Basic HTML Version
“We Have Found the Messiah”
79
sin of the world! This is He of whom I said, ‘After me comes a Man
who is preferred before me.’ ... I saw the Spirit descending from
heaven like a dove, and He remained upon Him. ... He who sent me
to baptize with water said to me, ... ‘This is He who baptizes with
the Holy Spirit.’ And I have seen and testified that this is the Son of
God.”
Christ’s Appearance Was Ordinary
Was this the Christ? With awe and wonder the people looked on
the One John had just declared to be the Son of God. John’s words
had deeply moved them. He had spoken in the name of God. They
had listened to him day after day as he condemned their sins, and the
conviction strengthened that God had sent him. But who was this
One greater than John? Nothing in His dress and bearing represented
any high rank. Apparently He was a simple person, dressed in the
humble garments of the poor.
Some in the crowd had been at Christ’s baptism and had heard
the voice of God. But the Savior’s appearance had changed greatly.
At His baptism they had seen His face transformed in the light of
heaven. Now He looked worn and gaunt. Only John had recognized
Him.
But the people saw a face where divine compassion blended
with conscious power. Every glance, every feature of His face,
was marked with humility and expressive of matchless love. He
impressed the onlookers with a sense of power that was hidden, yet
could not be completely concealed. Was this the One for whom
Israel had waited so long?
Jesus came in poverty and humiliation so that He could be our
Example as well as our Redeemer. If He had appeared with kingly
pomp, how could He have taught humility? Where would the lowly
in life have found hope if Jesus had come to live as a king among
us?
But to the crowd, it seemed impossible to find a connection
between the One John had indicated and their high expectations.
Many were disappointed and perplexed.
The words they so much wanted to hear—that Jesus would now
restore the kingdom to Israel—He had not spoken. The priests and