And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” – Luke 9:21-22

American Protestantism is sometimes criticized for being too individualistic. “Me and Jesus” forgetting that Jesus came to save his people. At the same time, I’m very thankful for the individualism in Christianity. Personal conversion, indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the priesthood of all believers, etc. The quote above illustrates one reason why I’m thankful for it.

Jesus here foretold what was going to happen to  him. I know I often glaze over the rejection and get to the death and resurrection. But don’t miss the rejection. The elders, chief priests and scribes were the rulers of the Jews under Roman occupation. It is worse than if Jesus was brought before the Congress, President and Supreme Court and they all told him he was not welcomed here. It is worse because we live in a thoroughly democratized society; we enjoy a large degree of personal freedom. What happened when these leaders rejected Jesus is that the nation rejected him. And yet, because Christianity has a democratizing vein, individual Jews could be, were and would be saved, that is, united to Jesus.

Jesus did come for his people (plural and singular) but a ‘people’ is never an abstraction but is always made up of individuals. And Jesus’ people are comprised of individuals who cannot be numbered from every tribe and language and nation. One by one.