Shock to the Senses

December 17, 2007

By Gary Rogers

The anticipation for the coming Messiah was filled with visions of royalty, majesty and power. From the Old Testament prophecies the focus was on the reign of Messiah and His complete sovereignty over the affairs of this earth.

"There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord. His delight is in the fear of the Lord, and He shall not judge by the sight of His eyes, nor decide by the hearing of His ears; but with righteousness He shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; He shall strike the earth with the rod of His mouth, and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked. Righteousness shall be the belt of His loins, and faithfulness the belt of His waist. The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them. The cow and the bear shall graze; their young ones shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. The nursing child shall play by the cobra's hole, and the weaned child shall put his hand in the viper's den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain, for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea" (Isaiah 11:1-9, NKJV).

"In those days and at that time I will cause to grow up to David a Branch of righteousness; He shall execute judgment and righteousness in the earth. In those days Judah will be saved, and Jerusalem will dwell safely. And this is the name by which he will be called: The Lord Our Righteousness" (Jeremiah 33:15,16, NKJV).

The Messianic view of rule, authority and dominion was completely disappointed when, looking into the stable and scanning over to the feed trough, there was seen a baby lying wrapped in rags. How could Messiah have such a humble beginning? How could the King of all the earth be born into such abject poverty? This was the stumbling block to the Jews. To consider the Anointed One a baby lying in a manger was the furthest expectation of Messiah in their minds. The word of His arrival being given to common laborers like shepherds was not appropriate. A non-Jewish delegation from a distant land in the East forming a welcome party for His arrival was unacceptable. Nothing connected with His birth was what the Jews expected for their Messiah.

The birth in Bethlehem that was a stumbling block to the Jews is to us the good news that Jesus the Christ has come. The Savior for all mankind came to this world as a Baby and was laid in a feed trough for a crib and wrapped in rags for a blanket. His beginning was so humble, but Jesus is the Messiah and His rule, His authority and His dominion are without end.

-- Gary Rogers is senior pastor of First Assembly of God in Coweta, Okla.