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"There is enough misery in the world to make the message that a Messiah will come believable; there is enough misery in the world to make the message that a Messiah has come unbelievable. The first and major task of a Messiah is to get people to quit looking for one." -- Fred B. Craddock

Regarding the public's opinion that Jesus was the precursor of the Messiah who is to come, Craddock writes: "Perhaps this accounts for some of his popularity: that a Messiah is coming is always an exciting and welcome message. Everyone had a sermon under the title 'When the Messiah Comes,' a message including every hope, every dream, every ideal condition for which the heart longs. It is no wonder that the church's message that the Messiah has come and he is Jesus has not been as popular. To believe the Messiah has come means we can no longer shape him to fit our dreams; he shapes us to fit God's will."

Hmm. Maybe he can't be shaped to fit people's dreams, but people sure as Hell still try. Witness all the folks who flock to Christianity because they think they've found a clear and definite set of "family values" and rules for living neatly set out in black and white, when even a cursory reading of the Gospels shows that the man they claim to worship simply did not give straightforward answers to straightforward questions. Silly people asked simple questions hoping for simple answers about complicated lives; he responded with complicated parables and a simple life.