During the time Paul was writing this letter there was a bumper crop of false Messiahs. Many of them tricked people into accepting them by the promise of wonders and miracles. In 45 AD a man called Theudas persuaded thousands of people to abandon their homes and follow him to the river Jordan. He promised that at his command the Jordan would divide and he would lead them across.
In 54 AD an Egyptian man arrived in Jerusalem who claimed to be a prophet. He persuaded thousands of people to follow him to the Mount of Olives by promising that at his command the walls of Jerusalem would fall down.
The Jews expected big signs. In Jesus they found someone who was meek and lowly, one who avoided the spectacular, one who served and one who ended up on death row and the cross. It seemed an impossible picture of the Chosen One of God.
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