Jesus ReignsНамуна

JESUS: WORTHY OF GREATNESS

The prophet Isaiah was given the privilege to describe Jesus Christ who is worthy of greatness. As a prophet, Isaiah foresaw His glory. However, he had two serious difficulties acquainting the people of his day about Him. Firstly, because He was not there yet and, when He comes the people will hardly believe Him. Why? Even before the founding of the nation Israel, their forefathers had been waiting for the Messiah, the One who would be sent by the Shepherd-God and the Rock of Jacob. When He comes, He will rightfully hold the scepter of Judah. The Messiah will come to usher a kingdom where there shall be everlasting peace, righteousness and justice for all men. Many Jewish women had been hoping they would be the blessed mothers through whom the Christ will come.

When Jesus came and claimed He was the Messiah, most of the people in His day did not believe Him, and they in fact, rejected him. Many who started having high hopes in Him doubted Him, even as His closest disciples, except one, abandoned Him. Worse, He was sent to die like a common criminal by His own people.

The reason? The Messiah did not come up to their own standard of greatness. He was not the man of their essence. If He was the Christ, He should have the power to do the things they wanted, such as perform miracles at will, overturn the imperial rule of Rome and come down from being crucified on the cross. Their dismay on the one hand, and the envy of others, on the other caused them to do away with Him permanently. Jesus was not the kind of Christ they were told about and the One they had been waiting for.

In the same manner, we are also guilty of the same when we look for “dynamic” preachers and teachers and our standard of this choice is the eloquence of the speaker or sometimes the way the person looks. If the person does not match our standards, then we doubt the intentions of this person.

What standards do you use in believing a person?