Things That Are Not What They Seem – by Greg Albrecht
Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom people hid their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not (Isaiah 53:1-30.
The vast majority of Christians believe that Jesus was a goodlooking, well-proportioned embodiment of manliness. More often than not, when Jesus is depicted in art and movies, he is outwardly charming – almost irresistible. We have come to believe that the fleshly body of Jesus caused heads to turn everywhere he went. It’s a deeply ingrained religious assumption within the Christian world – Jesus was God in the flesh, so he must have been robust, strong and striking to look at.
Can you imagine the outrage from churches and religious leaders if a movie were made of Jesus and the actor chosen to portray him was homely or off-putting? Yet, the relatively few times the Bible makes reference to Jesus’ outward appearance leads us to think that Jesus was at the very best average-looking – perhaps even somewhat plain and unassuming.
Jesus grew up in Nazareth as the son of a blue-collar, working-class carpenter. When Philip told Nathanael about Jesus and that he was from Nazareth, Nathanael replied, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (John 1:46).
Many at that time dismissed Jesus on the basis of his outward appearance, and the place he lived! Today, Jesus and his message are still despised – many believe that impressive religious ceremonies, rituals, monuments and imposing church buildings are far more important than the simplicity of Jesus’ gospel. Things are not always what they seem!
His hometown synagogue became so incensed at Jesus’ teaching that they wanted to kill him, yet Jesus “walked right through the crowd and went on his way” (Luke 4:30). Jesus’ physical appearance was apparently so unremarkable that he was able to simply slip through the crowds un-noticed – we can safely assume that his outward appearance didn’t stop traffic. Had Jesus attended the equivalent of a North American high school, we can be relatively certain that the senior class would not have voted him to be the “most likely to succeed” nor would they elect him as the “king” of the homecoming dance.
Isaiah says that Jesus was a root growing in dry ground. This reference to a root out of dry ground may indicate that the body of Jesus appeared somewhat stunted and unattractive compared with many other humans. Jesus was a tender shoot, as opposed to one that was obviously robust and hearty. He was despised and rejected by men (Isaiah 53:3) – a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
While Jesus’ appearance alone didn’t “turn heads,” there is no biblical reference that would lead us to think that Jesus, when he walked this earth teaching and preaching, looked frail or anemic. But there is no doubt Jesus was an ordinary-looking man. There is also no doubt that what he taught and what he believed was reprehensible and “ugly” to the religion of his day. Out of the mouth and ministry of what seemed to be an ordinary man came a revolutionary teaching that turned the religious world upside down – things are not always what they seem!
The real story of who Jesus was and what he “looked like” intensifies when we realize that the root out of dry ground (Isaiah 53:2) may also have been a reference to Jesus’ complete lack of academic and religious credentials. The religious culture of his day did not give Jesus credentials, so therefore, they and others reasoned, what wisdom might Jesus possibly provide? They didn’t teach him, so therefore, why should they listen to him?
Jesus came out of the dry ground of a barren, dead religion. He was born a Jew, but his message and his gospel were the polar opposite of the legalistic religion of his day. He was despised and rejected by people (Isaiah 53:3) because his teaching did not conform to what the religion of his day believed to be true. He upset religious apple carts. He literally turned over tables in the temple. This rather ordinary-looking man with no academic credentials was actually God in the flesh! Things are not always what they seem!
Would Jesus have what it takes today to pastor a North American mega-church? Would he have the necessary academic credentials? Would he be a tall and handsome smooth-talking salesman with a big cheesy grin capable of attracting many to his “church”? We humans judge according to appearance (1 Samuel 16:7; John 7:24). But God looks at the heart – and in God’s sight things are not always what they seem!
We humans often overlook the spiritually significant because we are blinded by the physical. We can be blinded by religious pomposity and performance. One of the great lessons of Easter is that things are not always what they seem! When Jesus died on the cross, his followers were disheartened. All they could understand was that Jesus was dead – and with him their dreams of his kingdom and of the new life he promised died as well. The two disciples, on the road to Emmaus, complained to the man they didn’t recognize, who was the resurrected Jesus “… we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel…” (Luke 24:21). All they could do was think that Jesus had failed them. But things are not always what they seem!
God is telling us, at Easter, that he has not given up on us even when we may have given up on him. Even when we think that all hope is lost, Easter tells us that hope exists beyond what we can see and perceive. Things are not always what they seem!
Jesus, God in the flesh, was not what he outwardly seemed to be! To this day, many completely miss the deep significance and profound meaning of the gospel of Jesus Christ – preferring the pomp and circumstance of religious traditions and institutions, its massive choirs, its ceremonies and its bells and whistles. God’s grace is often overlooked and despised as being simple and even silly – judged to be inferior to Christ-less religious traditions and the institutions that uphold and proclaim them.
The message of Easter is that because of Jesus, ordinary people like you and me are transformed into the very children of God. The resurrection of Jesus means everything to us – through his risen life we are given eternal life. Because of Jesus, we are beloved of God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God (2 Corinthians 5:21).
The message of Easter is all about the radical, too-good-to-be-true love of God, poured out on the cross of Christ, for anybody and everybody – especially nobodies! The message of Easter is the Light that pierces through the darkness and pain and rejection of our lives. The message of Easter is the electrifying, dynamic and victorious resurrection of our Lord and Savior. The message of Easter is about the love of God which extends to each and every one of us, regardless of how low we have sunk.
No matter how ugly and reprehensible we may feel, or how alienated from God we
assume we are, Easter is God telling us, “I love you anyway – I love you no matter what.”
Years ago, I read of the story of Vietnam veteran Dave Roever. His story is a testimony to the fact that physical beauty is truly skin deep, and that people are not always what they seem, outwardly. In Welcome Home, Davey, Dave Roever told about a phosphorus grenade that was ignited only inches from his face. Dave described the first time he saw his face after he had been hospitalized. “When I looked in the mirror, I saw a monster, not a human being… I was left with an indescribable and terrifying emptiness.”
When Dave came back to the States, while waiting in the rehab facility to be reunited with his bride, Brenda, he watched the wife of another burn victim tell her husband that she wanted a divorce. Then his wife, Brenda, walked in. Dave recalls, “She bent down and kissed me on what was left of my face. Then she looked me in my good eye, smiled, and said, ‘Welcome home, Davey. I love you!’ To understand what that meant to me, you have to know that’s what she called me when we were most intimate; she would whisper ‘Davey,’ over and over again in my ear…”
This Easter, may we never forget the grace that God has poured out in our lives. May we give thanks that he has reached down, from his perfection and holiness, and loved us, in our imperfection and sin. In Christ God tenderly whispers our name in our ear, over and over again. “I love you – I love you – I love you.”
Give thanks that God has given you and me true, eternal beauty – give thanks for the risen life of our Lord, the lifechanging impact of his resurrection, and the staggering grace that God offers to each of us. Give thanks for the true beauty of Jesus, our risen Lord! Happy Easter to you and yours!
In Jesus’ name,
Greg Albrecht
Friend and Partner Letter from April 2010
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