The cross above Good Shepherd Chapel

Day

16

Facing Rejection

Lent 2020

Read Mark 6:7-29

7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, "Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them." 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them. 14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus' name had become known. Some said, "John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him." 15 But others said, "He is Elijah." And others said, "He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old." 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, "John, whom I beheaded, has been raised." 17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip's wife, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, "It is not lawful for you to have your brother's wife." 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly. 21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias's daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, "Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you." 23 And he vowed to her, "Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom." 24 And she went out and said to her mother, "For what should I ask?" And she said, "The head of John the Baptist." 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, "I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter." 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John's head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.

On the heels of the story of Jesus being rejected by his hometown, we now hear a story of ultimate rejection. John the Baptist, already imprisoned, is gruesomely put to death because his call to repentance hit a little too close to home and brewed contempt in Herodias.

Sandwiched between these two stories of rejection, Jesus sends out the disciples to preach the same message of repentance. In his instructions to the twelve, Jesus gives direction on how to respond when the message is rejected by some. His disciples are to be prepared to be met with rejection. At times we may get discouraged as we walk that road of sharing the message of repentance and the good news of Jesus Christ, but are met with rejection or slow response. It may cause us to wonder what we are doing wrong, or maybe even to question the power of the gospel.

Mark’s gospel reminds us that we should expect rejection. The disciples were rejected, John the Baptist was rejected, and Jesus himself was rejected. But we have the benefit of looking back and seeing harvests of those gospel seeds that have produced generations of Christians, saved by God’s grace because they heard the gospel.

Prayer

Lord, give us courage to share your Word to a dying world in these uncertain times. Open hearts to repentance and faith in the gospel. Amen.1

1 Prayer taken from the Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis, MO: Concordia Publishing House, 2009) 1667 N. Mark 6:7-13.

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