History’s heroes are depicted as people who are strong, dominating, physically appealing, and courageous. Heroes saved their country and conquered their enemies against all odds. When Isaiah prophesied about a messiah, the hero he was describing profoundly contrasted whom the nation of Israel would have thought to be their conqueror. This messiah he wrote about was described as neither physically captivating nor a warrior. He would be a man who was innocently slaughtered like a lamb, a man who would die and rise again. Even when Jesus came and fulfilled these prophecies, the cold hard evidence could not bend the hearts of His people. Humanity’s sinfulness seems to instill a certain fallen mindset into our nature. We do not naturally do
