Advent - Day 23
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 suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Isaiah 53:1-3
Full Readings: Isaiah 53:1–3, John 12:37–43
Jesus' physical appearance is one aspect of the incarnation we don’t think of very often. We have covered this ground in some sense before but again, what would you expect if God came to earth to be born in human flesh?
You would expect Hercules right? Or Brad Pitt style Achilles? You expect an ‘Adonis’. And yet Isaiah prophecies that Messiah, God’s servant will have no beauty or majesty to attract us to him.
It’s a remarkable facet of Jesus’ nature. Another big tick in the box of His humility. Deep down, very few of us would choose to be plain and unattractive. Vanity aside, if we were planning on leading a movement, the first thing we might suggest is for God to design us “really really really ridiculously good looking†(Zoolander).
But Jesus is ultimately a man of substance. He doesn’t recruit followers on the basis of superficiality, but deep validity. And God, just as He has done many times, confounds the wisdom of the wise. God plays by different rules.
And that’s worth thinking about for us today. The things we value, good looks, money etc. These are not the things God values. “To do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your Godâ€, this is what God thinks highly of.
But let’s just deal with one thing specifically. Do you dislike how you look? Do you worry about your physical appearance? Be reminded of this. God’s most beloved Son wasn’t physically attractive. But He was so very loved. And His value was beyond compare.
For Today:
Pray:
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 suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Isaiah 53:1-3
Full Readings: Isaiah 53:1–3, John 12:37–43
Jesus' physical appearance is one aspect of the incarnation we don’t think of very often. We have covered this ground in some sense before but again, what would you expect if God came to earth to be born in human flesh?
You would expect Hercules right? Or Brad Pitt style Achilles? You expect an ‘Adonis’. And yet Isaiah prophecies that Messiah, God’s servant will have no beauty or majesty to attract us to him.
It’s a remarkable facet of Jesus’ nature. Another big tick in the box of His humility. Deep down, very few of us would choose to be plain and unattractive. Vanity aside, if we were planning on leading a movement, the first thing we might suggest is for God to design us “really really really ridiculously good looking†(Zoolander).
But Jesus is ultimately a man of substance. He doesn’t recruit followers on the basis of superficiality, but deep validity. And God, just as He has done many times, confounds the wisdom of the wise. God plays by different rules.
And that’s worth thinking about for us today. The things we value, good looks, money etc. These are not the things God values. “To do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your Godâ€, this is what God thinks highly of.
But let’s just deal with one thing specifically. Do you dislike how you look? Do you worry about your physical appearance? Be reminded of this. God’s most beloved Son wasn’t physically attractive. But He was so very loved. And His value was beyond compare.
For Today:
- Do you value appearances more than you should?
- How do you feel about your appearance? How should you?
- Reflect on Jesus today and set your mind on what God loves. On substance instead of superficiality.
Pray:
- Praise the Father that He is the God of grace and wisdom.
- Give thanks for Jesus Christ who comes clothed in humility.
- Ask God for His Holy Spirit to help you and others do what is right, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with Him.
Posted in Advent
No Comments