.....::::: WHERE EVERYBODY KNOWS YOUR NAME :::::.....

Let's use our brains for a few seconds...

Imagine for a second that you walk into a place and no one recognized you.

How would that make you feel?

Would you feel alone?

Hurt?

Angry?

Now imagine for a second that you were the head of a multi-billion dollar company. So you walk into YOUR COMPANY, and no one recognizes you.

They disrespect you.

They pay no attention to you.

How would you feel?

Third scenario...imagine you come home from work after a long day and your own family didn't recognize you? Not only that but the place you occupied in the household was being occupied by someone else.

What would you do?

All the time invested in building relationships with the house members only to see that you have been replaced. How would you feel?

Regardless of the example, whether you are a celebrity or someone that is mildly known, if we were to walk into a place and not get recognized, it would harm us deep down inside. We would all like to go somewhere where everybody knows our names. It makes us feel wanted and cared about.

Ironically, there is this itinerant preacher by the name of Jesus that felt the same way in terms of wanting those He loves to accept Him. Some of us have heard of Him but not all of us truly recognize Him.

Let’s try and imagine what it was like when Jesus claimed to be Messiah and how the people responded.

"Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found Him of whom Moses in the law, and also the prophets, wrote—Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” (John 1:45)

People waited centuries to see the Messiah but once they heard that it was Jesus, they did not believe nor did they accept this. Why? Was it because they saw him grow up so they never considered Him to be the Messiah? The Jewish leaders, most if not all, laughed at the very suggestion that a low-born, uneducated carpenter from Nazareth, of all places, could be the very Messiah that they were waiting for.

But He was and is.

Just as any human being, you can imagine what the religious leaders were like when confronted with the questions regarding Jesus being the Messiah. They would probably go on and ask why certain prophecies were not fulfilled yet, how come He was not a king on a throne instead of a carpenter and that the Messiah was to abolish war forever. But let me tell you, this is proof that  God has a weird way of functioning til this day. He does not fulfill man’s expectations but He does things His way; whenever and wherever.

The first time Jesus told people that He was the long awaited Messiah, He was in a synagogue in Nazareth, reading from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah.
"He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and on the Sabbath day he went into the synagogue, as was his custom. He stood up to read […]"

Pause.

You have to understand that what makes Jesus’ declaration so special is that Luke 4:16 states that “He went to Nazareth, where he had been brought up […]” That means that He was surrounded by people that knew Him, most likely since He was a child. You would think that the people would be happy since the long awaited Messiah was FINALLY here! You would think that they would throw a party or a banquet of some sort…nope. They actually ran Jesus out of town and wanted to throw Him off a cliff but He escaped.

The people of Nazareth did not even try to consider that maybe what Jesus was saying was true. They did things their way according to what they believed. To them, He did not fulfill the messianic expectations.

Let’s use another example.

In Matthew 16, we find Jesus in the region of Caesarea Philippi with His disciples. He proceeds to ask them this question:

“Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

His disciples answered Him like we all would; they said that He was one of the greatest prophets come back to life. But then He asked them who do they think He is.

Jesus asked His disciples the same question but using a different perspective. Everyone has an opinion and a point of view. The sad part if that these people were with Him almost all the time…but they had yet to see it. The amazing thing is that Simon Peter, was the one who answered and his answer was worthy of the Messiah.

“Simon Peter answered, you are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Peter confessed that Jesus was divine and that He was the promised and long awaited Messiah.

"When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, “Who do people say the Son of Man is?” They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.” “But what about you?” He asked. “Who do you say I am?” Simon Peter answered, “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God.” (Matthew 16:13-16)

And our last example…

Near the end of the events at Golgotha, where Jesus hung on the cross, amazing things happened. His death was accompanied by at least four miraculous events (darkness the tearing of the curtain in the temple, an earthquake, and dead people rising from their tombs). Jesus’ death could not have gone unnoticed. Everyone knew something significant had happened! So much that in Mathhew 27:54, it states that a roman centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw these phenomena and recognized Him as the Son of God.

"When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed, “Surely he was the Son of God!” (Matthew 27:54)

The irony in all this is that the ones who were supposed to recognize Him since they were the very ones waiting on His arrival, didn't recognize Him. Instead, they were the ones who sent Him to His death. But strangely enough, God’s plan can never be undone. It was all according to plan. A lot of Christians today believe that they would be able to discern and see Jesus as the Messiah if He came incognito again. Do you fall under this category? Have you yet to recognize Jesus as Messiah? Do you recognize Him as Lord, Savior, Prince of peace, Counselor by excellence, the Lamb of God or the Lion of Judah? Or are you one of the ones who walks past Him and ignores His words, message and messengers? Are you still not sure that Jesus is the Messiah? Do you need some kind of proof to admit that Jesus is indeed the Messiah? Sometimes we want to go where everybody know our names...

(Devotions/ Devotionals)