January 11, 2023
Blindsided by Jesus
“He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him.” John 1:11 (NASB)
Have you ever played a game where everyone lined up and each team captain got to pick its players? It’s exciting if you are first to be picked. For others it is not because the longer they wait, the worse they feel. When I picked my teammates, I picked good friends or the ones who showed promise. I had to see something in them, and if not, they didn’t get picked. I wanted someone who could be a potential star. Remember, we are on the field to “win” not “lose.” But there was a coming wildcard player that would show up. We would live to regret it when the game ended. I wish I would have seen the promise of that person who changed the whole game!
When John said in the first part of this passage “to His own,” he likely refers to mankind in general. The second reference in this passage which says, “who were His own” referred to the Jewish people and their nation. Even though the world was created by him and by the Incarnate Word (Jesus), the world (mankind) didn’t recognize who He was because of their spiritual blindness. Then when Jesus came to his “who were His own” (the Jewish nation), they still didn’t accept Him, even though there was prophecy which foretold of His coming (see Isaiah 65:2-3, Jeremiah 7:25). Mankind and also the Jewish nation didn’t identify that One person even though they were told He was coming.
As a child playing these games, I never saw the potential of a stranger whom I had never met. He wasn’t proven or known to me. We still do it today. This guy wasn’t tested and proven as far as I could see. I was blind to the true potential he held. One day I took a risk on an unknown new guy. I remember that day; we lined up our picks for a football game. There were a few more unfamiliar faces than usual. Some were bigger (high school age), and some were smaller (like me- middle school age). I remember towards the middle of the selection process, I saw this one young guy who was about my height, but unassuming in stature. I selected him on a risk. At the end of the game, this guy outran every person who tried to tackle him. He had just moved into our community a few weeks earlier. This young man (later known as Lamarcus) was the fastest runner I have ever seen. Later in high school I joined the track in the 50-yard event. This guy was so fast, that I later got cut from the 50-yard event. I learned to throw Shot Put instead. We still became very good friends over the few years we knew each other. Later, there was a rumor from friends who knew him after high school that he even went on to play in the National Football League as a third string running back.
When Jesus came to this earth, He came in a lowly gentle and lowly form unassuming in stature. Don’t mistake these meanings though for weakness. “Gentle” in the original Greek means “great strength under control.” “Lowly” means” humble or low in status, but one who looks to God for direction.” Jesus is all powerful, and yet gentle.
Don’t be as blind as I, looking to the stature of a person as a qualifier. Jesus would have appeared just like Lamarcus, unassuming and gentle. But make no mistake, Jesus is the Hero of this world and the breaker of sin’s control over our lives! He is God! My friend is just another sinful man…