witness the reality that Jesus is rejection proof. As much as anyone tried to deplatform him, to stump him, confuse him, or cancel him. Jesus will inevitably only silence you. No man can stop His kingdom from breaking through. He silences all who oppose Him, because he is King of kings, and Lord of lords. Even those who rejected Him and crucified Him will stand before Him. Jesus is rejection proof. 

They believe that they are rejecting Him, slamming the door on Him, but in reality by doing so they are the ones who are left outside the house. The new house and kingdom that God was building through His Son.  

Remember Context: Triumphal entry, clearing temple, cursing the fig tree because it did not bear fruit. 

I. The Prophecy of Jesus (Mark 12:1-12)

And he began to speak to them in parables. “A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for the winepress and built a tower, and leased it to tenants and went into another country. 2 When the season came, he sent a servant to the tenants to get from them some of the fruit of the vineyard. 3 And they took him and beat him and sent him away empty-handed. 4 Again he sent to them another servant, and they struck him on the head and treated him shamefully. 5 And he sent another, and him they killed. And so with many others: some they beat, and some they killed. 6 He had still one other, a beloved son. Finally he sent him to them, saying, ‘They will respect my son.’ 7 But those tenants said to one another, ‘This is the heir. Come, let us kill him, and the inheritance will be ours.’ 8 And they took him and killed him and threw him out of the vineyard. 9 What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others. 10 Have you not read this Scripture: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; 11 this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?” 12 And they were seeking to arrest him but feared the people, for they perceived that he had told the parable against them. So they left him and went away.

1. Here, Jesus tells a prophetic parable.  Jesus, in this parable, is predicting exactly what will happen in His rejection.
2. Who is who?
• The vineyard owner represents God > He did everything! 
• Servants are the prophets - Isaiah, Jeremiah
• Son is no other than Jesus. They (will) kill him! 
3. But look at verse 9, “What will the owner of the vineyard do? He will come and destroy the tenants and give the vineyard to others.”
4. This parable, though describing the Rejection of the Son, actually emphasizes the Rejection of the Tenants! We know how the story will end. The Son rises from the dead. But a new house is being built. A new cornerstone has been established in the Lord Jesus Christ, and on this rock will be built the church. 

• And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!” 2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” Mark 13

1. In this parable, Jesus warns of the consequence of trying to reject Him. If you refuse to bow the knee to Jesus as Lord, it is you who will be rejected. You can only enter His House on His terms. 
2. What have you done with Jesus? If you think about it, everything in our lives is a gift from God. We are working in His fields, His vineyards. Do we see Him as our master? The owner of all that we have? When Jesus returns will we hear “well done good and faithful servant?” Or will we hang our heads in shame, having lived our lives for ourselves. The owner will return…
3. Obviously, in primary view here is the rejection of Jesus by the Jewish religious establishment and in the surrounding passage, Mark gives us four examples of their rejection but in each case in their attempt to challenge or reject Him, they are SILENCED by the Son.

II. The Rejection of Jesus (11:27-33; 12:13-34)

• First, Jesus Silences Religious Authority (11:27-33)

  • The chief priests were a high-ranking priests in the Jewish temple, while the high priest was the chief of the chief priests:
  • “Scribes” were highly educated men who studied the Scriptures and served as copyists, editors, teachers, and jurists.”
  • "Elders" were civic leaders in Jewish towns and cities. Older, rich men who were often successful businessmen. They judged legal cases and witnessed financial transactions
  • “By what authority are you doing these things, or who gave you this authority to do them?” Mark 11:28
  • Jesus had just cleansed the temple. He was teaching with authority & they ask “what gives you the right?” Asks about John the Baptist (no response). Was not a legitimate question a battle for power. 
  • Jesus Silences Religious Authority. Many reject Jesus because they do not want to secede control. They don’t want Jesus to come into their lives and flip over some tables

• Secondly, Jesus Silences His Enemies (12:13-17)

  • And they sent to him some of the Pharisees and some of the Herodians, to trap him in his talk. Mark 12:13
  • “Pharisees” religious sect who emphasized strict adherence to both written and oral law, but their practices often focused on external observances rather than genuine faith.
  • “Herodians” were a group of wealthy Jewish people who supported Herod Antipas, the tetrarch of Galilee and Peraea. They were tolerant of Roman authority and favored the policies of Herod Antipas.
  • This group is not just questioning His authority, they are actively opposing Him, seeking to TRAP him. “Is it lawful to pay taxes to Caesar, or not?” - “We got him!” 
  • Silences those who oppose Him. Are you rebelling against Jesus? 
  • “Marveled at Him” 

• Third, Jesus Silences the Skeptics (12:18-27)

  • Sadducees were more secular, denied the afterlife (supernatural), and held significant political power due to their aristocratic status
  • These religious leaders are skeptical of Jesus' teaching. “I have to see it to believe it!”  They valued the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Bible, and many taught that only these books were authoritative. THERE IS NO RESURRECTION!
  • How does he respond? He quotes from Exodus where God reveals Himself as I AM who I AM, I am the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob…The God of the living. These patriarchs still ARE, they have not ceased to exist…
  • You see, the Sadducees were rejecting the teachings of Jesus and the works of Jesus… remember, Jesus had already raised Lazarus from the dead less than a week earlier! And He said “I am the resurrection and the life, whoever believes in me though he die yet shall he live!” 
  • He silences them with their own words and teachings. 

• Last, Jesus Silences the Intellectuals (12:28-34)

  • “And after that no one dared to ask him any more questions.” Mark 12:34
  • The Scribe - well-respected. Let’s send in the expert. “What’s the greatest comm.?
  • Jesus answers from Deut. 6 - “love the Lord….” Scribe says, “you are right!”
  • “You are not far from the Kingdom of God.” Jesus praises His theological understanding. But notice He didn’t say, “You are already in the kingdom of God.” The scribe had not yet decided what to do with Jesus. 
  • Mere intellectual, sound theology is not good enough, even the demons believe in God and they fear Him James says, will you bow the knee to Jesus?! Thinking of Him as a good teacher, a prophet of God is not good enough. 
  • None have said it better than C.S. Lewis when he said… “I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: I’m ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don’t accept his claim to be God. That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic—on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg—or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God, or else a madman or something worse. You can shut him up for a fool, you can spit at him and kill him as a demon or you can fall at his feet and call him Lord and God, but let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about his being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us.” (Mere Christianity, 55-56)
  • He is Lord! The scribe was close, but acknowledging Jesus as a truthful teacher is different than acknowledging Him as the way, THE TRUTH, and the life. 
• After Jesus’ response this mob of skeptics, enemies, and religion authorities are quieted!
• The establishment rejected Jesus, to their own folly.
• What is our response to Jesus? We can look down on these groups as lacking faith

III. The Lordship of Jesus (12:35-44)

• 35 And as Jesus taught in the temple, he said, “How can the scribes say that the Christ is the son of David? 36 David himself, in the Holy Spirit, declared, “‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at my right hand, until I put your enemies under your feet.”’ 37 David himself calls him Lord. So how is he his son?” And the great throng heard him gladly. Mark 12:35-37
• Do you not yet see who I am? You oppose me? You reject me? Don’t you see that I am the Son of David, the Son of God. The Messiah, the Christ. To whom every knee will bow and every tongue confess. 
• The one who will ascend to right hand of the Father, and have all the enemies placed under his feet? And you reject Him? You can’t reject Him. HE IS LORD. No matter how you respond to Jesus He is still Lord. 
  • I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and her offspring; he shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise his heel.” Genesis 3:15
• Scribes…symbolic of all of the religious - “They will receive the greater condemnation.”
• Contrast with the widow who gives 2 small copper coins…“Truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the offering box. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.” Mark 12:43-44
• I don’t have much to bring but all I have is yours! She gets it. You tithe out of your abundance as if you can by the favor of God but don’t love me. You reject God’s own Son! Is Jesus the cornerstone of your life?
• “Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.” Matthew 5:3

How do you respond to Jesus?

• Do you question His authority? 
• Do you oppose Him? Justify your beliefs or decisions by rejecting His authority? His Word?
• Do you question His teaching? Do you trust Him at His Word?
• Do you doubt Him or is He your source of truth?

Jesus is rejection proof. You may push him to the side but one day you will kneel before Him for none can stand before the King of kings, and the Lord of lords. He silences them all. 

The irony was the rejection of the Son was God’s plan all along, so that rejectors might become redeemed. 

Isaiah 53 - He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief….But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Jesus came to save those who would reject Him. Let’s give thanks that the rejected Son became our Savior, and He sits at the right hand of God to make intercession for sinners like you and like me.