Matthew 12:23
‘And all the crowds were amazed and were saying, “This man cannot be the Son of David, can he?”’
Jesus had just cast the devil out of a man who was blind and couldn’t speak. This was the response of the crowd. This was part of the intent of the act. To verify His message and to let them know He was their Messiah. While this was true, He wasn’t intending to establish His kingdom now. I think that was Judas’ intent and why he was so frustrated . So much so that he betrayed Jesus.
The reason He wasn’t to establish the kingdom now was because He was to die for sins, to establish the church and bring in the gentiles. This was not the time for the kingdom in that sense.
The pharisees were horrified by the people reaching this conclusion. Their response was to say Jesus was demon possessed. They were all over the map. They were the ones Jesus was harsh with. Here’s what Jesus has to say about them in Matthew 23:15, “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You traverse land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.” He said that toward the end. His language and actions were quite intense as to push them towards murder.
Jesus is the Messiah. How awesome. Israel had been waiting thousands of years for Him. We look back to His arrival. He wasn’t just a man, but God incarnate. That is amazing. What He is like is also amazing. He’s humble. Here is the lyric of the song Humble King, “The friend of the weak, You wash the feet of the weary,
Embrace the ones in need I want to be like You, Jesus. To have this heart in me. You are the God of the humble, You are the humble King.”
He is the friend of the weak. When we are weak, we aren’t able accomplish what’s needed. We also fear not being able to protect ourselves. We are vulnerable. That’s a scary feeling. Jesus is their friend, if they will have Him. He washed the disciples feet and He does that to us symbolically. He serves us. That’s crazy as He’s God. We should be serving Him.
He embraces the one’s in need. That’s us on occasion. When we need that He gives it. He’s humble. When Jesus came to earth, He was born while they were traveling. He was born in a barn and the ones who were there to witness it were poor shepherds. He was raised in an area with a bad reputation. All this to show His humility and to reach the lowly. So cool.
Lord, help us to be like You. Help us to reach out to others. Help us not to seek our own kingdoms, but Yours.