Life: Hated & Rejected

Psalm 69:4a | Those who hate me without cause outnumber the hairs on my head.

John 15:18 & 25 | “If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. // This fulfills what is written in their Scriptures: ‘They hated me without cause.’

1. Did Jesus do anything to deserve being hated?
2. Why were people so offended by Jesus and his message?

Isaiah 53:3 | He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

4. What does it mean to be despised?
5. What does it mean to be rejected?

Mark 6:1-3 | Jesus left that part of the country and returned with his disciples to Nazareth, his hometown. The next Sabbath he began teaching in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. They asked, “Where did he get all this wisdom and the power to perform such miracles?” Then they scoffed, “He’s just a carpenter, the son of Mary and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas, and Simon. And his sisters live right here among us.” They were deeply offended and refused to believe in him.

6. How do we see Jesus despised and rejected in this passage? What about in other places in Scripture?
7. Jesus teaches that people will hate you simply because they hated him. When have you experienced being disliked or mistreated for your faith or values? Do you think people were rejecting you or God in you? Why?
8. When you are mistreated or disliked, how do you respond? How do you think Jesus responded?