The Unlikely Messiah

By Collin Ross

Scripture Reading: John 7:1-52, Isaiah 9:1, Matthew 7:28-29, Luke 4:20-24

Jesus has a knack for surprising people, and John 7 records a number of different reactions to His expectation-defying ministry. Some folks responded with conversion and belief (John 7:31). However, most that interacted with Him at the Festival of Booths encountered a Messiah that did not match their expectations. In their eyes, Jesus was not from the right town (vv.27,41–42). He did not have the right education or respect for their cultural customs (John 7:15,23). In short, Jesus was not the Messiah they were expecting.

I thank God that Jesus is not the Messiah of my expectations. Let’s be real for a moment: not one of us really knows what we need. The Messiah of our own making would not be a sufficient savior. The Messiah that we would send would not be a reliable redeemer. A human-designed Messiah cannot save us because our rescue cannot come from within us. We won’t find salvation in our own intellect, morality, or inner strength. Someone else has to reach in and pull us out of the pit. We need a Messiah who is from God. And thanks be to God that is exactly who Jesus is. “I have not come on my own, but the one who sent me is true. You don’t know him; I know him because I am from him, and he sent me” (vv.28–29).

We have a tendency to “put Jesus in a box.” We make him out to be so much smaller than He really is. In truth, we make Jesus look and sound a lot like us. But when we do this, we miss out on the real Jesus and all that He offers. This is what happened with many in the crowd in John 7. Their expectations of Jesus kept them from seeing and being blessed by their Savior right in front of them.

It’s worth a bit of introspection. What sort of expectations do we have about Jesus? Where do we source our knowledge about Him—our own mind and feelings or God’s Word? Do we listen to all of His teachings, or do we pick and choose the teachings that we like and most fit our particular interests? These are difficult but important questions to ask ourselves regularly.

Jesus was not the Messiah the crowd was expecting, but He was exactly the one they needed. The more that we lean into the real Son, the closer we come to the Father. “No man ever spoke like this,” the servants exclaimed (v.46). And they were right, for Jesus is no ordinary man. He is the Son of God whom the Father sent to bring us home!

Written by Collin Ross