Jesus Knows Suffering, and He Rescues Us

When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.  And they rose up and drove him out of the town. LUKE 4:28–29 ESV 

I was raised in a one-parent home. 

That situation doesn’t necessarily mean a life of rejection, but for me it did. My dad struggled to love me or even talk to me, and when I was around other kids my age, I never fit in. I hadn’t learned the basic skills of how to start and maintain a friendship at home, and that carried over to school. I wanted to be liked and to have friends, but I didn’t know how. 

Instead, I mostly stayed quiet. Sometimes I literally stood in the corner! It seemed like every time I took a tiny risk, like asking if I could eat lunch with a few kids, everything went south. The more popular kids—which, to be honest, was basically every other kid at school—would either shut me down or taunt me. 

It wasn’t until I became a firefighter at the age of eighteen that I began to come out of my shell. It was a slow transformation. Being surrounded by a team of like-minded people who wanted what I wanted—to serve and save people—helped a ton, but I still had a painfully long journey. 

That background is why, when I became a Christian, I immediately understood how much Jesus already identified with me. He was the ultimate outcast. He completely understood what it meant to be rejected. 

The events in today’s verse happened in Jesus’s hometown synagogue, but it wasn’t His last rejection. He was abandoned or cast out time and time again. 

Sometimes it was respected religious leaders who rejected Him. Sometimes it was normal folks, and sometimes it was even His friends and family. The one person in all of history who should never have been rejected instead experienced nearly constant rejection. 

Which we can be thankful for. Since Jesus understands rejection and suffering, He understands us. 

Takeaway: Instead of letting rejection tear you down, lean into Jesus, the ultimate outcast, and let Him build you up. 

Prayer: Jesus, thank You for being my example of how to handle the struggles that come from feeling like an outcast. When I am rejected, You are all I need. 

This is an excerpt from Jesus is All We Need by Jason Sautel – a devotional now available for pre-order on DaySpring.com. Shop all books, journals, and devotions from DaySpring here.