Mike's teaching on The Ministry of Jesus Christ, Part 2

Tue, Apr 28, 2009
Course Specific Materials

Greetings again Friends,

This is Day 2 in our study of the ministry of Jesus, focusing on "fruitfulness." The five days that we are studying are listed like this:

1-The sign to begin His ministry
2-The chosen headquarters-Galilee
3-The deliberate fulfilling of Scripture
4-The mission
5-The message

¹² Now when he heard that John had been arrested, he withdrew into Galilee. ¹³ And leaving Nazareth he went and lived in Capernaum by the sea, in the territory of Zebulun and Naphtali, ¹⁴ so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:

¹⁵ "The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali, the way of the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles- ¹⁶ the people dwelling in darkness have seen a great light, and for those dwelling in the region and shadow of death, on them a light has dawned." ¹⁷ From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Matthew 4:12-17

One thing that anyone who wants to be fruitful in ministry will experience is rejection. We see this in Jesus' moving His ministry headquarters to Galilee. Christ left Nazareth. Why? Nazareth was His hometown. Why did He not make His hometown His headquarters? The reason is clear: the city had rejected Christ: "No prophet is accepted in His own country" (Luke 4:24). They had thrown Him out and had attempted to kill Him (Luke 4:29). Therefore, Christ set up headquarters in the city of Capernaum. Capernaum lay in the northernmost point of Palestine, and it was deliberately chosen by Christ as "His own city" (Matthew 9:1; Isaiah 9:1-7).

Anyone who is being used by God in ministry has experienced rejection in some way. As mentors at Setting Captives Free, you will experience rejection. Some of your students will refuse to listen to your counsel from God's Word, some will disagree with you, some will accuse you, argue with you, some will seek to instruct you, point out errors in the courses, etc. Rejection can hurt. But we must remember that we are following Him Who was "rejected of man" and as we are faithful in ministry God makes us fruitful in ministry. Jesus' move to Capernaum from God's perspective was to fulfill Scripture and to reach those in darkness, but from man's perspective it was because Jesus was rejected in his hometown.

And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise again. Mark 8:31

But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. Luke 17:25

God's Word teaches us that rejection is but a stepping stone to the further building of God's kingdom:

Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:

"'The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone;
this was the Lord's doing,
and it is marvelous in our eyes'? Matthew 21:42

Finally, let us all remember that when we are rejected by man we are, like God's Son, precious to the Father:

As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 1 Peter 2:4

The words for today are "rejection" and "perseverance." The mathematical equation is "rejection plus perseverance equals fruitfulness."

grace and truth,
Mike Cleveland
team member settingcaptivesfree.com