Feb
8
Not Really An Underdog
Filed Under Devotional
That was my favorite kind of Super Bowl. I had a reason to like both teams and the game was close. I thought overtime was almost a sure thing before that interception. A great game played by a lot of classy players and no referee interference in the outcome.
I also love it when the underdog wins. Normally, this would lead me to a conversation about how the life of Jesus seemed like an underdog story. He was born out of scandal in a cave. He was mocked and ridiculed during his ministry. He was killed in a public and humiliating way. And, then, He rose again to defy all His critics.
Yeah, except that misses some of the backstory. Of course, it wasn’t like that with this Super Bowl, either. The Saints may have not been the favorite to win, but they weren’t some upstart that nobody gave any hope to. They finished the regular season 13-3. They had the highest scoring offense in the league. They had a tenacious defense known for takeaways. This was a very good football team. Winning the Super Bowl was a completely reasonable outcome.
By the same token, Jesus was not a dark horse. He had His critics, but He was, after all, God:
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.” John 1:1
“[...]The high priest said to him, ‘I charge you under oath by the living God: Tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.’
‘Yes, it is as you say,’ Jesus replied. ‘But I say to all of you: In the future you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.’” Matthew 26:63-64
He was God in the flesh. He wasn’t an underdog. He was simply discounted and ignored by those who didn’t like His message.
Do not minimize Jesus. Do not underestimate Him. Do not allow Him to be defined into a box only to be set aside.
Jesus is God. The only question is how you respond to that.