And look for a single mom. The absence of Joseph in the adult life of Jesus suggests that Mary may have raised him and the rest of the kids alone. We need a simple home with a single mom and a ordinary laborer. Jesus' neighbors remembered him as a worker. "He's just a carpenter" (Mark 6:3 MSG).
Jesus had dirty hands, sweat-stained shirts, and — this may surprise you — common looks. "No stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him" (Isa. 53:2).
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Drop-dead smile? Steal-your-breath physique? No. Heads didn't turn when Jesus passed. If he was anything like his peers, he had a broad peasant's face, dark olive skin, short curly hair, and a prominent nose. He stood five feet one inch tall and weighed around 110 pounds.1 Hardly worthy of a GQ cover. According to a third-century historian, Origen, "his body was small and ill-shapen and ignoble."2
Are your looks run-of-the-mill and your ways simple? So were his. He's been there.
Questionable pedigree. Raised in an overlooked nation among oppressed people in an obscure village. Simple home. Single mom. An ordinary laborer with ordinary looks. Can you spot him? See the adobe house with the thatched roof? Yes, the one with the chickens in the yard and the gangly teenager repairing chairs in the shed. Word has it he can fix your plumbing as well.
He's been there.
"He had to enter into every detail of human life. Then, when he came before God as high priest to get rid of the people's sins, he would have already experienced it all himself — all the pain, all the testing — and would be able to help where help was needed" (Heb. 2:17-18 MSG).
Are you poor? Jesus knows how you feel. Are you on the lowest rung of the social ladder? He understands. Ever feel taken advantage of? Christ paid taxes to a foreign emperor.
He's been there. He understands the meaning of obscurity.
But what if your life is not obscure? What if you have a business to run or crowds to manage or a classroom to lead? Can Jesus relate? Absolutely. He recruited and oversaw his own organization. Seventy men plus an assortment of women looked to him for leadership. Do you make budgets and lead meetings and hire personnel? Christ knows leadership is not easy. His group included a zealot who hated the Romans and a tax collector who had worked for them. The mother of his key men demanded special treatment for her sons. Jesus understands the stress of leadership.
Ever feel as if you need to get away? So did Jesus. "Early the next morning, while it was still dark, Jesus woke and left the house. He went to a lonely place, where he prayed" (Mark 1:35 NCV).