Did Jesus reject anyone who desired Him?

[Guest LadyC]

in another thread, this allegation was made. when the allegation was challenged, the suggestion was made to start a new thread to discuss it. i wasn't part of that disagreement, but i figured i'd start the thread and let the discussion get rolling.

 

so.... if you believe that Jesus ever turned away anyone who wanted to follow Him, please share why you believe that and back it up with scripture. it's past time to study this and gain a new understanding.

[ayin jade]

Seek and you will find. 

 

 

I believe that those who truly desire the Lord will find Him. But I think many who claim to desire the Lord do so for poor reasons and will not find Him this way.

[OakWood]

I don't think he ever rejected anybody, but he did play a game with the disciples when the Canaanite woman approached him. He appeared to reject her at first but only to show his disciples that the gift of salvation was for everybody and not just Jews. I think he wanted them to understand this so he did it their way at first to show them that they were wrong.

[ncn]

Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me.

[OneLight]

My answer is still the same.

 

Jesus never turned anyone away. He did send them on a mission other than what they were asking about. One example, in Mark 5, we read about the man who was possessed by a legion of demons. Jesus cast them out, into the swine. When the people told Jesus to leave, the man who was possessed wanted to go with Him. Jesus sent him on another mission, to spread what Jesus did for him.

[Guest shiloh357]

Jesus never rejected anyone, per se.

 

There were three in Luke 9 who requested to be Jesus' disciples, but He knew which ones were called to be His disciples and which one's werent.  He didn't reject them in terms of salvation, but He did deny them a particular aspect of service.

[kwikphilly]

Blessings Lady C.....

 

Rev 3:20  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him and he with Me.                                                                                                                                                    posted by ncn

       Anyone means anyone,so no he did not & will not

 

John 3:16New International Version (NIV)

16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

     And whosoever means whosoever................................                                            With love-in Christ,Kwik

[Guest LadyC]

thanks for the input kwik! for the record, i'm in total agreement. God so loved ALL the world that He didn't desire for anybody to perish, but that all should have eternal life. to me that is proof enough that He wouldn't reject anybody who sought him. 

 

the person who made the allegation otherwise hasn't ventured into this thread yet.

[a-seeker]

in another thread, this allegation was made. when the allegation was challenged, the suggestion was made to start a new thread to discuss it. i wasn't part of that disagreement, but i figured i'd start the thread and let the discussion get rolling.

 

so.... if you believe that Jesus ever turned away anyone who wanted to follow Him, please share why you believe that and back it up with scripture. it's past time to study this and gain a new understanding.

 

Actually that was not the allegation.

 

I used the term "reject" of man's (I am removing the specific individual on whom this topic centered) attitude of Jesus; I used "refused discipleship" when talking of isolated incidents when men were not ready to join him because they did not understand what true discipleship entailed.  OneLight inadvertently switched reject with refuse.   Reject has far too much of an ultimate connotation.  I would never, EVER suggest that Jesus condemns persons to hell who truly seek him.  I will, however, maintain that what appears to us to be a turning away from Christ, might in fact be the Spirit operating to bring a man closer than otherwise possible.  I give here a quote to clarify:

 

"Many a man, brought up in the glib profession of some shallow form of Christianity, who comes through reading Astronomy to realize for the first time how majestically indifferent most reality is to man, and who perhaps abandons his religion on that account, may at that moment be having his first genuinely religious experience. . . ."

 

Such a man may later come back to Christianity, and discover that it had all along been what he had seeking.  But Only by walking away could he truly see it as it is for the first time; as any GPS will tell you, sometimes the quickest way home is the longest route there.  and sometimes we have to backtrack if we want to get ahead.

 

The topic revolved around, let's say, Sam.  Sam was going to church for the wrong reasons.  I suggested he/she stop going to church because it was ultimately not going to satisfy and may even create a greater distaste for the Church.  I was accused (more or less) of speaking for Satan, not God. The implied premise was: it is always better to go to church for the wrong reason than to not go.  I do not see that as the case.  Now, as to Sam's actual situation, perhaps it is best for him to stay at the church.  Obviously I have my doubts and gave them. 

 

 

clb

 

Oh, apologies, I did not provide examples of Jesus refusing discipleship (quite distinct from Jesus rejecting persons seeking him) which was what this thread was really about.

 

In both Luke and Matthew two men come to Jesus offering to follow him; yet Jesus' response is hardly enthusiastic.  One asks first to bury his parents (as required by Jewish Law).  The other is given the rather cryptic warning about foxes and holes.  Now, I admit that some eisogesis is operating when I list these as instances of Jesus refusing immediate discipleship.  But there is as much eisogesis to assume that these became disciples immediately.  The tone is negative.  It is historically implausible that this pericope would have made it into Scripture as it is if the men had in fact been enlisted immediately as disciples.  We have plenty of positive examples of discipleship occurring immediately upon calling (Peter, Levi, etc.).  It seems that these men did not understand what discipleship was, and so were initially turned down: that is, they wanted discipleship on their own terms, and thus Jesus would not have them.  We do not know the ultimate fate of these men; for all we know, post-resurrection, they became followers (James, after all, was a disbeliever once).  If so, we shall have to say that refusing their discipleship initially was the best thing for them ultimately (and not at all synonymous with rejecting them).

 

(The bold shows revision clarifying what might have been misleading).

Edited August 31, 2014 by ConnorLiamBrown

[OneLight]

Conner, you are equating the lack of action on the two to Jesus rejecting them. That is far from the truth. Jesus never rejected anyone. As for discipleship, those who are disciples today do so even though Jesus is not physically present. I am sure there were many disciples in Jesus day that were not part of His chosen, all of which became Apostles (His chosen).