This must have made it almost impossible to realize that with a peaceful and loving message he undeniably was the Messiah.
According to scripture writings before the time of Jesus, the coming Messiah would restore wealth and prosperity to Israel and the Jewish nation. When Jesus first appeared as the possible Messiah, everyone immediately hoped for a soldier with the divine power to defend and conquer. This may have been one of the main reasons why many of the apostles first decided to follow Jesus, because they thought that they would profit from his military success that was to come. When Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount, there a considerable amount of wavering going on not only in society, but also between the inner circle surrounding Jesus. With so much doubt circling Jesus, he must have wavered himself many times in his private prayer with the thought of being the Son of God.
According to Endo, "we are hard put to find where the love of God can be, hidden behind tangible realities which rather suggest that God does not exist, or that be never speaks, or that he is angry" (71). With a society obsessed with tangible evidence it was extremely difficult to explain to them a love of God that could only be experienced if one truly gave up his spirit to God. Instead of realizing this, the people expected some kind of sign or wonder to prove that this love of God and the God of love does in fact exist. "The disciples, like the common people, had come to him seeking nothing more than worldly profit, not love. The blind asked for nothing but to regain their sight, the lame to restore the use of their legs, the lepers to dry their purulent sores" (71). These constant requests must have drove Jesus crazy causing him to consider giving up many times, because it was almost impossible to get his message through to the people of his time.
Jesus had complete faith in the love of God, and he was so moved by this love that wherever he saw the pitiful men and women of Galilee, he wanted to share their suffering.
