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Berni - ceo, Christianityworks

The Not So Popular Jesus

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Isaiah 53:3 People made fun of him, and even his friends left him. He was a man who suffered a lot of pain and sickness. We treated him like someone of no importance, like someone people will not even look at but turn away from in disgust.

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These days, people who have a positive impact on this world tend to be incredibly popular. But could it be that today’s celebrity culture has jaundiced our view of those who make a profound difference?

Think of any great figure in history who’s made a powerful, positive difference in this world and, with just a bit of digging, you’ll almost certainly discover that they faced tremendous opposition: 

William Wilberforce, who brought about an end to legal slavery in the British Empire in 1807: Nelson Mandela who ended apartheid in South Africa in 1994. Both faced enormous opposition – Mandela spending twenty-seven years in prison.

Today we look back on them (and they’re just two, right? There are countless others – men and women) with great respect. But at the time, they were derided, persecuted, hated, by many. Why? Because bringing about positive change invariably involves challenging, entrenched systems that oppress the many, and benefit the few. 

So, whatever makes us think that Jesus was popular back in His day? Isaiah, prophesying about Jesus centuries earlier, wrote this:

Isaiah 53:3 People made fun of him, and even his friends left him. He was a man who suffered a lot of pain and sickness. We treated him like someone of no importance, like someone people will not even look at but turn away from in disgust.

And that’s exactly what happened. He was arrested, mocked, beaten. The crowds, whipped up by the religious leaders whose power base was so threatened by Jesus, cried, “Crucify Him.” Then they nailed Him to a cross.

So, what makes us think that Jesus – what He said, what He taught – is going to be any more popular today than it was back then?

That’s God’s Word. Fresh … for you … today.

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