JESUS FEELS REJECTION

So Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you want to go away as well?”  Simon Peter answered him, “To whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.”  John 6:67-68

This passage highlights Peter’s amazing confession of faith in the midst of vast unbelief.  This morning though, I wondered about what was going on inside of Jesus, not Peter.  Did he feel the rejection of the crowd?  Was he hurt that most everyone turned away?  Did He have to go to His Father in prayer for comfort?  Did he cry?  If this seems like a stretch, what kind of a person could enjoy the warm enthusiasm of a group, a group made up of acquaintances and friends, and then feel nothing when they decided to turn their backs on him?  No one I know.  

If I had the ability to create a person and invested my whole heart as I tenderly made him, then I revealed myself to that ‘person’ as their creator, I believe I would be heartbroken to experience his rejection.  It would hurt deeply.

As Jesus watched the crowd walk away, and as he looked into the face of his twelve, I can imagine how Peter’s words seemed like a perfectly chosen balm for the wound He had just experienced.  There was so much between the lines in Peter’s response.  We won’t know for sure exactly what he was thinking but Jesus knew.  Maybe Peter thought, “Your words about eating your flesh are not clear to me either.  I am struggling like everyone else but faith means trusting you even when your words are hard.”

If I have walked with Jesus for a while, I will know the dilemma presented here.  I will have experienced the hard words of Jesus, both in scripture, and in prayer as His Spirit takes what I read and applies it with a sword to my own issues.  I have looked into the mirror of the Word and seen disfigurement.  At that point, there can be a temptation to walk away, rest on a literal salvation, and put some emotional distance between Jesus and me.  Two things happen if I make that choice.  1.) I miss out on transformation, and 2.) Jesus feels the rejection of my disbelief.  How aware am I that I have the power to inflict pain on my Savior?  Do I really believe that I can choose to sift His words according to what is convenient for me to believe and obey without causing hurt?  Every time I ignore a hard word because I decide the cost is too great, Jesus feels that.

Just as he feels rejection, He feels my worship.  What is it like for him to hear from me, upon awaking in the morning, “Today is yours.  You are my bread and I live by every word of your mouth.” I believe He feels the embrace and sighs with pleasure.  Each of us can choose to be a Peter and stick closer than a brother.

There are times I wanted to go away, and did.  You have graced me with more grit today.  Only by your strength, I have faith when I don’t understand everything.   Amen