Respectable Members of Society?

Religious people often assume that being a Christian means, or involves, being a respectable member of society. Yet none of the prophets, none of the apostles, and not even Christ Himself, fit that bill. They were the sort of people who would preach real loud in the streets and deserts, and nobody would listen; on account of that everyone thought they were "Cuckoo! Cuckoo!". They were like that homeless-looking guy on the corner, outside your apartment building, holding a sign that says, "THE END IS NEAR."

Jesus was always quoting from the Old Testament Scriptures because He believed them to be divinely inspired. (And that's why I believe them too.) And the two Old Testament writers that Jesus quoted from most frequently were David and Isaiah. Isaiah spoke a great deal about the coming Messiah (for example, see Isaiah 11:1-10; Isaiah 53; and Isaiah 61:1-3). But quite shockingly, the prophet Isaiah also went around naked for three years because God told him to (Isaiah 20:2-3). Let that sink in. The man ran naked for three years. Because God told him to.  What would you think of your pastor if he started going around naked, and said that God told him to? You would most likely think he was crazy and, find a different church. But that's what the prophet Isaiah did. And many years later, the authorities placed him inside a hollow log and sawed him in two for preaching the word of God. Not a very dignified end.

And what about David, the psalmist and prophet? When one of his wives, Michal, objected to his undignified behavior, David said to her, "I will become even more undignified than this" (2 Samuel 6:12-23). Have you ever just wondered exactly what he meant by that? The only recorded undignified actions of his, after that day, are his a fair with Bathsheba, his attempt at covering it up, and then, much later, his uncalled-for tax/census of Israel. David suffered grievious consequences for those sins. But he also experienced God's forgiveness and found redemption, making him an enduring symbol of God's grace and mercy. And we all need God's grace and mercy. We are all sinners in need of forgiveness.

But those are the guys that Christ quoted  from the most - the man who went around naked for three years because God told him to, and the one who famously said, "I will become even more undignified than this".

And what about Jesus Christ? He left His throne in Glory to assume the modest life of a poor carpenter, and later, a wandering preacher with absolutely no earthly credentials. He disturbed the peace at least twice during His earthly ministry, by turning over tables and shouting, and chasing people with a whip. John tells us that He did so at the beginning of His earthly ministry, (John 2:13-17) Mathew, Mark, and Luke mention Him doing it toward the end. So clearing the Temple was probably something Jesus did every Passover during His three-year ministry. He was despised and rejected by the people. Stripped of His clothes, He died like a criminal, on a Roman cross, in front of all the public.

And the apostle went all over the world doing the same kind of things. Preaching with no earthly credentials to people who mocked, laughed at, despised, and rejected them. They were all martyrs for the faith. They were not respectable members of society.