Good morning. There was a phrase used by both sides in the American civil war. Its purpose was to understand if the person to whom you were speaking had as of yet engaged in one of the many, bloody battles. The phrase was this: “Have you seen the elephant?” To us, such an expression may not make sense, but in the world of the mid-1800s no clarification was needed.
One of the great happenings for small cities and communities in those days would be the few days that a circus came to town. The usual boredom would be interrupted with all things strange and new (to them at least). From exotic foods to the weird and wonderful, the circus had it all. But the one thing that was sure to draw visitors from miles around was the creature that every circus worthy of the name had to have: an elephant. In a world that was known for horses and livestock, the elephant was huge, stupendous, unbelievable! They were amazing creatures, well worth the day or two of travel required to go to the circus and see one. People didn’t usually ask whether or not you had gone to the circus, they asked “Have you seen the elephant”?
The above reference to the civil war, “Have you seen the elephant?” was not a question about going to the circus. It was asking if the person had witnessed the incredible, the unbelievable, the overpowering and horrifying, the realities of war. To be in the middle of those battles was an experience that was too amazing to be explained with words.
When Jesus walked among people in the midst of His earthly ministries the word of Him would spread and people would come to see what He was all about. Was He just another clever fellow able to do tricks with smoke and slight of hand? Was He simply another preacher shouting His own version of what scripture means? Was He another charlatan pretending to be more than He was in order to pry a bit of their hard-earned money away from them?
No. Jesus was none of those things. As a matter of fact, when people came to see Jesus in person, they were typically a part of one of two groups. They may have been part of the Jewish leadership which felt threatened by Him because it was obvious that He was of God and would reveal their evil. Or they would have been of another group that was far larger, those common people of that area. They people were curious, or they may have been spiritually searching, or they may have had a great need.
Whatever best described them, they shared a virtually universal reaction to seeing Jesus in person. They were amazed. We read in Mark 2:12 such a reaction as Jesus healed a paralyzed man: He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”
Jesus is amazing. That truth has never changed. For the world to see His amazing love and power, they are to look at us, His people. He lives in us, works through us, shines through us. Amazing!
Vern