The Unexpected Messiah
Jesus is revealed as the Savior of Mankind in his sufferings and self-sacrificial death for others, including his enemies . The inability of men to recognize Jesus as the Son of God until after his crucifixion is a key theme of the Gospel of Mark . Ironically, the first man who did so was the Roman centurion on duty at Christ’s execution. The self-identification of Jesus as the suffering “ Son of Man ” made him unrecognizable to unregenerate men. He was the Savior no one expected or, frankly, wanted.