Isaiah 53:1,2 Who has believed our message and to whom has
the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender
shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to
attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
Comment
Why did God send his Son in such lowliness? If nothing else to bar the
kingdom from the proud. Not only in appearance, but also his speech and
actions were stumbling blocks to the proud. He humiliated the religious
elite and they crucified him for it. While God desires all men to be
saved (1Tim 2:4), God only allows them to be saved on His terms, namely
to accept Him for who He is as the person of Jesus Christ reveals, who
is the image of the invisible God. For "the Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being" Heb 1:3 Jesus Christ said, "He
who has seen Me has seen the Father" John 14:9 In Jesus Christ
we see God's character, God's attitudes, God's ideas, and these are generally
not acceptable to the world. The world would rather associate with the
devil than with God; even the "religious elite" as Jesus said to them,
"You
belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s
desire" John 8:44
When God became a man he went unnoticed for 30 years. And even in his
ministry few believed his message - and later few believed his messengers.
God comes in lowliness - in humility. There is great treasure he offers
but it is hidden in the field. One has to seek and search. One has to think
deeply on what he says to truly understand. And his message is not attractive
to our worldly senses. The gods of the world are proud, but God is not
proud, He is humble, meek, lowly. He associates with the lowly,
"I live in a high and holy place, but also with him who is contrite and
lowly in spirit" Isaiah 57:15
As a father so his children, and so also as his messengers. For how
are we to attract others to Christianity? Is it through outward appearance,
pleasant music, messages and ideas which titillate their worldly senses?
That appears to be how some Christians go about it. But of Jesus it is
written that there was nothing in his appearance that we should desire
him.