Jesus the Messiah: Can You See Him?

For the Jews of Jesus' day, the Messiah was expected to be an earthly king, a descendant of David who would lead Israel guaranteeing her autonomy until the end of time! Jesus was a descend ant of David. But the House of David had lost its privileged position after many exiles and domination by foreign nations.
At an appointed time, Mary gave birth to the Messiah long expected. He had no army but the fact that Mary and Joseph brought turtledoves for His presentation to the temple meant the family was temporally poor. The Gospel writers make it clear that not everyone recognized Jesus as Messiah. Where was His army? They knew His parents! He hung out with tax collectors and sinners. If anyone recognized Jesus as the long awaited Messiah, it was by supernatural revelation!

But one group of people who seemed to have this supernatural knowledge were the most broken of Jesus Day! They were the physically ill, the most dependant requiring the help of others. St. Matthew describes such an encounter:

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed him, calling out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”

“Yes, Lord,” they replied.

Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith let it be done to you”; (Mt. 9:27-29)

Blind men, “Son of David”. They did not ask for political action but for healing! They understood the new Davidic King was to restore the body and the soul. They had faith Jesus could do whatever he pleases! Faith is supernatural, a gift from God. Only through faith can we come to see Jesus for who he truly is! Even though they were blind, they could see with their spiritual eyes that Jesus was the Messiah.

We need spiritual eyes to see our broken condition and our need for Jesus. We get sick, have pain, fever, and are afflicted with disease that many times lead to death. We lack judgment, common sense and wisdom to avoid accidents. We die because it is the just penalty for the sin we are born with. But God has sent His promised Messiah. If it is His will, He can heal us. If we recognize Him as the Messiah, we will call out, “Have mercy on us!” We can only see the Messiah if we sense we have a need for one! The poor, the outcast, the infirmed, often see Him before the proud, arrogant and self-sufficient. Jesus greatest desire for us is for us to know we cannot live apart from Him. The Messiah of the Holy Scriptures is not a military ruler who lives far away in a palace, but the only-begotten Son of God who want to live in our hearts to rule us from the inside out.

Do you see the Messiah?