40 Days of the Cross: Day 36

Hello, and welcome to the eighth week and the thirty-sixth day of our “40 days of the cross” series. Each day we are taking just a few minutes to look at a word which will help us better understand the meaning of the cross. 

Today’s word is rejected. Throughout the ministry of Jesus, the Son of God faced rejection. On the eastern side of the Galilee, Jesus healed a demon possessed man. The people from the surrounding communities pleaded with Jesus to leave their land. When Jesus was in Nazareth, the town He grew up in, the town was so upset by the things He said that they wanted to throw Him over a cliff! 

I have a friend who has stood on that cliff and he tells me, it’s a long, long way to the bottom. In the events that led to the cross, Jesus faced yet another rejection. When the Roman governor offered to release a prisoner to the people of Jerusalem, he offered them either Jesus or the murderer Barabbas. And as Jesus looked out upon the people He loved, He heard them cry, “We want Barrabas.”
 

The ultimate rejection was a call for Jesus to be crucified. A call for Jesus to die upon the cross. The cross was symbol of the rejection of Jesus. But Jesus had told the Pharisees a parable about the rejection of the cross. In Matthew 21, Jesus tells them the story of a vineyard owner who leased out his vineyard to tenant farmers. When the time came for the owner to receive his share of the crop, he sent his servants to collect, but instead of paying their fair share, the tenants killed the servants. 

Finally, the owner sent his own son to collect. But the tenants rejected the son and killed him too. Then Jesus asked the Pharisees what the owner should do to those tenants. The Pharisees said that the owner should put the tenants to a miserable death. But this is how Jesus responded in verse 42, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: ‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes?’”
 

Yes, the cross is a symbol of rejection. But this is a rejection that God used as the cornerstone to build His Kingdom. The rejection of Jesus led to the cross, and the cross led to our acceptance by God. His rejection leads to our acceptance. It is because of the cross that we do not have to worry about being rejected by God. Because of the cross we no longer have to fear being disconnected from God the Father. Because of Jesus on the cross, we are reconnected. We’ll talk more about reconnection next time. 

After we pray today, I encourage you to meditate upon the idea of the rejection that Jesus faced which led to the cross, and how that led to our acceptance. 

Heavenly Father, I am brought into Your Kingdom because Your Son was rejected, rejected even to the point of dying on the cross. Thank you for that sacrifice. Let me stand in confidence when I am rejected by men for Your sake. For You are my example. In the name of Jesus, amen. 

Thanks for listening/reading today. Please take some time to think about how the rejection of Jesus by men led to the cross.   Continued