Jesus was not the savior that everyone of his time expected. They were expecting a military leader who would save them from the oppression of Rome or any other country that had power over them. They were expecting a commander in chief, strong, militant, political.
Jesus was humble, peaceful, and loved unexpectedly. What type of amazing military leader would associate with Samaritan women or or tax collectors?
Who is this man who says he can forgive sins, casts out demons, and heals the lame? Is he the same man who is going to over throw Rome? How can that be?
Yet when Jesus claimed he was the messiah, the actual rulers were threatened because they thought the messiah to be militaristic. So they killed him.
But Jesus is was the man who hung out with people most hated. Jesus was the one who helped those who asked and taught a different way of life than what was known to the people of his time.
We may think we have a great understanding of who Jesus is as modern day Christians. But I suspect that if he showed up, many of us wouldn’t recognize him as our messiah because we expect him to be a lot of things that he may not actually be. We may have so many preconceived expectations and ideas that we would miss him altogether. We may even condemn him for who he hangs out with, the ideas he shares, or the way he lives his life.
We should be careful not to put Jesus into a box, and to keep our eyes open for however he may choose to show up to us here and now, even if it is through or in someone or someway we might not expect.
[this is] LIFE 