“He had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.” [1]
Most of us don’t have to look very far to find things we don’t like about ourselves. Young women are trained by society to starve themselves in order to achieve a look they imagine will bring them immeasurable happiness. Consequently, unprecedented numbers of young women suffer from anorexia or bulimia. If their teeth are not perfectly white and straight, then they imagine they are consigned to a life of perpetual loss. The “tissue test” will devastate a young woman since it reveals their dull, yellow teeth. If these young women don’t smell like fresh rain falling on a mountain meadow after a day at work, then they will be required to change their deodorant and/or their soap.
Young men are taught that they have to be muscular, ruggedly handsome, and always able to work with their tools. Of course, not all young men meet these criteria. What about the man who is cerebral, quiet, and somewhat plain? Is he less of a man because of what some see as imperfections? If his hands are rough and his gait somewhat awkward, do such imperfections disqualify him from aspiring to be a person of worth? Is another man’s value in society somehow less because he works with his hands rather than sitting at a desk all day?
In our recent past, governments insisted that only “essential workers” were allowed to continue in their work. Isn’t it odd that government considered mothers to be non-essential if they didn’t meet criteria devised by some faceless bureaucrat? I’m sure that the children of single mothers who were unable to continue working are not prepared to say that their mothers are non-essential. And dads who had previously earned a living so they could provide food and shelter for their families were unable to continue working to provide meat for the nation or to continue drilling for gas and oil to provide the energy required to ensure that manufacturing continued. When people are unable to buy food, or when gasoline is unavailable, then the concept of “essential worker” becomes a mockery for everyone.
There are no non-essential workers. If you imagine this to be the case, then the next time your sewer is stopped, call an accountant. Perhaps she will be able to tell you how much time you will lose waiting for the sink to drain, or how frequently you will need to flush the stool in order to rid the washroom of the stench. If you think your family physician is overpaid, then the next time you are suffering from a stomach ailment, call your mechanic to prescribe a course of medication to relieve your symptoms. Perhaps he will be able to install a new muffler, or perhaps you only need a new carburetor, or you can burn a higher octane fuel to ensure your inward parts are not carboned up.
This raises the critical question, “What happens when we are less than perfect?” What happens when our ideal, or the ideal devised by society, implies perfection is less than perfect? What happens when even the idea of the Faith creates an artificial concept of what the Faith must be. Even we who name the Name of Christ appear to imagine that Christians must be perfect. We seem to believe that we are to live as though we were cut out with cookie cutters, plastic saints that have no flaws. The reality is, of course, quite different.
Have you heard of Jeremy Ray Meeks? His mug shot was prominently displayed on the Internet in 2014 because of his stunning good looks. He was a fashion model who was captured in a gang sweep called Operation Ceasefire in Stockton, California. His stunning good looks hid a heart that can only be described as corrupt. Raymond Washington is another handsome man who was a criminal. He was the founder of the violent gang known as the Crips.
One web site lists the “Top 10 Most Beautiful Women in Prison.” [2] These are women imprisoned for robbery, drug smuggling, murder, negligent homicide, and bribery. A beautiful person does not mean that the individual possess a beautiful character.
In this message, I’m inviting you to take a renewed look at our Saviour. We perhaps have a mental imagine of Jesus, and our imagine is often of a man who was oh, so perfect. However, the One whom we meet in Scripture is presented as anything but perfect. I don’t mean that Jesus is flawed! He is perfect in righteousness, perfect in holiness, perfect in character. However, we forget that throughout Scripture Jesus is presented as less than physically perfect. Jesus didn’t look perfect, as witnessed in our text for this day:
“He had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.”
It is as though the Father took especial pains to avoid anyone drawing the conclusion that His Son would have stood out as handsome or perfect as the world counts perfection.
The message presenting a Saviour Who was crucified because of our brokenness is deigned to be folly, foolishness, evidence of weakness. You may recall Paul’s admission of the reception accorded the Gospel. The Apostle wrote, “The word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.’
“Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men” [1 CORINTHIANS 1:18-25]. Paul recognized that the elite of this dying world were not impressed with the message of the Cross. Nothing has changed in the intervening millennia.
Even in Heaven, the Saviour is seen as though He was a lamb that had been slain, a harmless lamb brutally murdered [see REVELATION 5:5-6]. In reality, the appearance of our Saviour is seen as “marred, beyond human semblance,” so that “many were astonished” [see ISAIAH 53:14]. One recent translation shocks the reader by the jarring, though accurate, translation of the Hebrew. That translation of this verse reads, “He sprouted up like a twig before God, like a root out of parched soil; he had no stately form or majesty that might catch our attention, no special appearance that we should want to follow him” [ISAIAH 53:2 NET BIBLE].
“Perfection” is not a word that could be ascribed to the outward appearance of our Master—especially as He appeared in His death. If you want a Saviour who bears no scars or marks of humility, you’ll need to find another. Jesus doesn’t qualify. If you want a Saviour who is handsome, a Saviour who causes people to swoon in ecstasy when they see Him, a Saviour who draws people to Him by His mere appearance, you should not look to Jesus of Nazareth. Scripture never hints that the Saviour was beautiful in the eyes of this world. If you’re looking for beauty, perhaps there is another who comes closer to fitting that description than does Jesus of Nazareth [see e.g. 2 CORINTHIANS 11:14-15].
By the same criteria, if you seek a religious community without weakness, mistakes, or scars, you shouldn’t visit a Christian church. The assembly of the righteous seldom is seen as unstained or perfect. Jesus’ body is conformed to His image. Pharisees can’t stand this Saviour or His gathered people; but sinners find refuge there.
In an article published a couple of years ago, one writer rightly observed that the Gospel is the message of a Saviour who sees the mess we’ve made of our lives, a Saviour who knows our mistakes, who knows our outright rebellion, a Saviour who nevertheless chooses to enter into the midst of our broken existence. Jesus didn’t come for the healthy, but for the sick. Jesus didn’t come for the righteous, but for sinners. He didn’t come for the perfect church service winners—he came for the losers who don’t have it all together. The Messiah loved them; He lived with them. Christ experienced the discomfort of the imperfection of sinful people, dying on the cross for their sin so that they could be counted as righteous through faith in Him. [3]
Thus, if you are one who leaves the services of your church on a given Sunday, venting to your spouse while messaging your friends about all that you didn’t like in the service, perhaps you need to meet Jesus. You won’t find Him grousing about how the songs were dated or how the music was flat or how the preacher spoke way too long. If your love for your congregation is dependent on how perfect everything is, then you need to spend less time looking for perfection in your fellow saints and more time looking at the crucified, Risen Saviour.
EXPECTATION VERSUS REALITY — I fear that contemporary Christendom has created a Jesus that has scant relationship to what is witnessed in Scripture. This is a sweeping statement, I know; however, the Jesus of contemporary Christianity has too often become a caricature of the Saviour presented in the Bible. The common perception of Jesus appears to be someone who was loved everywhere He went. This modern conception of Jesus is a man who was strong, virile, vibrant. Depictions of Jesus in art seem always to present a man who is handsome, sometimes strikingly so; and if His arms are bare, He is portrayed as muscular. However, Isaiah speaks of a Saviour that is quite different from our expectation. Jesus clearly wasn’t universally loved, and the evidence is that He was anything but exceptional in His appearance.
It is natural to want to affiliate with those who are attractive. We don’t become excited about attending a church where the pastor is deformed or disfigured. We aren’t particularly eager to follow a pastor with a twisted body, or a pastor who has suffered some tragic accident that has left his face scarred and marked by angry red welts. Perhaps we will listen to an itinerating preacher who is deformed or markedly handicapped, but it is almost as if we are drawn by the novelty of the person rather than the message. We struggle to tolerate visible imperfection in those who lead us. We want perfection; and the same is true when we allow ourselves to think of the One who gave His life as a sacrifice for us.
We want a Saviour who is the epitome of excellence; and since we are physical creatures, I suppose it is natural that we focus on the physical. We are especially focused on the external. We anticipate symmetry, the features of the Saviour’s body are perfectly aligned, and His face perfectly symmetrical so that the left side is a perfect mirror of the right side. The musculature is just right, neither grotesque because it is too much nor somehow deficient because it fails to be large enough to permit feats of strength that leave us awestruck. His raven locks are always perfectly coifed, the curls falling loosely from His crown. And when He looks at us, His smile can only be said to be winsome. The Saviour we imagine never glowers or frowns; rather, He always invites us with his smile. This is the Saviour we want—One who is perfect in our eyes.
However, the Word informs us that Jesus had “no beauty that we should desire Him.” When the Son of God came to earth, men would never be drawn to Him because of His looks. The forerunner, the Baptist who heralded the Saviour’s presence, was not particularly attractive by the standards of this world. He would have had the smell of the wilderness, the aroma of the campfire, the smell of dirt and sweat. You wouldn’t have likely been excited to sit next to the Baptist. Nevertheless, the Baptist had a message that drew people from vast distances to hear what he had to say. Confronting the masses that crowded around Him, Jesus challenged people, “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind? What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings’ houses. What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is he of whom it is written,
“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,
who will prepare your way before you.’
“Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he” [MATTHEW 11:7-11].
Did you catch what Jesus said of His spokesman? John wasn’t flashy; no one would ever mistake him for a nobleman or for one of the power brokers of the day. He wasn’t particularly attractive. In fact, John’s dress was of the poorest sort, rough and coarse, just like the man wearing such garment. His clothing was described as consisting of “a garment of camel’s hair and a leather belt around his waist.” And his food was equally simple, consisting of “locusts and wild honey” [see MATTHEW 3:4].
And when Jesus arrived on the scene, His appearance would have gone unnoticed except for the Baptist’s pointed announcement of the presence of God’s Anointed One. You will no doubt recall the account telling us how John saw Jesus as He was walking toward him, and the Baptist cried out, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.”
Then, John testified to those about him that day, “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God” [JOHN 1:29-34]. That was quite the announcement! “Look who is coming! It is the Messiah, and God has fulfilled His promise.”
The disciples of John heard him, and they must have wondered what he meant by those words. Some did follow this newcomer to whom John pointed. Thus, the biblical account reads, “The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, ‘Behold, the Lamb of God!’ The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, ‘What are you seeking?’ And they said to him, ‘Rabbi’ (which means Teacher), ‘where are you staying?’ He said to them, ‘Come and you will see.’ So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour” [JOHN 1:35-39].
I have to wonder what these first disciples expected to find when they followed Jesus. The Baptist had pointed to Jesus, identifying Him as “the Lamb of God.” Our understanding is coloured by our experience, determined in great measure by what we have learned. Those earliest disciples must have expected something, but they were to be surprised repeatedly by what they found. It becomes obvious as we read the Gospel accounts that they anticipated a powerful deliverer who would put down Roman rule and restore Israel to the glory they were assured was their right. Instead, what they found was One Who would offer His life as a sacrifice because of their own sin. They didn’t want to deal with their own sin! They wanted to be on the winning team! They wanted to rid themselves of the detested Roman occupiers!
This is revealed in an incident that occurred following the Resurrection of the Saviour. Doctor Luke records what happened when the Risen Saviour unexpectedly joined a couple of disciples trudging toward Emmaus. “That very day two [disciples] were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened. While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him. And he said to them, ‘What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?’ And they stood still, looking sad. Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered him, ‘Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?’ And he said to them, ‘What things?’ And they said to him, ‘Concerning Jesus of Nazareth, a man who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our chief priests and rulers delivered him up to be condemned to death, and crucified him. But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened’” [LUKE 24:13-21].
I do believe the Master has a well-honed sense of humour. He joins these two disciples as they walk. The men are downcast, dejected, despondent; they are mournfully telling one another how unfair life has become, how miserable the world is, and all because the One in whom they had placed all their hope was murdered. Suddenly, a stranger is walking beside them. He matches their stride and asks them what they were talking about. At that, they stop and look at this man. Oh, my, but their faces are sad. Can a frown be any deeper than the one they wear? They are astonished that the interlocutor appears unaware of the reason for their sorrow. Perhaps he is a stranger to the region. Perhaps he has only arrived in town. So they began a recitation of grief, their sorrow concerning Jesus of Nazareth gushing forth.
They begin to tell this stranger all about Jesus of Nazareth, who was, they aver, a prophet. They tell how this Jesus was mighty in deed and word, informing all who heard Him as He testified about God and as He healed broken people. They told how this Jesus of Nazareth spoke as no man ever spoke and how He instilled hope in all who heard Him speak. Above all else, they had hoped that this miracle worker, this man who preached such powerful messages, this man who rebuked sinful religious leaders, would overthrow Rome, and deliver Israel!
Of course, the remainder of that story is that Jesus berates them for not believing the Scriptures. He points them to the multiplied passages that speak of Messiah suffering. Somehow, as this stranger speaks, these two men find themselves compelled to listen carefully. Later, they would confess to one another, “Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures” [LUKE 24:32]? That is the way it is for each follower of the Christ. When He speaks to our heart through the Word He has given, we find ourselves confronted by the reality of His power. And the reality is so much greater than our expectation! The Living Saviour is so much more vital to us than anything we could imagine.
Almost unconsciously we come to church for what we can receive. It would be wonderful if what we sought was grace and mercy from the Risen Son of God. However, too often, we seek the accolades that come from those sharing the services with us. We seek acknowledgement of who we are, or of what we have done. We anticipate that people will realize how essential we are in the cause of Christ. And, yet, how wonderful if we learned to say, as did John, “He must increase, but I must decrease” [JOHN 3:30].
ORDINARY? OR EXCEPTIONAL? If you had passed Jesus on the busy streets of Jerusalem, would you have known who He was? Certainly, early in the days of His ministry you would not have known who He was. Perhaps later, after His fame had begun to spread, you might have recognised Him by the crowds that seemed to always attend His presence? But, without the hype, without the sensationalism that attended His presence, do you imagine that you would have known who He was? Isaiah said of the Messiah, “He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him.” People would have passed Him in the street and never recognised Him.
The thing that is important for us today is to recognize that those who are filled with the Spirit of the Lord are not pious and phony—they are real. There are no “all-stars” in the congregation of the Lord, there are only Christians redeemed by the Son of God. Those who are Spirit-filled do not draw attention to themselves; they point to the Risen Christ as Lord of life. Among the churches are people who strap on their religion each morning. They wear what I call peg-leg religion, they have to strap it on each morning. However, what God gives to His people does not draw attention to themselves; rather, they live as those who are seeking Christ’s glory.
You know very well that the brother of our Lord has written, “If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world” [JAMES 1:26-27].
What James wrote anticipated the cautionary statements of Paul, who has written, “If with Christ you died to the elemental spirits of the world, why, as if you were still alive in the world, do you submit to regulations—‘Do not handle, Do not taste, Do not touch’ (referring to things that all perish as they are used)—according to human precepts and teachings? These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion and asceticism and severity to the body, but they are of no value in stopping the indulgence of the flesh” [COLOSSIANS 2:20-23].
There is religion for show, and there is religion that is pure and undefiled before God. There is self-made religion, and there is that quiet walk with the Risen Saviour. We seek good for those in authority because we yearn to lead a peaceful and quiet life, just as the Apostle has said: “I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth” [1 TIMOTHY 2:1-4].
Elsewhere, Paul has written, “Concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another, for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more, and to aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one” [1 THESSALONIANS 4:9-12].
Just as the Master was ordinary in outward appearance, so the people of God are to live quietly and peaceably so as to glorify the Saviour who has saved them. We must never exalt ourselves in our own eyes; rather, we are to exalt Christ the Lord. Our purpose is not to draw attention to ourselves, but rather to lift up Christ the Saviour. We have this promise from Jesus, “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself” [JOHN 12:32].
We don’t come to Christ as Master because He was a good man. There have been many good men throughout history. They lived; they died. And the earth continued on its path around the sun, and nothing changed in the world. Children were born. They grew to adulthood. They died. All demonstrated that they were sinners because they died. Good people die. Does anyone argue that Martin Luther King was not a great man? He certainly was capable of giving voice to the population of Americans who were suppressed. Yet, he was a sinful man given to sexual excess and known for plagiarism in what he said. I’m not questioning his faith; I’m only cautioning that though he was a good man, he was not a Saviour.
Surely Mother Teresa qualified as a good person. She served down-trodden people selflessly and endeavoured to lift up the fallen of this broken world. And yet, the fact that she succumbed to the last enemy gives effective evidence that she was not to be seen as perfect. Scripture confronts our humanity when it asserts, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” [ROMANS 3:23]. In an extended review of our weakness, Paul has written, “Sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned” [ROMANS 5:12]. If I were perfect, I would never die. But the grey hairs that crown my head shout out to all who see me that I am an imperfect being. The grey beard testifies that I am marked for death, testifying that I, too, must one day surrender to the last enemy.
We don’t come to Jesus because He was a great prophet. Throughout the pages of the Word are the words of multiple great prophets. Who can read the words of Isaiah as he gives voice to the Millennial reign of the Messiah and not be moved to exclamations of joy? How we long to witness the peace described when the Son of David reigns and the wolf dwells with the lamb, the leopard lies down with the kid, and the lion and the calf live together, and the nursing child plays on the hole of the cobra! Who can remain unmoved as David seems to stand beside the cross just so he can give us a vision of what was accomplished there when he writes the twenty-second Psalm? The visions of the Revelator draw even the unsaved to read what was written in an effort to gain some insight into what God will do. And yet, each of these wonderful prophets died, never seeing what they prophesied.
When the writer of the Letter to Hebrew Christians has given us a tour of the Great Hall of the Faith, speaking of the men and women who walked through the pages of the Old Covenant, reminding us how they endured mocking, flogging, chains, and imprisonment. He spoke of their mistreatment at the hands of those identified with this dying world and he testifies that the world was not worthy of them; and then, he reminds us, “All these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect” [HEBREWS 11:39-40]. The point is that despite their greatness they all died!
We don’t come to Christ because He is a good man, nor because He is a mighty prophet; we come to Christ because He is the Saviour of the world. He gave His life as a sacrifice because of our sin. He was buried and then He broke the bonds of death, conquering death, hell, and the grave. Drawing the First Letter to the Saints in Corinth to a conclusion, the Apostle reminds readers of what is at stake when he writes, “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’
‘O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?’
“The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain” [1 CORINTHIANS 15:50-58]. That is why we come to Christ! Our Saviour is the One who conquered death; and He delivers us. Amen! Amen, indeed.
WHY WOULD YOU LOVE JESUS? Isaiah describes the Saviour in terms that can only be said to be unflattering, especially if we focus on His physical aspects. He described the Saviour thusly,
“He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”
[ISAIAH 53:3]
What can you imagine about this man that would cause you to love Him? The first impressions drove people away, and His visage held no particular beauty, what would draw anyone to this man. Well might we ask why anyone would entrust their eternal fate into the hands of this man.
We are physical creatures, and I suppose it is inevitable that the physical appearance of an individual, our own limited assessment of the outward characteristics of those about us will have an impact in how we see them. Whether we listen or whether we ignore those who speak to us is determined in no small measure by our initial assessment of them. And that initial assessment is dependent upon how we respond to their appearance. We find it difficult to give credence to the words of one who is physically scarred, one who is physically disproportioned, one who is visibly different—it is easy to ignore such people. People who are heavy, people whom others assess as overweight, are assumed to be less important. People who are underweight are seen as somehow inferior. Physical deformities will make it almost impossible that an individual will be heard. I don’t say that it is impossible to heed what such individuals may say, but we must somehow get past the initial sense of revulsion to hear what is being said.
William Barclay relates an account of Somerset Maugham’s mother. She was a beautiful woman, but his father could not be said to be handsome. Maugham’s mother was asked on one occasion, “Why do you remain faithful to that ugly little man you married?” Her answer was, “Because he never hurts me.” [4] I don’t deny that we are drawn to symmetry in nature as a definition of beauty. Each of us want to be associated with one who is beautiful. But beauty is as beauty does. A beautiful face and a physique characterised by a body that is thought to be perfect does not make one considerate or loving. Love that is defined by one’s appearance is superficial at best. The old saying that beauty is only skin deep is true, after all. Gentleness and consideration are of far greater importance than mere looks in forming a lasting relationship.
Soldiers who are scarred as result injuries suffered during conflicts faced on the battlefield are sometimes discriminated against. Recently, one veteran so injured was denied service at a credit union because he didn’t wear a mask. Master Sergeant Israel Del Toro lost his ears in an explosion in Afghanistan. He can’t use the drive thru because he lost his fingers in that same explosion. [5] A teller at the credit union denied him service because he was not wearing a face mask. She saw him and made an assessment based upon what she saw without allowing him to explain. She didn’t even give him a glance, or she would have seen the deficit that challenged him on a daily basis. Perhaps she was so focused on his immediate appearance that she could only see the horrific damage he had suffered. Someone did not listen, perhaps did not want to hear, the reasonable explanation for why he didn’t conform. Something like that happens with distressing regularity, and we each struggle to avoid making such blunders.
Perhaps something like that happens with many who are outside the precincts of grace when they first hear of the Master. Who would want to listen to someone who was crucified? The Alexamenos graffito is a piece of Roman graffiti scratched in plaster on the wall of a room near the Palatine Hill in Rome. The graffiti is meant to depict Jesus, ridiculing a man who worshipped Him as Lord. The image depicts a human-like figure possessing the head of a donkey affixed to a cross. To the left of the image is a young man, apparently intended to represent Alexamenos, a Roman soldier or guard, raising one hand in a gesture of worship. Beneath the cross in crude Greek, proclaiming “Alexamenos worships [his] God.”
The ridicule of Christians for worshipping a God who was crucified appears to have been common from the earliest days of the Faith. The Romans considered crucifixion to be the most degrading means imaginable for one to die. It was illegal for a Roman to be crucified except with Imperial consent. Perhaps the closest we can come to realising the horror of one being crucified would be for us to think of one who was hung by the neck. Paul likely takes note of the derision manifest toward Christians when he writes, “We preach the Messiah crucified. He is a stumbling block to Jews and nonsense to gentiles” [1 CORINTHIANS 1:23 ISV]. Indeed, as late as the days of Tertullian, opponents to the Faith sought to denigrate Christians as practising onolatry, worship of donkeys. Tertullian tells of an individual who paraded through Carthage carrying a caricature of Christians, a creature representing a man with ass’s ears, a hoof on one foot, carrying a book and wearing a gown. [6]
Why would anyone love the Son of God? Why would anyone love Jesus? Surely it is not for the beauty of His human person! In fact, Scripture asserts that He had no form or majesty; He was so plain and pedestrian in His appearance that people did not take note of Him. No one desired Jesus because of His physical beauty. He was despised and rejected, known as a man of sorrows. Why, then, would anyone love Jesus?
• We love Him because we are even now being conformed to His image [see ROMANS 8:29]!
• We love Him because He has made us more than conquerors [see ROMANS 8:37]!
• We love Him because He gave His life in our place [see GALATIANS 2:20]!
• We love Him because in loving Him the love of God is perfected [see 1 JOHN 2:5]!
• We love Him because He makes it so that we are called children of God [see 1 JOHN 3:1]!
• We love Him because we live in Him [see 1 JOHN 4:9]!
• We love Him because He gives us confidence for the day of judgement [see 1 JOHN 4:17]!
• We love Him because His love drives out fear [see 1 JOHN 4:18]!
• We love Him because He first loved us [see 1 JOHN 4:19]!
• We love Him because He ennobles us, and builds us up, making us suited for the Kingdom of God [see REVELATION 1:6]!
Those who receive the love of God in Christ are blessed beyond all imagination. This is the reason the Apostle writes, “If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord” [ROMANS 8:31b-39].
I pray “that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God” [EPHESIANS 3:17-19].
The love of God is freely offered to all who will receive Christ Jesus as Master over life. Believe Him and be saved today. Believe Christ the Lord. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
[2] Top 10 Most Beautiful Women in Prison, https://www.mostfamouslist.com/top-10-most-beautiful-women-in-prison/, accessed 7 July 2020
[3] Eric Schumacher, “The Gospel of an Imperfect Worship Service,” November 5, 2018, https://www.emschumacher.com/gospel-of-imperfect-service/#more-653, accessed 1 January 2019
[4] William Barclay, ed., The Letters of James and Peter: The Daily Study Bible Series (Westminster John Knox Press, Philadelphia 1976) 223
[5] “Injured Veteran Denied Service At Credit Union Says He Can’t Wear A Face Mask,” 6/18/2020, https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/injured-veteran-denied-service-at-credit-union-says-he-cant-wear-a-face-mask/ar-BB15G1Ft, accessed 29 July 2020
[6] Tertullian, Tertullian: Apologetic and Practical Treatises, trans. C. Dodgson, vol. I, A Library of Fathers of the Holy Catholic Church (John Henry Parker; J. G. F. and J. Rivington, Oxford; London 1842), 39
