Introduction
Are you willing to follow Jesus even when it costs you approval, comfort, and reputation? The central teaching of Jesus in Luke 6:22–23 is that rejection for His sake is not a curse but a blessing, because it identifies us with Him and points us to a greater reward in heaven. Luke calls this section the “Sermon on the Plain” (Luke 6), and here Jesus gives one of His most counterintuitive blessings: “Blessed are you when men hate you…” (Luke 6:22). He names our deepest fear, rejection, and then teaches us how God can meet us there with joy, endurance, and hope.
Main Points
Are you willing to follow Jesus even when it costs you approval, comfort, and reputation? The central teaching of Jesus in Luke 6:22–23 is that rejection for His sake is not a curse but a blessing, because it identifies us with Him and points us to a greater reward in heaven.
Luke calls this section the “Sermon on the Plain” (Luke 6), and here Jesus gives one of His most counterintuitive blessings: “Blessed are you when men hate you…” (Luke 6:22). He names our deepest fear, rejection, and then teaches us how God can meet us there with joy, endurance, and hope.
Blessed Rejection Names Our Deep Fear
Most of us fear rejection more than we admit. It shows up in public speaking, in hesitating to ask a question, in curating our image, and in staying quiet when we know we should speak. We’re afraid that if all eyes are on us, the verdict might be: “We don’t like you. We don’t trust you. You don’t belong.”
Jesus doesn’t minimize that fear. He speaks directly into it and says something shocking: there is a kind of rejection that is blessed. Not because rejection feels good, but because God uses it to anchor us to Christ rather than to people’s approval.
Rejection Is A “When,” Not “If”
Jesus says, “Blessed are you when men hate you…” (Luke 6:22). This is not an unusual possibility for serious disciples; it is normal Christianity.
Paul reinforces this plainly: “Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). So I need to disciple you away from the illusion that faithful obedience guarantees an easy, admired life. There is a version of “Christianity” that promises a suffering-free path if you just have enough faith, but that does not match Jesus’ words.
At the same time, we should admit that some of us live in a place and time where following Jesus can feel socially normal, even beneficial. In many communities, faith can still function like a networking advantage. But Jesus is preparing us for a shifting horizon: cultures change, biblical literacy fades, and Christian “favor” can evaporate quickly. When that happens, we’ll discover who is truly following Christ and who only enjoyed the social comfort of Christian surroundings.
The Pressure Intensifies: Hate, Exclusion, Reviling
Jesus doesn’t stop at “hate” as a feeling. He describes escalating forms of rejection:
- Hate: hostility toward your allegiance to Christ
- Exclude you: social and relational cutoff
- Revile you: insults, shaming, verbal abuse
- Cast out your name as evil: attaching your identity to “harmful” or “dangerous” (Luke 6:22)
This is why “lukewarm” faith is so tempting. If I keep my Christianity private and non-specific, “a little Christian,” quiet about church, quiet about Scripture, quiet about Jesus, I can often avoid conflict. But Jesus is discipling us out of that fear-driven strategy. He is training us to value faithfulness over popularity.
And notice something tender in the way Jesus teaches: He has been blessing the kinds of people the world overlooks, the poor, the hungry, those who weep (Luke 6:20–21). Here, He also blesses the excluded. Jesus includes the excluded, even while the world excludes those whom Jesus includes.
The World’s “Inclusion” Still Excludes Christ
As cultures move away from Christian doctrine, they don’t become doctrine-free. They develop new moral certainties and new sacred values, often centered on “inclusion.” But in that system, one group remains broadly acceptable to shame and exclude: committed followers of Jesus.
I’m not saying this so we can feel superior or play culture war games. Jesus gives this as a marker: when we are excluded for Him, it often reveals we no longer belong to the world’s tribe. Jesus said it this way:
“If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world… therefore the world hates you… If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you.” (John 15:19–20)
So I want you to be sober-minded: if your devotion to Christ has cost you nothing, no awkward moments, no lost social points, no misunderstood convictions, it may be worth asking whether you are actually following closely.
The Narrow Message That Triggers Offense
One reason rejection comes is because the gospel is not just “helpful spirituality”; it is a narrow claim about truth and salvation. Jesus said:
“I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
That one sentence collides with a relativistic culture. Jesus doesn’t offer “your truth” and “my truth.” He calls Himself the Truth. And His message includes realities our world resists:
- We are sinners who have fallen short of God’s glory (implied from the gospel message throughout the New Testament).
- We cannot save ourselves.
- There is one Savior and one way to the Father, Jesus Christ.
If we lovingly but clearly live and speak those convictions, some people will call the message evil, oppressive, or harmful. And that is exactly the kind of scenario Jesus is preparing you for in Luke 6:22.
For The Son of Man’s Sake, Not Our Sin
Here is the crucial qualifier: “for the Son of Man’s sake” (Luke 6:22). Not all rejection is blessed. Not all conflict is persecution. Jesus is not giving you permission to be harsh, arrogant, or careless with people and then label the fallout “suffering for Christ.”
The apostles teach the same discernment. Peter says:
“But let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody… Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in this matter.” (1 Peter 4:15–16)
So I’m discipling you to ask: Am I being rejected because I am faithful to Jesus, or because I am acting foolishly, sinfully, or unlovingly? We do not get credit for being rude. We do not get a “blessing badge” for picking petty fights. The way of Jesus includes truth, but it is truth carried with His character, humility, integrity, courage, and love.
Rejoice Now Because Reward Is Coming
Jesus gives us a tool for the moment rejection hits:
“Rejoice in that day and leap for joy, for indeed your reward is great in heaven.” (Luke 6:23)
This is not denial. This is perspective. Jesus points you beyond the moment into eternity. He also connects your experience to God’s long story:
“For in like manner their fathers did to the prophets.” (Luke 6:23)
In other words, when you are rejected for Christ, you are not alone, and you are not off-track. You are standing in a line of faithful witnesses. The world has always resisted God’s messengers, yet God has always sustained them.
So when rejection comes, I want you to practice three simple responses shaped by Jesus:
- Don’t be surprised (it’s a “when,” not an “if”).
- Check your cause (is it truly “for the Son of Man’s sake”?).
- Lift your eyes (your reward is great in heaven).
This is part of denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Him (Matthew 16:24–25). Following Jesus can cost reputation; but losing your life for His sake is the path to truly finding it.
Conclusion
Jesus meets our fear of rejection with an unexpected promise: rejection for His sake is blessed. It confirms our allegiance, it trains us to stop living for approval, and it fixes our hope on heaven’s reward rather than earthly applause.
I want you to be ready, not bitter, not combative, not ashamed, but steady, humble, and joyful. The world may hate, exclude, revile, and mislabel you. But if it’s truly for the Son of Man’s sake, you are not cursed. You are blessed.
Father, strengthen me to follow Jesus with courage and tenderness. When I am tempted to live for approval, teach me to live for Your pleasure. Give me wisdom to discern when opposition is for Christ’s sake and when I need to repent of my own sin or harshness. Fill me with the Holy Spirit so I can endure rejection without fear, respond with love and truth, and rejoice in the promise that my reward is great in heaven. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Conclusion
Jesus meets our fear of rejection with an unexpected promise: rejection for His sake is blessed. It confirms our allegiance, it trains us to stop living for approval, and it fixes our hope on heaven’s reward rather than earthly applause.
I want you to be ready, not bitter, not combative, not ashamed, but steady, humble, and joyful. The world may hate, exclude, revile, and mislabel you. But if it’s truly for the Son of Man’s sake, you are not cursed. You are blessed.
Closing Prayer
Father, strengthen me to follow Jesus with courage and tenderness. When I am tempted to live for approval, teach me to live for Your pleasure. Give me wisdom to discern when opposition is for Christ’s sake and when I need to repent of my own sin or harshness. Fill me with the Holy Spirit so I can endure rejection without fear, respond with love and truth, and rejoice in the promise that my reward is great in heaven. In Jesus’ name, amen.