Who Are You Rejecting?

Enjoying the hospitality of a meal at our daughter's
home in England. 

Scripture:

Luke 10:⁸ Whenever you enter a town and its people welcome you, eat what is set before you; ⁹ cure the sick who are there, and say to them, ‘The kingdom of God has come near to you.’ ¹⁰ But whenever you enter a town and they do not welcome you, go out into its streets and say, ¹¹ ‘Even the dust of your town that clings to our feet, we wipe off in protest against you. Yet know this: the kingdom of God has come near.’ ¹² I tell you, on that day it will be more tolerable for Sodom than for that town.

Luke 10:13    “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. ¹⁴ But at the judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you. ¹⁵ And you, Capernaum,

will you be exalted to heaven?

No, you will be brought down to Hades.

Luke 10:16   “Whoever listens to you listens to me, and whoever rejects you rejects me, and whoever rejects me rejects the one who sent me.”

Observation:

The seventy who are sent out are to practice hospitality and presence. Hospitality is not just the work of the host, but also the response of the guest. To be a hospitable guest you are to eat what is placed before you. There is to be an attitude or a spirit of gratitude among those who minister in the name of Christ. Filled with the power of the Spirit, the disciples are to cure the sick and make the connection that this has to do with the nearness of the kingdom of God. 

The most notorious city in the Old Testament that showed no hospitality was Sodom. The reputation of that city stung in the nostrils of the people of God. Therefore, for Jesus to make a comparison of God’s people to those cities was horrifying. He brought home the point when he said that the rejection of God’s messengers is a rejection of God himself. 

Application:

When we begin to really follow Jesus, we discover how counter-cultural he is. The expectation for Christ-followers is to go and spread the good news about Jesus. However, when we begin to really share who Jesus is, there will be those who will reject us, and in this way, they will also reject him. 

Years ago my husband and a group of young people from some of our universities in the US went on a mission trip to Siberia. The plan was for them to travel on a boat up the Ob river, stopping at different villages to tell them about Jesus. For many of these places, they would not have heard the gospel preached for the 70 years of communist rule. When they would pull up to the shores of the river the people of the village would run out to meet them. He said it felt like something straight out of the Bible. Excited to hear what they had to say, they were invited into the village center where they told people about Jesus — some for the very first time. Chuck said it was a humbling experience and a bit overwhelming at the same time. The people showed hospitality and were eager to learn all that they could.

At the same time, I’ve sat with a group of long-term believers who were anything but hospitable. Maybe they had become too busy to spend much time with the Lord, or somewhere along the way they had stopped growing in their faith. Their anger and bitterness was worn like an old jacket and covered any bit of welcome that may have been present. The conversations were self-centered, focusing on what they could get out of things, but hardly ever was there a mention of becoming like Jesus. The conversations around Jesus were met with frustration as they really wanted to talk about themselves. Who were they rejecting? Maybe they were rejecting me, but could it have been that they were rejecting Jesus too? 

But now I have to examine myself. When have I been less than hospitable? None of us are comfortable with penetrating conversations that may lead to conviction about attitudes or actions. When I reject those individuals and the conversations, then I may be rejecting Jesus as well. 

Hospitality is a two-way street, where each plays their part, either as the host or the guest. Rejecting either role, could result in rejecting the Lord. 

Prayer:

Lord, fill my heart with an attitude of hospitality. Help me be willing to accept those whom you send into my life. Amen.