Jeremiah 11
Rejected and Despised!
Good morning! This is Pastor Jerry Ingalls from New Castle First Baptist Church and today is Thursday, March 28.
Jesus was rejected and despised by the people of Nazareth, the hometown in which He grew up. In Matthew 13:57, Jesus said to those who took offense at His ministry, “A prophet is not without honor except in his hometown and in his own household.” They could not believe that the man who had grown up amongst them was called to be a prophet, nevertheless, was the Son of God. Because of their unbelief, His hometown missed the blessing of God’s visitation (58).
Jesus’ response to Nazareth harkened back to the ancient prophets, illustrated by Jeremiah’s experience with his hometown of Anathoth, described in Jeremiah 11:20-23:
But, O Lord of hosts, who judges righteously, Who tries the feelings and the heart, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You have I committed my cause. Therefore thus says the Lord concerning the men of Anathoth, who seek your life, saying, “Do not prophesy in the name of the Lord, so that you will not die at our hand”; therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Behold, I am about to punish them! The young men will die by the sword, their sons and daughters will die by famine; and a remnant will not be left to them, for I will bring disaster on the men of Anathoth – the year of their punishment.”
The people of Jeremiah’s hometown sought to kill him. It is one thing to be attacked by outsiders; it’s a completely different experience to be rejected and despised by the very people you were called to rescue from the coming wrath. His response to such betrayal foreshadowed that of Jesus Christ: Jeremiah committed Himself and the cause to which He was called to God, the righteous Judge of humanity.
God bless you!
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YOUTUBE:
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