They Didn’t Recognize Him

Reading: John 1:1-14

He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. 11 He came to his own people, and even they rejected him. (John 1:10-11 NLT)

Jesus came fulfilling dozens of prophecies, given over a couple of millennia, known by all the Jewish leaders, but they didn’t recognize him. They had a variety of opinions about him; who he was, what he was doing, and those opinions didn’t include his being the Messiah, the Savior, the King of the Jews.

There were reasons they didn’t recognize him: 1) He didn’t fit the profile they had created; 2) He wasn’t on their approved list of possible Messiahs. 3) He was a threat to their positions and to their religio-political system. 4) Acknowledging him would require too much change!

Some of the reasons they didn’t recognize Jesus are like the reasons we often don’t recognize God’s hand at work in our lives, and the presence of Jesus in our experiences: 1) It doesn’t fit our carefully crafted plan. 2) It’s not what we expected. 3) It’s painful. 4) It reveals our biases and prejudices. 5) It seems like it’s going to ruin everything!

Often it has been things I didn’t recognize that turned out to be among the most important occurrences of God’s hand at work in my life. Twice in the 1980’s Jean and I experienced very difficult, heart-breaking reversals. Both involved betrayal by trusted leaders and friends. In both cases we could see nothing good, right, or fair about what happened. Now, forty-plus years later, it’s so clear that God’s hand was very much in both situations. We’re so thankful!

It wasn’t God’s will that those trusted friends did and said what they did, but God used those experiences in both cases to open our hearts and eyes to a bigger picture, to remove self-imposed boundaries, and to lead us through doors of faith into a life we wouldn’t trade for anything!

What are some of the experiences in your life that seemed wrong or random yet turned out to be God at work in you, for you, and through you?

Who are some of the people who turned out, unexpectedly, to be Jesus present in your process—either to influence you or to be served by you?

Prayer:

Father, Please help us not to miss your plan because we don’t recognize Jesus at work in our situations, circumstances, and seasons. We trust you. We trust your plan. Amen!