Understanding Why People Reject Christ: Insights from Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

What happened in the synagogue at Nazareth that shows the rejection of Jesus?

According to Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, a remarkable event occurred in the synagogue at Nazareth when Jesus returned to his hometown. Initially, the people "bear him witness and wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth" as Jesus read from Isaiah and declared that this scripture was fulfilled in their hearing. However, their attitude quickly changed when they began questioning, "Is not this Joseph's son?" After Jesus challenged their expectations by referencing how prophets like Elijah and Elisha performed miracles for non-Israelites, the crowd became enraged. They "were filled with wrath, and rose up and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong." This dramatic shift from admiration to murderous intent demonstrates the pattern of rejection that would follow Jesus throughout His ministry.

Why do people reject Christ despite His message of grace and salvation?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones identifies three main reasons people reject Christ:

1. Lack of understanding: People reject what they cannot comprehend. The people of Nazareth couldn't reconcile Jesus the carpenter with Jesus the Messiah. Similarly, today people struggle with concepts like the incarnation (God becoming man), miracles, and atonement (one person dying for all).

2. Disagreement with Christ's actions: People have preconceived notions about what Christ should do. The Nazareth crowd expected Jesus to perform the same miracles He did in Capernaum. Throughout history, people have expected Jesus to solve political problems, end wars, or address social issues, but His primary mission was spiritual salvation.

3. Resistance to grace: People approach God with demands and a sense of entitlement rather than humility. Jesus pointed out how God sent Elijah to a Sidonian widow and healed Naaman the Syrian rather than Israelites. This emphasized that God's grace is not based on human merit or demands but on His sovereign choice.

Is unbelief primarily an intellectual problem according to Dr. Lloyd-Jones?

No, Dr. Lloyd-Jones emphatically states that unbelief is not primarily an intellectual matter. He argues: "If to be a Christian is primarily a matter of understanding, well, then it is grossly unfair" because some people have greater intellectual capacity than others. He states clearly: "It has nothing to do with intellect. Nothing at all."

Instead, Lloyd-Jones describes unbelief as "a state or condition" that affects the whole person. It's not that people objectively examine Christianity and find it wanting intellectually; rather, they approach it with prejudices that govern their thinking. He explains: "There is no such thing as a detached, objective attitude. There is a saying to the effect, as a man thinks so, he is. It's equally true to say that as a man is so, he thinks." This state of unbelief "manifests a terrible power" that produces "prejudice and hatred and wrath" and "works upon our pride and through our pride."

How does Dr. Lloyd-Jones explain that spiritual truths transcend human understanding?

Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains that the truths of Christianity are so profound that complete human understanding is impossible. He points out: "The things about which I'm speaking are so great and so transcendent and so glorious that no human understanding can possibly arise to them. If we can't understand electricity, how can we understand God and holiness and heaven and the two natures in the one person and the three persons in the blessed holy Trinity?"

Even the Apostle Paul with his "gigantic brain" acknowledged that "great is the mystery of godliness." Lloyd-Jones emphasizes that these truths aren't meant to be fully comprehended but believed and yielded to: "It isn't understanding that saves. It isn't my understanding of these great mysteries that saves me. It's my believing them, accepting them and yielding myself to them."

Additionally, our sinful nature impairs our ability to understand spiritual truths: "We are all tarnished by sin. Our very minds are not functioning as they should be." The tragedy is that people reject Christ simply because they can't fully comprehend Him.

What is the proper way to approach Christ according to the sermon?

According to Dr. Lloyd-Jones, we must approach Christ with humility and an acknowledgment of our sinfulness and need, not with demands or a sense of entitlement. He states: "If you think you've got any claim upon God and his love tonight, you'll never know his grace. We are all sinners and we have no rights in the presence of God."

Lloyd-Jones contrasts two approaches:

1. The wrong approach: "If you come to Christ standing on your feet and presenting demands you'll get nothing but what these people had in Nazareth. He'll rebuff you, he'll reject you, he'll condemn you."

2. The right approach: "If you come to him in utter helplessness and hopelessness realizing your emptiness and woe, he'll give you everything." We should emulate "the example of the publican who went up into the temple to pray. And was so conscious of his misery and his wretchedness he couldn't even lift up his face to heaven but simply cried, saying, 'God, have mercy upon me, a sinner.'"

The only key that "opens the heart of the Lord Jesus Christ...is the key of repentance, the key of the acknowledgement of sin," which He finds "irresistible" and always responds to by "showering down the riches of his grace."