Mark recorded by The Holy Spirit in Mark chapter 6:
1 Afterward, Jesus left Capernaum and returned with His disciples to Nazareth, His hometown. 2 On the Sabbath, He went to teach in the synagogue. Everyone who heard His teaching was overwhelmed with astonishment. They said among themselves, “What incredible wisdom has been given to Him! Where did He receive such profound insights? And what mighty miracles flow through his hands! 3 Isn’t this Mary’s son, the carpenter, the brother of Jacob, Joseph, Judah, and Simon? And don’t His sisters all live here in Nazareth?” And they took offense at Him.
4 Jesus said to them, “A prophet is treated with honor everywhere except in his own hometown, among his relatives, and in his own house.” 5 He was unable to do any great miracle in Nazareth, except to heal a few sick people by laying His hands upon them. 6 He was amazed at the depth of their unbelief!
Then Jesus went out into the different villages and taught the people.
The people of Nazareth knew Jesus by the flesh rather than by THE SPIRIT. How true this is even today. People who knew you in your immaturity continue to reject what The Holy Spirit reveals to you. You may have incredible Wisdom from Above but those who live around you fail to receive such Wisdom. Their unbelief blinds them.
FATHER told Jesus to go and minister in His hometown but their unbelief prevented Him from ministering healing and deliverance to most. Only a few were not moved by the flesh and as a result, they were healed.
What did Jesus do after His rejection? Did He give up His ministry? Did He simply decide to go back and open a carpentry shop? Was the devil able to exploit the emotion of rejection and shut down the ministry? No, Jesus responded in the opposite manner.
7 Jesus gathered His twelve disciples and imparted to them His authority to cast out demons. Then He sent them out in pairs with these instructions: 8–9 “Take only your staff and the sandals on your feet—no bread, no knapsack, no extra garment, and no money. 10 And whatever house you enter, stay there until you leave the area. 11 Whatever community does not welcome you or receive your message, leave it behind. And as you go, shake the dust off your feet as a testimony against them.”
12 So they went out and preached publicly that everyone should repent. 13 They cast out many demons and anointed many sick people with oil and healed them.
Jesus dealt with rejection by expanding His commitment to spread The Gospel with power and authority. The devil attempted to keep Jesus from ministering but now Jesus expanded the ministry to an additional twelve. Suffering rejection only caused an intensification of the ministry. If Jesus wasn’t effective, He would not have been targeted by the god of this world in the attempt to tweak the emotions in the area of rejection.
Don’t let rejection derail your commitment to what FATHER wants you to do. It only makes me more determined to “double down” and strengthen my commitment to focus on my calling and destiny!
What happened after Jesus expanded the ministry by activating His disciples?
14 King Herod soon heard about Jesus, for the name of Jesus was on everyone’s lips. Some were even saying about Him, “John the Baptizer has been raised from the dead, and that’s why miraculous powers flow from Him!” 15 Others said, “No, He’s Elijah!” While others said, “He’s a prophet, like one of the prophets of old!”
16 When Herod heard what the people were saying, he concluded, “I beheaded John, and now he’s raised from the dead!”
The devil moved on vessels of dishonor and had John The Baptist beheaded with the expectation of shutting down Jesus’ ministry. Jesus Loved John and now he was gone. Did Jesus succumb to His emotions of sadness and loss? No.
30 The apostles returned from their mission and gathered around Jesus and told Him everything they had done and taught.
31 There was such a swirl of activity around Jesus, with so many people coming and going, that they were unable to even eat a meal. So Jesus said to His disciples, “Come, let’s take a break and find a secluded place where you can rest a while.” 32 They slipped away and left by sailboat for a deserted spot. 33 But many of the people saw them leaving and realized where they were headed, so they took off running along the shore. Then people from the surrounding towns joined them in the chase, and a large crowd got there ahead of them.
34 By the time Jesus came ashore, a massive crowd was waiting. At the sight of them, His heart was filled with compassion, because they seemed like wandering sheep who had no shepherd. So He taught them many wonderful things.
35 Late that afternoon, His disciples said, “It’s getting really late and we’re here in this remote place with nothing to eat. 36 You should send the crowds away so they can go into the surrounding villages and buy food.”
37 But He answered them, “You give them something to eat.”
“Are you sure?” they replied. “You really want us to go buy them supper? It would cost a small fortune to feed all these thousands of hungry people.”
38 “How many loaves of bread do you have?” He asked. “Go and see.” After they had looked around, they came back and said, “Five—plus a couple of fish.”
39 Then He instructed them to organize the crowd and have them sit down in groups on the grass. 40 So they had them sit down in groups of hundreds and fifties. 41 Then Jesus took the five loaves and two fish, gazed into heaven, and gave thanks to God. He broke the bread and the two fish and distributed them to his disciples to serve the people—and the food was multiplied in front of their eyes! 42 Everyone had plenty to eat and was fully satisfied. 43 Then the twelve disciples picked up what remained, and each of them ended up with a basket full of leftovers! 44 Altogether, five thousand families were fed that day!
Jesus responded to rejection by feeding five thousand families and you can be sure that this miracle spread throughout the land. The adversary attempted to shut down ministry but it only expanded with greater intensity. The adversary will attempt to take away from us what we currently have, but rather than submit to his devices, we must strengthen our resolve to fulfill our individual callings and destinies. This is what faith does and that response pleases FATHER.