A man in jeans and a t-shirt played his violin outside of a Washington D.C. subway station.
The man’s name? Joshua Bell. A master violinist dressed in street clothes.
His violin cost around 3.5 million dollars. The songs he played in that subway station were some of the most beautiful and complex pieces to be performed.
This was an experiment set up by Washington Post with some hesitation—would it cause a huge blockage at the station as people listened?
They didn’t need to be worried. During his forty-five minute performance, 1,100 people passed by him. Only seven people stopped for at least a minute.
Isaiah 53 states, speaking Messianically, “For He shall grow up before him as […] a root out of dry ground:
“He hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
“He was despised and rejected of men.”
A master “dressed in street clothes”.
Doing the most complex, beautiful acts to ever be performed—
And being passed on the streets.
Rejected by men,
Only a few realizing who He was and sticking around to be changed by what they heard.
Are we passing Him, too,
“like sheep who have gone astray”?
“As we are spiritually awake and alert, we see His hand across the world and we see His hand in our own personal lives.” (Neil L. Andersen)
Stop.
Shake off the dust. (52:2)
Awake. (51:9)
Lift up your eyes. (51:6)
Hearken. (51:1)
And you will witness the Master performing in your life.
come follow me daily 