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“Never has anyone spoken like this!”

God makes everyone unique, but some folks are more unique than others.

Samson was pretty unique. That uniqueness included his greatest strengths as well as his fatal flaws. He came as a miracle child and lived no ordinary life.

David was chosen from among the people of God. He had his weaknesses and blind spots, but he was a king like no other. He served the purposes of God in his generation and then, he died.

But Jesus came to earth flawless, the most unique of all the unique. He baffled the elders and bewildered those who lusted for power. If there was a flimsily constructed applecart of belief and practice in his vicinity, he upset it. His coming, though humble, was not typical and his life, though simple, was unlike any other.

People could not figure Jesus out, put him in a box, or even build a box around him that would be sufficient from one moment to another. He defied human definition.

“Never has anyone spoken like this!”

It was not declared as a compliment or a statement of admiration as much as one of intimidation and frustration.

If you try to fit Jesus into a category, you will experience that same frustration. If you try to incorporate him into your own system or label him, you will come up short.

Jesus is one of a kind, standing out among a long line of one-of-a-kind characters whose names are engraved on the walls of history. Among them, the unique, he it utterly unique.

People today, still do not quite know what to make of Jesus or what to do with him. 

He offers an answer to those who wanted to know more about the details of him life. He said, "Come and see."

To those who would be willing to hear his words and take them to heart, he said, "Follow me."

To those who were bound and tangled, he announced, "The Son will make you free."

And to those who will commit to his commission, he has promised, "With you, I shall always be."

You can and should study Jesus, about Jesus, about his words, about his times, and about his  life. But, more so, you would behoove yourself to spend time with him, get to know him, speak directly with him, and experience him.

He is still calling us, calling you: 

Come and see.

Follow me.

I will make you free.

With you, I shall always be.

Samson and David were unique, special, and fashioned for their times. So were Noah, Abraham, Joseph, Moses, Hannah, Samuel, Ruth, Solomon, Elijah, Isaiah, and Nehemiah. But Jesus was born as a man for all time. None of the heroes of the past had the capacity to save. None could be called, "Lord." None were divine. Jesus was all of this and more.

Even if you are not quite ready to leave all an follow him this Advent, consider him. Sit at his feet. listen to him. Come and see and be willing to take whatever the next steps might be.

Now, the scriptures:

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Judges 13:2-24
New Revised Standard Version

There was a certain man of Zorah, of the tribe of the Danites, whose name was Manoah. His wife was barren, having borne no children. And the angel of the Lord appeared to the woman and said to her, “Although you are barren, having borne no children, you shall conceive and bear a son. Now be careful not to drink wine or strong drink, or to eat anything unclean, for you shall conceive and bear a son. No razor is to come on his head, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth. It is he who shall begin to deliver Israel from the hand of the Philistines.”

Then the woman came and told her husband, “A man of God came to me, and his appearance was like that of an angel of God, most awe-inspiring; I did not ask him where he came from, and he did not tell me his name; but he said to me, ‘You shall conceive and bear a son. So then drink no wine or strong drink, and eat nothing unclean, for the boy shall be a nazirite to God from birth to the day of his death.’”

Then Manoah entreated the Lord, and said, “O Lord, I pray, let the man of God whom you sent come to us again and teach us what we are to do concerning the boy who will be born.”

God listened to Manoah, and the angel of God came again to the woman as she sat in the field; but her husband Manoah was not with her. So the woman ran quickly and told her husband, “The man who came to me the other day has appeared to me.”

Manoah got up and followed his wife, and came to the man and said to him, “Are you the man who spoke to this woman?”

And he said, “I am.”

Then Manoah said, “Now when your words come true, what is to be the boy’s rule of life; what is he to do?”

The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “Let the woman give heed to all that I said to her. She may not eat of anything that comes from the vine. She is not to drink wine or strong drink, or eat any unclean thing. She is to observe everything that I commanded her.”

Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “Allow us to detain you, and prepare a kid for you.” The angel of the Lord said to Manoah, “If you detain me, I will not eat your food; but if you want to prepare a burnt offering, then offer it to the Lord.” (For Manoah did not know that he was the angel of the Lord.) Then Manoah said to the angel of the Lord, “What is your name, so that we may honor you when your words come true?” But the angel of the Lord said to him, “Why do you ask my name? It is too wonderful.”

So Manoah took the kid with the grain offering, and offered it on the rock to the Lord, to him who works wonders. When the flame went up toward heaven from the altar, the angel of the Lord ascended in the flame of the altar while Manoah and his wife looked on; and they fell on their faces to the ground. The angel of the Lord did not appear again to Manoah and his wife. Then Manoah realized that it was the angel of the Lord. And Manoah said to his wife, “We shall surely die, for we have seen God.” But his wife said to him, “If the Lord had meant to kill us, he would not have accepted a burnt offering and a grain offering at our hands, or shown us all these things, or now announced to us such things as these.”

The woman bore a son, and named him Samson. The boy grew, and the Lord blessed him.

John 7:40-52
New Revised Standard Version

When they heard these words, some in the crowd said, “This is really the prophet.” Others said, “This is the Messiah.”

But some asked, “Surely the Messiah does not come from Galilee, does he? Has not the scripture said that the Messiah is descended from David and comes from Bethlehem, the village where David lived?”

So there was a division in the crowd because of him. Some of them wanted to arrest him, but no one laid hands on him.

Then the temple police went back to the chief priests and Pharisees, who asked them, “Why did you not arrest him?”

The police answered, “Never has anyone spoken like this!”

Then the Pharisees replied, “Surely you have not been deceived too, have you? Has any one of the authorities or of the Pharisees believed in him? But this crowd, which does not know the law—they are accursed.”

Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus before, and who was one of them, asked, “Our law does not judge people without first giving them a hearing to find out what they are doing, does it?”

They replied, “Surely you are not also from Galilee, are you? Search and you will see that no prophet is to arise from Galilee.”

Psalm 89:1-4
New Revised Standard Version

A Maskil of Ethan the Ezrahite.
I will sing of your steadfast love, O Lord, forever;
with my mouth I will proclaim your faithfulness to all generations.
I declare that your steadfast love is established forever;
your faithfulness is as firm as the heavens.

You said, “I have made a covenant with my chosen one,
I have sworn to my servant David:
‘I will establish your descendants forever,
and build your throne for all generations.’” Selah

Psalm 89:19-26
New Revised Standard Version

Then you spoke in a vision to your faithful one, and said:
“I have set the crown on one who is mighty,
I have exalted one chosen from the people.
I have found my servant David;
with my holy oil I have anointed him;
my hand shall always remain with him;
my arm also shall strengthen him.
The enemy shall not outwit him,
the wicked shall not humble him.
I will crush his foes before him
and strike down those who hate him.
My faithfulness and steadfast love shall be with him;
and in my name his horn shall be exalted.
I will set his hand on the sea
and his right hand on the rivers.
He shall cry to me, ‘You are my Father,
my God, and the Rock of my salvation!’