For those of you who are dealing with the tough reality of speaking a message to the church that is stigmatized; (such as a message that shows that God loves queer people), I want to give some reassurance to those whose messages are not well received. Many times when people are speaking of Jesus not being well received during His time period, they mostly are referring to the citizens of the towns. However, when we look into the word, we can see that Jesus was also rejected by The Church. And Not only was he rejected by The Church, but they were also the ones who plotted and devised his death. Judas may have been the one who betrayed him, but it was the church that ultimately killed him.
' It was now two days before the Festival of Passover and Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and the teachers of the Law were looking for a way to arrest Jesus secretly and put him to death. '
Mark 14:1 GNTD
So what I want to emphasize to those of us that are preaching the gospel that is truly inclusive of everyone, that maybe The Church disagreeing with us is a sign that we are following the true teachings of Jesus. Jesus himself was not accepted by the teachers of the Law and the elders of The Church. And these are the people who claimed to know the most about the Bible, and yet they could not see that their savior was standing in front of them. So I want those who are struggling with rejection to understand that Jesus was also rejected. Jesus was rejected by his own Church. By the people who claimed to know him the most. So do not be afraid, and do not worry when these Church institutions do not believe or accept you for speaking your truth, and THE truth about who God is, because they did not believe or accept Jesus either. Just be strong and stand firm in who you are because God created you to be you, and He is with you!
Do not be afraid—I am with you! I am your God—let nothing terrify you! I will make you strong and help you; I will protect you and save you.
Isaiah 41:10 GNTD
'“I have told you this, so that you will not give up your faith. You will be expelled from the synagogues, and the time will come when those who kill you will think that by doing this they are serving God. People will do these things to you because they have not known either the Father or me. But I have told you this, so that when the time comes for them to do these things, you will remember what I told you. “I did not tell you these things at the beginning, for I was with you. '
John 16:1-4 GNTD
'I have told you this so that you will have peace by being united to me. The world will make you suffer. But be brave! I have defeated the world!”'
John 16:33 GNTD
