The Appaling Lord

"Just as there were many who were appalled at him - his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness-" Isaiah 52:14  NIV

Many were appalled at him.  The passage seems to be referring to the physical appearance of the Saviour but something doesn't quite fit. Many people have physical disfigurements but his form is "marred beyond human likeness" as though somehow he is not like other men. Thinking about this, I wonder if it can be taken symbolically to mean that his teaching and presence were appalling to the natural man.  God's holiness and goodness is presented to the world but it is viewed  as something horrible. How many people recoil in disgust if you try to speak to them about Jesus? How many times is Christianity or the Bible ridiculed and despised? Jesus is so fundamentally different from man that there is no natural affinity between them. The sinful nature of man hates God, and lies to people saying that the love of God is evil. All the disfigurement is in the eyes of the beholder.

I pray that God will give me the right sight to see his holiness and love, and praise him for it.
I pray that I will never consider his essential teachings to be a burden, but that I will see them as his precious gift. I pray that the tawdry trinkets of this world will not distract me from the real beauty of my Saviour.