For he grew up… like a root out of dry ground. Isaiah 53:2
One reason it is so hard for us to believe is that we are easily distracted by the wrong considerations. Isaiah tells us that Jesus was “like a root out of dry ground.” In other words, there was nothing in Jesus’ background that would lead us to expect anything remarkable from Him.
First, some people dismissed Jesus because of His home. He was born in Bethlehem, and soon after His birth, He became a refugee. His life was in danger, and to protect Him, Mary and Joseph fled to another country. When they returned, they did not return to Jerusalem, where Jesus could have learned at the best schools. They went back to their hometown of Nazareth, which was an obscure and somewhat backward town in the northern hill country.
Our Lord was known as “Jesus of Nazareth,” and that was not a compliment. Nazareth was despised, and the fact that Jesus came from there was held up as a reason for unbelief.
Second, some people dismissed Jesus because of His work. Joseph was a carpenter and Jesus worked at the same trade. This was held up as another reason for not believing in Him.
When Jesus taught in the synagogue, the people were astonished and said, “Is not this the carpenter’s son?” (Mat. 13:55). They were distracted by the wrong considerations.
Third, some people dismissed Jesus because of His friends. The men who followed Jesus were not the influencers of their day. The first followers of Jesus included some fishermen and a despised tax collector. The enemies of Jesus looked down on Him because, they said, He “eat[s] with tax collectors and sinners” (Matt. 9:11).
Why is it so hard for us to believe? Because we are distracted by the wrong considerations. The Bible tells us that “man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart” (1 Sam. 16:7).
Which of these outward appearances do you find most distracting?
