“Some of the people who lived in Jerusalem started to ask each other, “Isn’t this the man they are trying to kill? But here he is, speaking in public, and they say nothing to him. Could our leaders possibly believe that he is the Messiah? But how could he be? For we know where this man comes from. When the Messiah comes, he will simply appear; no one will know where he comes from.””
John 7:25-27 NLT
So the animosity between the Jewish leaders and Jesus was obviously public knowledge. Everyone seemed to know about Jesus, and He split public opinion into two people factions – those that supported Him and those that didn’t. Jesus’ message and His claim to be the Son of God was clear, so clear in fact, that people started to ask the question if He really was the Messiah they had been expecting. But they had a problem with Jesus’ pedigree. If they had bothered to do some research they would have found that the prophecies about the coming of the Messiah fitted exactly with Jesus’ origins. As we know, Jesus was born in a stable in Bethlehem, fulfilling the prophecy in Micah 5:2, “But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, are only a small village among all the people of Judah. Yet a ruler of Israel, whose origins are in the distant past, will come from you on my behalf”. The Jewish leaders at the time of Jesus’ birth knew that, and Herod was convinced enough by the prophecy to murder many innocent male babies in and around Bethlehem. The people assumed that He was born and bred in Nazareth, a village located in Galilee, because that was where He grew up and worked.
Another misconception the people held was that the Messiah would just “simply appear”. It is sometimes strange how ideas and rumours quickly grow into becoming facts, even though there is no basis for them. Jesus made it clear that He was and is the Messiah. John 4:25-26, “The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”” But the problem for the people was that Jesus didn’t fit their preconceived notions of the Messiah they were expecting. They were expecting a King and the wise men from the east came looking for Him – Matthew 2:1-2, “Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the reign of King Herod. About that time some wise men from eastern lands arrived in Jerusalem, asking, “Where is the newborn king of the Jews? We saw his star as it rose, and we have come to worship him.”“ The Jewish people expected the Messiah to usher in an immediate kingdom that would re-establish the Jewish state, independent once again. Luke 19:11, “The crowd was listening to everything Jesus said. And because he was nearing Jerusalem, he told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away“. But it was sad that the Jewish leaders and people selected the prophecies that they agreed with, and discarded those, such as the Suffering Servant in Isaiah, that didn’t fit their expectations.
I wonder how many of the Jewish people expected Jesus to establish a spiritual, not physical, Kingdom? His Kingdom was not of this world, Jesus said in John 18:36, and it was so sad that the Jews continued to search for their Messiah when He was walking amongst them. But we pilgrims have the benefit of hindsight, and we know that the Messiah, Jesus the Christ, indeed came to “seek and save the lost”. After all, we are amongst those for whom He came, and we look forward when His Kingdom is finally established, for all eternity. We have rewritten the phrase “When the Messiah comes” into “We know the Messiah has come”, and through the power of the Holy Spirit, He is still with us today.
Dear Lord Jesus. You are the Messiah, the Christ who came to save us from our sins. We worship You today. Amen.
Being a Pilgrim 