I’m almost to the point where I’m anxious to open my email inbox. Because concealed within the sweet subject lines thanking me for my time are the black and white lines of rejection that remind me of all the other people who are more desirable than me—someone whose skills are more wanted than mine. Even if I check off all the boxes, prep hours for the interviews, and say everything right, I still fall short of being selected as the “perfect candidate.”
Despite the sugar-coated niceties, nothing can truly prepare you for the blow these rejection emails can do to your self-esteem. And even though I know myself better than letting someone’s 30-minute Zoom interaction define my worth, I’d be lying if I said it didn’t sting a little. Rejection cunningly invades our lives and convinces us of false narratives that we aren’t good enough. This failure to be chosen is always an octave too loud. It seems to advertise itself on public billboards for everyone to see. We can fall into believing that the unwanted parts of us are the only parts people consider, and the best parts of us are too often overlooked.
I’m not immune to the nip of rejection’s cold heart. It can leave us feeling alone, abandoned, and underappreciated. Disregarded and glossed over. Rejection is indifferent to our complex feelings and doesn’t care about plowing into our confidence. It exhausts our reserves for filling our cups and guides us down the dark, desolate roads of self-pity. Despair designates our guest list, with invitations going out to Desperation, Negativity, and Criticism, forbidding Hope and Optimism from having a seat at the table.
Rejection relishes in our dejected spirits and has an insatiable appetite for discouraging us. It deprives us of enjoying the little things that happen all around us every day. It keeps us from spending too much time in the company of joy and delight. Rejection doesn’t want us to experience what’s on the other side of facing it.
But rejection isn’t just something you and I experience today. The Bible is full of stories laced with rejection. Hagar was rejected by Sarah and fled to the desert. Joseph was rejected by his brothers. Jesus, too, was subjected to the merciless hand of rejection throughout his short life on Earth.
In Hebrews 4:15-16, we are reminded that Jesus knows what we’re up against in a sin-filled world. He knows what we face daily. He knows how we hurt. He knows how much we long for a pain-free existence.
“For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need”.
When Jesus came to Earth to cover our sins with his sacrifice, God knew His son would have to endure a life of suffering. Jesus was tempted. He was betrayed. He was wrongly accused. And He was certainly rejected.
He was rejected by people who hated and despised Him. He was rejected by people who loved Him and knew Him. Even for a moment, He faced the turning away of His Father. Jesus knows rejection personally. He’s spent time in the depths of rejection’s callousness. His scars tell stories of the brutality of rejection’s sting.
In John 7:5, “For even His brothers did not believe in Him.” Jesus knew the world would hate Him for testifying against the evil that prevailed, but He was also placed in situations where His close companions would turn their backs on Him. Similarly, we find in Matthew 13:57 that Jesus was rejected in His hometown of Nazareth. “So they were offended at Him.”
The most infamously known betrayal was that of Judas Iscariot. In John 13:21, “When Jesus had said these things, He was troubled in spirit, and testified and said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, one of you will betray Me.” Even though Jesus knew Judas would betray Him, it caused turmoil deep within His spirit. We are given a glimpse of His humanity here. No one, not even Jesus, wants to endure the painful ending of a deep friendship. The kind of rejection that cuts close to the heart. We’ve all dealt with failed relationships and friendships and, as a result, have felt the sharp pang of the blade of betrayal getting close to where it hurts the most.
On the same night, found in John 13, Jesus predicted the denial of one of His best friends, Peter. In verse 38, “Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for My sake? Most assuredly, I say to you, the rooster shall not crow till you have denied Me three times.” Not only would Jesus face the betrayal of one of the twelve apostles, but He also foreshadowed Peter’s denial of knowing Him, not once, but three separate times.
On the night of His arrest, Jesus faced the reality of what was coming next. “His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). Jesus knew the pain He was about to endure. The barbaric acts that awaited Him. The ruthlessness of the people who wanted Him crucified.
The death of Christ and what it achieved for us can never be repaid. His sacrifice became our gateway to eternal life. However, when we think about Christ’s death, we often consider all the immeasurable things it did for us and, in the process, sometimes overlook what it did to Him.
In Matthew 27:46, “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”
The word forsaken means to be abandoned or deserted.
To be left behind.
Cast aside.
Stranded.
Disowned.
Rejected.
These were some of the last recorded words of Jesus. Words that suggested the anguish that dwelt within His spirit. The torture that this moment of separation from His Father caused is captured in each cry. The constant communication between Jesus and God is displayed throughout the retelling of Christ’s life so that we can understand how much it meant that the Father’s love covered Jesus.
But on the cross, it was the stain of our sins that covered Jesus instead.
Right before the temple’s veil was torn in two, there was a moment forever marked—a moment torn by love. The love God has for us was what painfully held His only begotten Son on the Cross of Calvary. It was Jesus’ love for mankind that ascended His cries of abandonment before His last breath. It was the withdrawal of the Father’s love for a moment as His Son hung from the nails that pierced His hands that has now become a passageway into eternal life for all who choose to carry the daily cross of Christ.
A moment of rejection for everlasting acceptance.
God didn’t answer Jesus when He felt forsaken. God didn’t bail Jesus out when He was betrayed. God didn’t remove the prick of rejection from Jesus’ last hours on Earth. We can’t mistake God’s lack of intervention as His lack of love. It was His overflowing love for you and me that allowed God to leave His Son without it long enough for the plan for Salvation to be completed.
So, as I sit here reflecting on the moments when Jesus felt cast out and alone, I now realize that it was those exact moments that led to my deliverance and vindication.
Jesus’ rejection on Earth is what redeems me from my earthly sin. Only God can redefine rejection and reclaim its power over our lives. We may ask, “Why me?” as we go through situations that cause us to wonder about our worth, but we will never have to ask God, “Why have you forsaken me?”
Jesus already did. And because of what He sacrificed on the Cross, we are clothed with the confidence that God will never leave us.