Jesus in flesh

Isaiah 53:2(NLT) My servant grew up in the Lord’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.

In my meditations the other day, I began to wonder how much our day shapes our concept of ministry. We see the "big" teleministries, the hype of huge campaigns with thousands saved, mega churches and personalized ministries and see that as "success". Jesus came with nothing that would attract us to Him in the natural. We see pictures of Jesus and they present a very attractive man. But there are no pictures or descriptions of Jesus by those who saw Him. My respect for Isaiah as a prophet is based on the accuracy of his prophecies. Whether he was prophesying to natural Israel concerning the immediate future, or concerning the coming Messiah, there are no mistakes and inaccuracies. The description he saw prophetically of Jesus is as unattractive in the natural. The temptation of Satan to Jesus in the wilderness was to change his image to Israel so he would be accepted.

If we were to view His natural life, I believe we would have seen reason for unhappiness, discontent and discouragement. His siblings were jealous of Him and resisted Him. What would you do with an elder brother who never did anything wrong? He was probably constantly held up to the siblings as an example to follow. But in their adamic nature it would be impossible. The parents had a struggle to understand Him, yet they had no fault with His obedience and nature. He was constantly labeled as "Mary's son" and the scandal would always have been with Him. He grew up in "dry ground".

He had no natural recommendation. The Sanhedrin found nothing to justify His "ministry" or His attraction to the crowds, but could not refute the miracles that drew the crowds. His popularity had no other attraction that they could see but were jealous of it and fearful of what it would mean to their own place.

God gave to this realm every possible excuse to reject Jesus. I see this always in the Word that God "stacks the deck against Himself" in order that man might test his own hunger for God by what he must push through to find Him. Those who followed Jesus did so because of the Spirit of God in Him. They saw what they needed in Him. They met in Him what they could not find in anything of this realm. He filled the vacancy that always gnaws at every human ever born. Mankind will seek to fill that void with anything they can. Food, money, fame or any kind of success is sought to justify their existence and fill that void. Yet the deception of Satan denies that they can find what they seek in Jesus. The only time I hear that "religion is a crutch," is when they speak of Christians who follow too closely to Jesus.

If religion dresses everything up, promises wealth and health, looks successful and in control, people grab for it. It is the way of man to want to look really "good" in the eyes of his peers, but it is not the way of God. God takes us down to bring us up and takes us backward to bring us forward. If we follow the footsteps of Jesus, we can be sure there will be criticism and contention for us on that path. But God does not share His glory with flesh. The beauty people saw in Jesus was the beauty of God shining in Him. He did not justify Himself in the flesh but only spoke of His relationship to the Father and gave the glory to the Father. Our only real ministry is to point to Jesus and let His anointing flow through us to do the Father's works. Nothing else matters or will last into eternity.

I believe people saw the nature of God in Him and that drew them. His nature did not change when He came to this earth. All of His responses were out of His nature. Unfortunately, this is true of us also. If the Holy Spirit has not had the opportunity to change our nature because we cling to the adamic nature, our first response will be out of that adamic nature. What we call the fruit of the Spirit is actually the Spirit's nature being allowed to take over our nature and produce God's nature in us. I remember one of my early prayers was a cry that I might bleed Christ. I wanted my first reaction to be Christ and not my own response. It is indeed labor to surrender and enter into His rest.

Hebrews 4:11 (KJV) Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

Philippians 2:12(NIV) 12Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed—not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling, 13for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.