You’ve probably heard a list of books and movie scripts that were rejected numerous times before going on to be published or produced and become some of the most successful of all time. In fact, few and far between are the success stories that were not preceded by some level of rejection. Chicken Soup for the Soul, anyone? It was reportedly rejected 144 times before being published and developed into multiple series and even a cookbook. Authors like James Patterson, Stephen King, John Grisham, and even Dr. Seuss were all repeatedly rejected before their first book was ever published. The Help was rejected 60 times before being published and then eventually developed into a popular movie. The same is true of a good number of initially unpopular movie scripts that went on to enjoy wild success: Back to the Future, Star Wars, and Raiders of the Lost Ark, to name a few.
If only book manuscripts and movie scripts were all that ever got rejected! Unfortunately, every one of us knows that isn’t the case. We’ve all faced rejection. We’ve faced it in our relationships in general and even within our own families. We’ve faced rejection in the workplace. We’ve faced rejection in athletic competition, in the classroom – sadly, we may even have experienced it in one way or another in the church. Rejection is everywhere. And while it may be common, that doesn’t make it sting any less when we experience it. Rejection can be crushing.
Jesus told a parable about rejection in the Gospel of Luke. In that parable, one by one, each of the three servants sent to the vineyard was rejected. Then, as a last resort, even the son himself was rejected – and on a much more serious level, even being murdered by the tenants! After that, the final act of rejection was the vineyard owner, who turned the table on the tenants and rejected them, the very same tenants who had previously rejected his servants and his son.
The meaning of the parable was quite clear to the religious know-it-alls hearing Jesus tell it, which Luke described. “The teachers of the law and the chief priests looked for a way to arrest him immediately because they knew he had spoken this parable against them” (v.19). A student of the Scriptures familiar with Israelite history naturally sees how Jesus’ parable played out in the Old Testament. Throughout various stages of Israel’s history, the Lord sent prophet after prophet to his people to turn their eyes and hearts away from the distractions of the world and back to him. And prophet after prophet was rejected. Finally, the Lord sent his own Son into the world; the irony of course being that he was the very one speaking the words of this parable to them. Ultimately that very week, no less, they would put him to death. Jesus made sure the point of the parable hit home by forcing his listeners to see in him the fulfillment of the very well-known Psalm 118, “The stone the builder rejected has become the cornerstone.” The theme of rejection dominates Jesus’ parable on this occasion.
Question: who is the one being rejected? Yes, Psalm 118 is an obvious reference to Jesus, who is clearly the Son in the parable. But, if we go back to the parable, who is it who really bore the brunt of rejection from the outset? Isn’t it the vineyard owner? Remember it was his vineyard, his servants, and his son who were rejected. Ultimately then, the rejection was aimed at the Lord, God the Father.
And no one has ever or will ever face more rejection than the Lord God. Fresh off the finish of his flawless creation, what was God faced with? Rejection from Adam & Eve, who opted for the serpent’s deception over grateful obedience. Fast forward to the Flood, where rejection of God had become so widespread that only Noah and his family were spared from its consequences. The escape from Egypt and entrance into the land of milk and honey prepared for them was a journey marked by rebellion and rejection of God and his chosen leaders. Kings were then raised up, the majority of whom rejected the Lord who had established them. Prophets were then sent on rescue mission after rescue mission and were repeatedly rejected, just as Jesus depicted in his parable. Finally, Jesus himself was rejected in the most shocking manner imaginable, which we focus on more acutely next week during Holy Week. The One again on the receiving end of all of this rejection? The Lord God himself!
Thankfully all that rejection has finally come to a close in this New Testament era of the Church’s history! What a relief it must be for God to finally get a break from a history riddled with rejection; for his people, for Christians, for you and me, to finally move beyond that and blaze a new path – one of rejoicing instead of rejection! After all, we are believers – we are not like the ones Jesus was rebuking in his parable, for we have not rejected him and turned away from him in unbelief!
But… is unbelief a requirement for rejection, or can believers reject him, too? You know the answer because your guilty heart turns you in. The bigger question is whether or not we can actually even come close to keeping track of the number of times we have rejected him! When I am faced with a choice to do this or that, I not only choose the one option, but I am also rejecting the other! Every Sunday morning you wake up and you have a choice to do an endless number of things… or you can choose to gather for worship. When you choose the other options, what, or rather who are you rejecting? When you are faced with the choice of the social media scroll or quiet time in the Word and the Word remains closed, what, or rather who was rejected? When you are accepting of sin for the sake of keeping the peace instead of lovingly, patiently, gently – or firmly – pointing out what God’s Word says about it, what, or rather who was rejected? See how frequently we are the tenants in the vineyard, rejecting the owner, rejecting the Lord!
Do not think those little rejections don’t add up over time. Did you suppose the tenants had an easy time of it when they beat up the first servant sent to them? Perhaps not, but I suppose it got easier and easier each time. Look at the end result of the workers in the vineyard. Prudence was gone. All reluctance went out the window. There was no voice among them saying, “Hey guys, maybe we should think twice about this.” At that point, they were so far removed from a proper sense of right and wrong that murdering the son seemed to be an entirely justifiable action to feed their entitlement and greed.
One instance of rejection cracks open the door just a bit, making it a little easier to push on the door some more until eventually it’s all the way open and walking through it is the next natural step. So one missed Sunday cracks open the door to another missed Sunday, then two missed Sundays pushes the door open a bit more so that not being in church is actually more natural and normalized than being in church. But what did we think was going to happen when all those rejections of Jesus here and there added up over time?
Here’s another reason it’s so dangerous: rejecting isn’t just rejecting; it’s replacing. Another influence or interest will fill that vacuum left by our rejection of the Lord in one way or another. So it isn’t just about what we’re missing when we reject the Lord so easily in so many ways; it’s also realizing that we’re replacing him with something else.
And guess who’s prowling like a lion ready to pounce into his place? The evil one. Not only are we not being filled with the Spirit, but we are being filled with the unspiritual. We are providing the evil one with an added opportunity to cement his influence and thinking on us.
Don’t miss the terrifying outcome of that scenario! Jesus asked his listeners what the owner would do to those tenants, and then he answered his own question: “He will come and kill those tenants and give the vineyard to others.” When the people heard this, they said, “God forbid!” (v.16). God forbid, indeed! God, the Vineyard Owner, finally turned over his vineyard to others. The Jewish people rejected the Lord enough and he turned it over to the Gentiles.
The warning for us? We have no right to Christ and Church, to God and his grace, so mishandle it, abuse it, ignore it – all at your own risk, for what has been entrusted to us can just as easily be taken away and given to another. We Christians are not immune to the long-term impact of a life filled with repeated rejections of the Lord. That is why Jesus quoted Psalm 118 to warn us: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone’? Everyone who falls on that stone will be broken to pieces; anyone on whom it falls will be crushed.” (v.17b-18).
However, brothers and sisters in Christ, do not be surprised at the ease and regularity with which we reject the Lord; rather, be surprised at how he decided to respond in the face of that rejection. Appreciate even more that he gave his Son to a world ripe with rejection. He gave his Son for everyone who rejected him. He gave his Son for you and me.
And then he rejected his Son. For you and me. He turned away from the Son, removing his grace and favor from him while he endured the crushing weight of our sinful rejection and our hellish suffering. He rejected the Son while he suffered hell so that he wouldn’t have to reject us while we suffer hell. He crushed rejection and all of its damning consequences.
The rebellious mistreatment and rejection that the Lord and his representatives endured was not enough to deter him from sending his Son; neither was a lack of remorse or repentance! He sent Jesus anyway, not hoping he would live, but knowing full well that he would not. That he had to die.
Next week is holy week, where the Church has the opportunity to focus acutely on the Father’s rejection of his Son. Next week we see how determined Jesus was to crush our rejection. Stay tuned for the most holy week of the year! Process once again into Jerusalem with Jesus on Palm Sunday. Step into the upper room with him for the Last Supper, where he gave his body and blood to promise he hadn’t rejected us. Follow him to the cross with humble and repentant hearts to see what rejection looks like, to see the price he paid on Good Friday to crush sin, to crush death, to crush Satan, and to crush rejection.