The Unlikely Messiah

The servants answered, “No man ever spoke like this!” –John 7:46 CSB

When I try to do math, I am often embarrassed that I can’t quite figure it out. I’m a word girl; numbers are a foreign language, and no matter how much I try, it just doesn’t compute.

I often wish God would open my eyes and give me an automatic understanding for percentages, interest rates, and real-world knowledge that required a good grasp on numbers. And while I’ve grown, not getting as upset and shut down that I cannot get it, I’m still waiting for the gift of mathematics to come balance out all my other good traits.

There are things we can’t understand, and then there are things that take a little divine direction to get us on track, like the unlikely Messiah in today’s reading.

There was something about Jesus. Something different. Unexplainable.

This carpenter from Nazareth whom many watched grow up carried Himself with an otherworldly confidence. But it didn’t make sense. He came from Mary and Joseph; how was He fit to read the scrolls? And to teach on them?

The religious leaders were disgusted; the people were astonished. But through all the differing opinions, Jesus remained secure in His identity and authority. He shared over and over that what He taught, with no “formal” training like the Pharisees and their years of study, came from God. He spoke in words many could not understand, though Jesus unfolded truth before them. He spoke of streams of living water, and being sent by the Father, and He challenged the Pharisees on contradicting their own laws and relying more on regulation than heart posture.

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Honored to be over at She Reads Truth talking about the unlikely Messiah. Want to join me there?